Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

All the king’s horses and

All the king’s men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again

Humpty Dumpty is one of the many nursery rhymes that parents and children around the world know and love. A nursery rhyme is simply a traditional song or poem for children. Parents usually sing them in the form of a lullaby which is a gentle and quiet song /poem that is used to send their child off to sleep. My mom, having bought this book of nursery rhymes, one night began to read them to my little sisters. Humpty Dumpty was on the first page and when she concluded the poem, the first question asked was,

“Did they ever fix Humpty Dumpty?”. What possible answer was there to this type of question? I was eager to hear her answer.

“Yes, Mom,” I say to antagonize the situation. “Did they ever fix Humpty Dumpty?”

“Of course they did,” she says after thinking for a moment. “We just have to get part two.”

There are an unreasonable amount of nursery rhymes that need a little more clarity or, better yet, a part two. For example, Rock-a-bye baby is a popular lullaby used to sing young children to sleep but have you ever read the lyrics? I think parents would be second guessing singing this to their little babies.

Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall

And down will come baby, cradle and all

Now these might not be the lyrics you’ve heard because I, myself, have heard over five different versions of this very song but I find this one the most disturbing. Whether the mother is supposed to be standing there to catch the child and his cradle or the baby falls and, along with the cradle, crashes on the ground, that shouldn’t be left to the young readers to determine.

Some of the more traditional nursery rhymes are simply cruel and unusual. I sat on the couch, playing a Brain Quest board game with my younger sister. It was a simple “pick up a card and see if you can answer the question” type of game, or at least that was what we made it into. I pick up the Reading card and read the question aloud.

“What did the farmer’s wife cut off with a carving knife?”

Of course, I didn’t know and neither did my sister. We turned the card over and were very surprised to see an answer that would never have crossed our minds.

“The three blind mice’s tails.”

I googled “the three blind mice” and found the most disturbing nursery rhyme I had ever read.

Three blind mice, three blind mice

See how they run, see how they run

They all ran after the farmer's wife

Who cut off their tails with a carving knife

Did you ever see such a sight in your life

As the three blind mice?

I couldn’t believe it. Not only was this a nursery rhyme, the question was at a Kindergarten grade level. I mean, they really expect Kindergarteners to know what happened to the three blind mice! I don’t know what nor why anyone would even let a child get a hold of a nursery rhyme so painful and inhumane.

I feel that our society is getting bigger and bigger by the minute. And along with our increase in population comes more fear and more regret. Somethings are out of the hands of us citizens but we need to do our part and take control of the little things that could keep our community further away from corruption.

I didn’t have to mention Jack and Jill tumbling down the hill or Little Miss Muffet being scared away by the spider for you to see and understand how misleading nursery rhymes can be. We need to be more concerned about the things we are teaching our youth and these nursery rhymes are just the beginning. You’d be surprised how big the effect little things have on young children. With cursive no longer being taught at public/charter schools, it’s getting harder and harder to ensure bright futures for our youth. Let’s be more engaged in what we are letting children read and listen to.

I hope my mom can find a part two to Humpty Dumpty because I know some certain someones who would be thrilled to hear of his survival.