The Man In The Wilderness

Since we were talking about nursery rhymes and the primer, I thought I'd share my favorite:

THE MAN IN THE WILDERNESS

The man in the wilderness
Asked me
How many strawberries
Grew in the sea
I answered him
As I thought good
As many red herrings
Grew in the wood

In my copy of Mother Goose, the illustration showed a little girl, so she was a SMART little girl. My parents often did not punish me for talking back, because I would say things which cut my parents as both true and painfully funny. I just had to know where the line was and make sure not to cross it. Add to that a pre-adolescent passion for the sea which has not yet ebbed (get it? I'm so funny) and you have my favorite nursery rhyme! (This illustration was by Arthur Rackham and not the one in my version... The Man in the Wilderness was more like the Shaggy Man from the Oz series... All covered in tatters but still human looking.)