Little Brown Betty lived under a pan,
And brewed good ale for digger-men.
Digger-men came every day,
And little Brown Betty went hopping away.'

William Howitt,
A Boy's Adventure in the Wilds of Australia (1854)

~~~ Untitled ~~~

Miss Muffet the lady is called,
Whom we all understand to have squalled
When a friendly old spider
Dropped close down beside her:
She was so amazed and appalled!

If Miss Muffet will put on her hat,
We will go for a walk and a chat;
Not far need we ramble,
Nor over rocks scramble,
Our way will be easy and flat.

I've a friend we will both call and see,
A recluse most unsocial is he,
Yet his fine taste in dressing
Ne'er fails in impressing
Us all with his grave dignity ...

He, a clever mechanic, begins
By stretching long ropes, which he spins
Of silk threads wove together
In sunshiny weather,
And so, soon a network he wins.

Of bright shining silk it is made,
And in accurate patterns displayed
In a trellis, whose angles
With dewdrops, like spangles,
Each morning at dawn are arrayed

Then, under a leaf or a flower,
He sits in a shadowy bower,
So patiently watching
Those fine meshes catching
The flies he intends to devour.

Now, my charming Miss Muffet, when next
By a spider your temper is vent,
Observe him more closely,
And do not morosely
Run off from him, cross and perplex".

Louisa Anne Meredith,
Waratah Rhymes for Young Australia (1891)

~~~ Untitled ~~~

Little Tommy Drew
Went to Wallaroo
To search for a mine:
He walked by the road
And found a big load,
And said, "What a rich man am I."

Anon,
Bell's Life in Adelaids (May 1961)

~~~ Who Killed Cockatoo? ~~~
~ Part I ~

Who killed Cockatoo?
I, said the Mawpawk,
With my tomahawk:
I killed Cockatoo.

Who saw him die?
I, said the Opossum,
From the gum-blossom:
I saw him die.

Who caught his blood?
I, said the Lark,
With this piece of bark:
I caught his blood.

Who'll make his shroud?
I, said the Eagle,
With my thread and needle:
I'll make his shroud.

Who'll be chief mourner?
I, said the Plover,
For I was his lover:
I'll be chief mourner.

Who'll dig his grave?
I, said the Wombat,
My nails for my spade:
I'll dig his grave.

Who'll say a prayer?
I, said the Magpie,
My best I will try?
I'll say a prayer.

Who'll bear him to his tomb?
I, said the Platipus,
On my back, gently, thus:
I'll bear him to his tomb.

Who'll be the parson?
I, said the Crow,
Solemn and slow:
I'll be the parson.

Who'll carry the link?
I, said the Macaw,
With my little paw:
I'll carry the link.

Who'll chant a psalm?
I, said the Black Swan,
I'll sing his death song:
I'll chant a psalm.

Who'll watch in the night?
I, said the Wild Dog,
As he crept from a log:
I'll watch in the night.

Who'll toll the bell?
I, said the Pelican,
Again and again:
I'll toll the bell.

Then droop'd every head,
And ceas'd every song,
As onward they sped,
All mournful along.

All join in a ring'
With wing linking wing,
And trilling and twittering,
Around the grave sing:

Alas! Cockatoo,
How low cost thou lie;
A long, sad adieu!
A fond parting sigh!

~ Part II ~

Then came the Wild Cat,
And the bushy-tail Rat,
With a squeak and a mew;
While, in a hop,
Up came, with a pop,
The big Kangaroo.

The Quail, and the Rail,
Were there without fail;
And the pretty Blue Wren,
With master Emu,
And screeching Curlew,
From a beautiful glen'

And the bird of the Mound,
In Murray-scrub found,
With its eggs in a row;
And the Parrot with crest,
In a green and blue vest,
As grand as a beau.

And the Lyre Bird, grand,
That ne'er still will stand,
Came in on tip-toe.
And straw-colored Ibis,
Once worshipped with Isis,
Was present also.

And the Bronze-winged Pigeon,
And the roly fat Widgeon,
From hill and from dell;
And he that cloth build
A bower well filled
With spangle and shell.

Then flying very fast,
Came Laughing Jackass,
Hoo boo hoo! ha ha ha!
While he gobbled a snail,
And wagged his big tail!
Hoo boo boo! ha ha ha!

And the Snake, sneaking sly
With his sharp glittering eye,
As he searches and pries;
And the Lizard with frill,
Like a soldier at drill,
That fights till he dies.

And the saucy Tom Tit,
With his pretty 'twit twit,'
And his tail in the air;
And the wary quick Snipe,
With a bill like a pipe,
Hopping hither and there.

O wicked Mawpawk!
We'll have you caught,
For the deed you have done;
We'll slyly creep
When you're fast asleep,
And break your bones ev'ry one.

'Yes Yes,' said the Hawk,
And the bird that can talk,
'We'll strike off his head.'
'Ah, Ah,' said the Owl,
'By fish, flesh and fowl,
'We'll bang! shoot him dead.'

So they all flew away,
And still fly to this day,
O'er hill and o'er plain;
But he dives in the rushes,
And hides under bushes,
And they search but in vain.

William Anderson Cawthorne,
Who Killed Cockatoo? (1870)

~~~ Untitled ~~~

'Johnny and Jane and Jack and Lou;
Butler's Stairs through Woolloomooloo;
Woolloomooloo, and 'cross the Domain,
Round the Block, and home again!
Heigh, ho! tipsy toe,
Give us a kiss and away we go.'

Anon,
('Johnny and Jane'),
Bulletin (12 March 1898)

~~~ Hey, diddle, diddle! ~~~

Hey, diddle, diddle! The cat and the fiddle
Are getting old-fashioned, I trow;
More novel 'twould be for a great wallaby
The organ to play with one toe.

For the moon to give chase to the man on her
face, And the comet to join in the fun;
For the evergreen rabbit to weep at the habit
Of squatters infesting its run.

For the novelist pale to yield up his tale
To the sheep of go-peep's woeful verse;
For the ghost of the corner to sit on Jack Homer
While Coroner Cats seek a hearse.

For small dogs to giggle when cows give a wriggle,
That lands them away past the moon,
Is really quite stale, as is also the tale
Of the dish making off with that spoon.

Now, not to make offwith a spoon when there's moon,
Is a far more astonishing thing;
And to see the moon wriggle-oh, hey, diddle, diddle,
In that case you really might sing.

Ethel Turner,
Gum Leaves (1900)

~~~ Au Revoir ~~~

Solomon Simon met a snake,
He passed the time of day,
'And next time you're not wide awake,
Just send me word I pray.'

'I'm sleeping now,'ehe snake replied,
And curled up in a hurry.
Said Simon, 'Glad to hear it friend,
Sweet dreams, but I must scurry.'
Ethel Turner, Gum Leaves (1900)

There was an old Man in the Sun
Who said If I cared to have some fun
All the mountians and dales
Hills, island and vales
I'd cook for my twopenny Bun.

There was an old man in the moon
Who said If i'd only a spoon
I'd drink up the sea Every night for my tea
And get thirsty again real soon.

Ethel Turner,
Gum Leaves (1900)

~~~ Mary Had ~~~

Mary had a little shark,
Its teeth were pearly white.
She said, 'Alas! it cannot bark,
Though, bless me, can't it bite.

'To keep the burglars bold away
Each night we turn it loose;
But it can't run as fast as they,
And isn't any use.

'But stay,' she cried, and clapped her hand,
And started off to run,
'I'll take it toa dog-fish, and
'Twill learn to bark like fun.'

Ethel Turner,
Gum Leaves (1900)

~~~ My Pet ~~~

Have you seen the cat of Dorothy Lee?
The one she calls her Catty-Puss?
If she's proud of her pet, then what should I be?
I've got a duck-billed Platypus.

Ethel Turner,
Gum Leaves (1900)

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