THERE were three jovial Welshmen,
As I have heard them say,
And they would go a-hunting
Upon St. David's day.
All the day they hunted,
And nothing could they find
But a ship a-sailing,
A-sailing with the wind.
One said it was a ship;
The other he said nay;
The third said it was a house,
With the chimney blown away.
And all the night they hunted,
And nothing could they find
But the moon a-gliding,
A-gliding with the wind.
One said it was the moon;
The other he said nay;
The third said it was a cheese,
And half o't cut away.
And all the day they hunted,
And nothing could they find
But a hedgehog in a bramble-bush,
And that they left behind.
The first said it was a hedgehog;
The second he said nay;
The third it was a pin-cushion,
And the pins stuck in wrong way.
And all the night they hunted,
And nothing could they find
But a hare in a turnip field,
And that they left behind.
The first said it was a hare;
The second he said nay;
The third said it was a calf,
And the cow had run away.
And all the day they hunted,
And nothing could they find
But an owl in a holly-tree,
And that they left behind.
One said it was an owl;
The other he said nay;
The third said 'twas an old man,
And his beard growing grey.
JACK, be nimble,
And, Jack, be quick;
And, Jack, jump over
The candlestick.
QUEEN ANNE, Queen Anne, you sit in the sun,
As fair as a lily, as white as a wand.
I send you three letters, and pray read one;
You must read one, if you can't read all;
So pray, Miss or Master, throw up the ball.
[Children hunting bats.]
BAT, bat (clap hands),
Come under my hat,
And I'll give you a slice of bacon;
And when I bake,
I'll give you a cake,
If I am not mistaken.
