There Was an Old Woman, as I've Heard Tell Lyrics
An old woman falls asleep by the road on market day, and wakes up so changed that she is not sure who she is anymore. Only her little dog can tell her, and he does not recognize her at all.
There Was an Old Woman, as I've Heard Tell
There was an old woman, as I've heard tell,
She went to market her eggs for to sell;
She went to market all on a market day,
And she fell asleep on the King's highway.
There came by a pedlar, whose name was Stout,
He cut her petticoats all round about;
He cut her petticoats up to the knees,
Which made the old woman to shiver and freeze.
When the little old woman first did wake,
She began to shiver and she began to shake;
She began to wonder, and she began to cry,
"Lauk a mercy on me, this can't be I!
But if it be I, as I hope it be,
I've a little dog at home, and he'll know me;
If it be I, he'll wag his little tail,
And if it be not I, he'll loudly bark and wail."
Home went the little woman all in the dark,
Up got the little dog, and he began to bark;
He began to bark, so she began to cry,
"Lauk a mercy on me, this is none of I!"
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/there-was-an-old-woman-as-ive-heard-tell/
- Type
- Mother Goose, Animal Rhymes
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
What Does There Was an Old Woman, as I've Heard Tell Mean?
While she sleeps, a pedlar called Stout snips her long petticoats short as a prank. When she wakes up cold and looking different, she wonders whether she is still herself. She decides her dog will know: he will wag his tail if it is her, and bark if it is not. When the dog barks, she wails, "Lauk a mercy on me, this is none of I!" Lauk a mercy was an old exclamation, like "Goodness me!"
History and Origin
This story rhyme was popular in Britain and America in the 1800s and appears in many old picture books. The version here is from Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes. A pedlar was a traveling seller who walked from village to village with goods to sell, often getting the blame for tricks like this one.
Learning Activities
- Who am I? talk about how we know who we are, and how a pet recognizes its owner.
- Act it out: one child is the old woman and another the dog that barks at the end.
- Sequence the story: draw four pictures: going to market, falling asleep, waking up, the dog barking.