Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's Stories Part 9

To which one of the opposite party responds:--

Ye had better licht, and bide a' nicht, And I'll choose ye a partner bonnie and bricht.

The first speaker again says:--

Then wha wad ye choose an' I wad bide?

Answer:--

The fairest and best in a' the countryside.

At the same time presenting a female and mentioning her name. If the choice is satisfactory, the male player will say:--

I'll set her up on the bonnie pear tree, It's straucht and tall and sae is she; I wad wauk a' nicht her love to be.

If, however, the choice is not satisfactory, he may reply:--

I'll set her up on the auld fael d.y.k.e, Where she may rot ere I be ripe; The corbies her auld banes wadna pyke.

Or (if the maiden be of surly temper):--

I'll set her up on the high crab-tree, It's sour and dour, and sae is she; She may gang to the mools unkissed for me.

But he may decline civilly, by saying:--

She's for another, she's no for me, I thank ye for your courtesie.

A similar ritual is gone through with respect to one of the gentler s.e.x, where such rhymes as the following are used. In the case of acceptance the lady will say:--

I'll set him up at my table-head, And feed him there wi' milk and bread.

Whereas, if the proposal is not agreeable, her reply may be:--

I'll put him on a riddle, and blaw him owre the sea, Wha will buy [Jamie Paterson] for me?

Or:--

I'll set him up on a high lum-heid, And blaw 'im in the air wi' poother and lead.

A refusal on either side must, of course, be atoned for by a "wadd," or forfeit--which may consist of a piece of money, a knife, a thimble, or any little article which the owner finds convenient for the purpose.

Then, when a sufficient number of persons have made forfeits, the business of redeeming them commences, which may afford any amount of amus.e.m.e.nt. He, or she, as the case happens, may be ordered to "kiss the four corners of the room;" "bite an inch off the poker;" "kneel to the prettiest, bow to the wittiest, and kiss the one he (or she) loves best," or any one of a dozen similarly silly ordeals, as the doomster proposes, may have to be gone through. When the forfeits have all been redeemed the game is ended.

Similar to the foregoing, in some respects, is "~The Wadds and the Wears~," which John Mactaggart, the writer of _The Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_, describes as (in his day) "the most celebrated amus.e.m.e.nt of the ingle-ring" in the south-west of Scotland. As in the "Wadds,"

the players are seated round the hearth. One in the ring (says Mactaggart), speaks as follows:--

I hae been awa' at the wadds and the wears, These seven lang years; And's come hame a puir broken ploughman; What will ye gie me to help me to my trade?

He may either say he's a "puir broken ploughman," or any other trade; but since he has chosen that trade, some of the articles belonging to it must always be given or offered, in order to recruit him. But the article he most wants he privately tells one of the party, who is not allowed, of course, to offer him anything, as he knows the thing, which will throw the _offerer_ in a _wadd_, and must be avoided as much as possible--for to be in a _wadd_ is a very serious matter, as shall afterwards be explained. Now the one on the left hand of the poor ploughman makes the first offer, by way of answer to what above was said: "I'll gie ye a _coulter_ to help ye to your trade."

The ploughman answers, "I don't thank ye for your _coulter_, I hae ane already." Then another offers him another article belonging to the ploughman's business, such as the _mool-brod_, but this also is refused; another, perhaps, gives the _sock_, another the _stilts_, another the _spattle_, another the _naigs_, another the _naig-graith_, and so on; until one gives the _soam_, which was the article he most wanted, and was the thing secretly told to one, and is the thing that throws the giver in a _wadd_, out of which he is relieved in the following manner:--

The ploughman says to the one in the _wadd_, "Whether will ye hae three questions and twa commands, or three commands and twa questions, to answer or gang on wi', sae that ye may win oot o' the _wadd_?" For the one so fixed has always the choice which of these alternatives to take.

Suppose he takes the first, two commands and three questions, then a specimen of these may run so:--

"I command ye to kiss the _crook_," says the ploughman, which must be completely obeyed by the one in the _wadd_--his naked lips must salute the _sooty_ implement.

"Secondly," saith the ploughman, "I command ye to stand up in that neuk, and say--

'Here stan' I, as stiffs a stake, Wha'll kiss me for pity's sake?'"

Which must also be done; in a corner of the house must he stand and repeat that couplet, till some tender-hearted la.s.s relieves him. Now for the questions which are most deeply laid, or so _touching_ to him, that he finds much difficulty to answer them.

"Firstly, then, Suppose ye were sittin' aside Maggie Lowden and Jennie Logan, your twa great sweethearts, what ane o'm wad ye ding ower, and what ane wad ye turn to and clap and cuddle?" He makes answer by choosing Maggie Lowden, perhaps, to the great mirth of the party.

"Secondly, then, Suppose you were standin' oot i' the cauld, on the tap o' Cairnhattie, whether wad ye cry on Peggie Kirtle or Nell o'

Killimingie to come wi' your plaid?"

He answers again in a similar manner.

"Lastly, then, Suppose you were in a boat wi' Tibbie Tait, Mary Kairnie, Sallie Snadrap, and Kate o' Minnieive, and it was to cowp wi' ye, what ane o'm wad ye _sink_? what ane wad ye _soom_? wha wad ye bring to lan'?

and wha wad ye marry?" Then he answers again, to the fun of the company, perhaps, in this way, "I wad sink Mary Kairnie, soom Tibbie Tait, bring Sallie Snadrap aneath my oxter to lan', and marry sweet Kate o' Minnieive."

And so ends that bout at the _wadds and the wears_.

But the games engaged in exclusively by the "wee folks" are the really delightsome ones. Such is "~The Widow of Babylon~," the ritual of which, less elaborate, resembles that of "Merry-Ma-Tanzie," though the rhymes are different. Girls only play here. One is chosen for the centre. The others, with hands joined, form a ring about her, and move round briskly, singing:--

Here's a poor widow from Babylon, With six poor children all alone; One can bake, and one can brew, One can shape, and one can sew.

One can sit at the fire and spin, One can bake a cake for the king; Come choose you east, come choose you west, Come choose the one that you love best.

The girl in the middle chooses one from the ring, naming her, and sings:--

I choose the fairest that I do see, [Jeanie Anderson] come to me.

The girl chosen enters the ring, communicating the name of her sweetheart, when those in the ring resume their lightsome motion, and sing:--

Now they are married, I wish them joy, Every year a girl or boy; Loving each other like sister and brother, I pray this couple may kiss together.

The girls within the ring kiss. The one who first occupied the circle then joins the ring, while the last to come in enacts the part of mistress; and so on the game goes until all have had their turn.

"~London Bridge~" is a well-known and widely played game, though here and there with slightly differing rhymes. Two children--the tallest and strongest, as a rule--standing face to face, hold up their hands, making the form of an arch. The others form a long line by holding on to each other's dresses, and run under. Those running sing the first verse, while the ones forming the arch sing the second, and alternate verses, of the following rhyme:--

London bridge is fallen down, Fallen down, fallen down; London bridge is fallen down, My fair lady.