Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened the birds began to sing,
Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?
The king was in his counting house counting out his money,
The queen was in the parlour eating bread and honey.
The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes,
When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose!
There isn't much historical background to this rhyme other than in the early 17th Century cooks/chefs would bake pies then fill them with live songbirds. When the pie was cut open the birds would fly out much to the amusement of the dinner guests. The servants would then bring in the 'proper' pie for everyone to eat.
Back in those days the 'commoners' believed that all a King did was count his money and all a Queen did was eat bread and honey - a great delicacy of the time. As for the maid? All I can think is that a blackbird - still angry from being encased in a pie - decided to get his own back by flying off with her nose!
Comments
2. I wholeheartedly agree with cupcakes/happiness comparison over on the right side of your blog. :-)
Some Dark Romantic
Mina - thanks for dropping by. Where would we be without cupcakes??
Enjoy the rest of the challenge!