This Little Pig Went to Market

DESCRIPTION: "This little pig(gy) went to market. This little pig stayed at home. This little pig had roast beef. This little pig had none. This little pig said, 'wee, wee, wee....' All the way home" (or "I can't find my way home").
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: c. 1765 (Mother Goose's Melody)
KEYWORDS: animal home food
FOUND IN: New Zealand US(MW) Ireland
REFERENCES (8 citations):
Sutton-Smith-NZ-GamesOfNewZealandChilden/FolkgamesOfChildren, p. 183, "This Little Pig" (1 text)
Sackett/Koch-KansasFolklore, p. 121, "(This little pig went to market)" (1 text)
Brady-AllInAllIn, p. 7, "This little piggy went to market" (1 text)
Kane-SongsAndSayingsOfAnUlsterChildhood, p. 28, "This little piggy went to market" (1 text)
Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes 412, "This Little Pig Went to Market" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-AnnotatedMotherGoose #577, pp. 233-235, "(This Pig Went to Market)" (1 text plus several variants in the notes)
Dolby-OrangesAndLemons, p. 165, "This Little Piggy Went to Market" (1 text)
Delamar-ChildrensCountingOutRhymes, p. 45, "This Little Piggy" (1 text)

NOTES [69 words]: Katherine Elwes Thomas, The Real Personages of Mother Goose, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., 1930, p. 236 asserts that the pig that went to market is Charles II and the pig that stayed home is his sister Henrietta. This makes about as much sense as every other Thomas interpretation of a nursery rhyme -- i.e., effectively none. Apart from everything else, Henrietta eventually married into the French royal family! - RBW
Last updated in version 6.6
File: OO2412

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