Little Bell Dreer and the Dish-Cover Lyrics
Bell Dreer looks into a shiny dish-cover and sees a girl who pulls the same faces she does. She is sure it is a real child, tells her that her doll is sick and her book is torn, and begs her to come out and play.
Little Bell Dreer and the Dish-Cover
O MAMMA! look, cried little Bell Dreer;
There's a girl in the cover like me;
And whenever I move she looks so queer;
It's so funny - I never did see!
Why, she makes a face if I turn my cheek;
She makes a face if I wink.
Oh! her hair runs off, and she tries to speak;
Why, she's frightened at me, I think!
Come out little girl, and see my doll;
Come out of the shine and play.
I haven't a bit of a sister at all,
And my dolly is sick to-day.
My dolly is sick, and my book is torn,
And my hair has got to be curled;
And mother is reading. It's real forlorn
To be all alone in the world.
Come out, little girl. Oh! I wish you would.
[You mustn't make faces that way.]
I'd lift you out of the shine if I could,
And play with you all the whole day.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/little-bell-dreer-and-the-dish-cover/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Mary Mapes Dodge
- Tune
- Wide-eyed and excited at first, then slower and lonelier in the third and fourth verses
- Best for ages
- 3 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| She makes a face if I turn my cheek; | Turn your head to one side and pull a funny face. |
| She makes a face if I wink. | Give one big wink. |
What Does Little Bell Dreer and the Dish-Cover Mean?
The joke is one the listener sees before Bell does. The "girl in the cover" is Bell's own reflection. A dish-cover is a shiny metal dome set over a plate of food on the table, and its curved surface stretches and squashes a face, which is why the girl looks queer, an old word for odd. When Bell turns, winks or makes a face, so does the girl inside. Her "hair runs off" because the curve bends the picture.
Under the joke sits something kind. Bell has no sister, her doll is sick, her book is torn and her mother is busy reading, so she feels forlorn, which means lonely and left out. She talks to the reflection as a friend and offers to share her doll. The bracketed line near the end, telling the girl not to make faces, is a nice touch, because every face the girl makes is Bell's own.
History and Origin
Mary Mapes Dodge's Rhymes and Jingles carries a copyright line of 1874 and a title page dated 1875. The book is dedicated "To the children". The book's own pages name her novel Hans Brinker.
Learning Activities
- Spoon mirror: look into the back of a shiny spoon and then its bowl, and describe how your face changes. Talk about why Bell's friend looks different.
- Copycat faces: make a face and let the child copy it exactly, then swap.
- Lonely or not? ask the child how Bell feels, and what they would say to cheer her up.
- Doll visit: sit a doll in front of a mirror and let the child introduce it to its reflection.