So off he set with his opera hat,
Heigho, says Rowley,
And on the road he met with a rat.
With a rowley powley, gammon and spinach,
[Pg 192] Heigho, says Anthony Rowley!
"Pray, Mr. Rat, will you go with me,"
Heigho, says Rowley,
"Kind Mrs. Mousey for to see?"
With a rowley powley, gammon and spinach,
Heigho, says Anthony Rowley!
When they reached the door of Mousey's hall,
Heigho, says Rowley,
They gave a loud knock, and they gave a loud call.
With a rowley powley, gammon and spinach,
Heigho, says Anthony Rowley!
[Pg 193] "Pray, Mrs. Mouse, are you within?"
Heigho, says Rowley,
"Oh, yes, kind sirs, I'm sitting to spin."
With a rowley powley, gammon and spinach,
Heigho, says Anthony Rowley!
"Pray, Mrs. Mouse, will you give us some beer?
Heigho, says Rowley,
For Froggy and I are fond of good cheer."
With a rowley powley, gammon and spinach,
Heigho, says Anthony Rowley!
"Pray, Mr. Frog, will you give us a song?
Heigho, says Rowley,
But let it be something that's not very long."
With a rowley powley, gammon and spinach,
Heigho, says Anthony Rowley!
[Pg 194] "Indeed, Mrs. Mouse," replied Mr. Frog,
Heigho, says Rowley,
"A cold has made me as hoarse as a hog."
With a rowley powley, gammon and spinach,
Heigho, says Anthony Rowley!
"Since you have caught cold, Mr. Frog," Mousey said,
Heigho, says Rowley,
"I'll sing you a song that I have just made."
With a rowley powley, gammon and spinach,
Heigho, says Anthony Rowley!
[Pg 195] But while they were all a merry-making,
Heigho, says Rowley,
A cat and her kittens came tumbling in.
With a rowley powley, gammon and spinach,
Heigho, says Anthony Rowley!
The cat she seized the rat by the crown;
Heigho, says Rowley,
The kittens they pulled the little mouse down.
With a rowley powley, gammon and spinach,
Heigho, says Anthony Rowley!
[Pg 196] This put Mr. Frog in a terrible fright;
Heigho, says Rowley,
He took up his hat, and he wished them good-night.
With a rowley powley, gammon and spinach,
Heigho, says Anthony Rowley!
But as Froggy was crossing over a brook,
Heigho, says Rowley,
A lily-white duck came and gobbled him up.
With a rowley powley, gammon and spinach,
Heigho, says Anthony Rowley!
[Pg 197] So there was an end of one, two, and three,
Heigho, says Rowley,
The Rat, the Mouse, and the little Frog-gee!
With a rowley powley, gammon and spinach,
Heigho, says Anthony Rowley!
When I was a bachelor
When I was a bachelor I lived by myself,
And all the meat I got I put upon a shelf,
The rats and the mice did lead me such a life,
That I went to London, to get myself a wife.
The streets were so broad, and the lanes were so narrow,
I could not get my wife home without a wheelbarrow,
The wheelbarrow broke, my wife got a fall,
Down tumbled wheelbarrow, little wife, and all.