The Wooing (There Was a Little Man Who Wooed a Little Maid) Lyrics
A little man asks a little maid to marry him; she answers with a practical question about dinner and a joke about who will turn the roasting spit.
The Wooing (There Was a Little Man Who Wooed a Little Maid)
There was a little man,
Who wooed a little maid;
And he said: "Little maid, will you wed, wed, wed?
I have little more to say,
So will you ay or nay
For the least said is soonest mend-ed, ded, ded."
Then the little maid replied:
"Should I be your little bride,
Pray what must we have for to eat, eat, eat?
Will the flame that you're so rich in
Light a fire in the kitchen?
Or the little god of Love turn the spit, spit, spit?"
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/the-wooing/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken in two voices, one eager and one teasing
- Best for ages
- 4 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Little maid, will you wed, wed, wed? | Hold out one hand as if asking, and tap it three times on the beat. |
| Pray what must we have for to eat, eat, eat? | Rub your tummy on each 'eat'. |
| Or the little god of Love turn the spit, spit, spit? | Turn an invisible handle in the air. |
What Does The Wooing (There Was a Little Man Who Wooed a Little Maid) Mean?
The little man asks for an answer, ay or nay, which means yes or no, and adds the old saying that the least said is soonest mended. The words wed, wed, wed and mend-ed, ded, ded are stretched to make a bouncing rhyme.
The maid has a good answer ready. She asks what they will have for dinner. The man is rich in flame, meaning the warmth of his feelings, but she wants to know whether it will light the kitchen fire, or whether the little god of Love will turn the roasting spit. The joke is that warm feelings do not cook a meal.
History and Origin
The rhyme is a short courting scene in two verses in Walter Jerrold's The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes (1903). The first verse is the man's question and the second is the maid's reply.
Learning Activities
- Two voices: one child asks the question and another gives the reply, then swap parts.
- Plan the dinner: ask the children what the maid and the little man could cook for their first meal.
- Stretch the rhyme: clap the rhyming words wed, eat and spit and see how many other words fit the beat.
- Old words: talk about words like 'wooed' and 'maid' and what they mean today.