The Poetry Corner

Nursery Rhyme. CCXC. Games.

By Unknown

There were three jovial Welshmen, As I have heard them say, And they would go a-hunting Upon St. David's day. All the day they hunted, And nothing could they find But a ship a-sailing, A-sailing with the wind. One said it was a ship, The other he said, nay; The third said it was a house, With the chimney blown away. And all the night they hunted, And nothing could they find But the moon a-gliding, A-gliding with the wind. One said it was the moon, The other he said, nay; The third said it was a cheese, And half o't cut away. And all the day they hunted, And nothing could they find But a hedgehog in a bramble bush, And that they left behind. The first said it was a hedgehog, The second he said, nay; The third it was a pincushion, And the pins stuck in wrong way. And all the night they hunted, And nothing could they find But a hare in a turnip field, And that they left behind. The first said it was a hare, The second he said, nay; The third said it was a calf, And the cow had run away. And all the day they hunted, And nothing could they find But an owl in a holly tree, And that they left behind. One said it was an owl, The other he said, nay; The third said 'twas an old man, And his beard growing grey.