Little Miss Muffet |
Eating her curds and whey,
Along came a spider,
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.'
There are two different stories behind this nursery rhyme.
The first is that Little Miss Muffet was actually Patience Muffet, the stepdaughter of the famous 16th century entomologist, Dr Muffet (1553-1604). He compiled the first catalogue of British insects and it is said that he wrote this rhyme when one morning, whilst Patience was eating her breakfast of curds and whey, a large spider which had escaped from his collection came running towards her and she was so terrified that she ran away screaming.
The second story claims that this rhyme refers to Mary, Queen of Scots (1543-1587). She was Miss Muffet in the rhyme and the spider was in fact religious reformer John Knox whom Mary was frightened of.
So, I leave it up to you to decide which one is closer to the truth. Personally, I like the first one.
Comments
I've so loved your A-Z theme! Brava!
Stopping by from the Challenge. Hope you'll visit back.