Baa Baa Black Sheep.

             Baa, Baa, black sheep, have you any wool?.

             Yes, sir, yes sir, three bags full.

             One for my Master,.

             One for my Dame,.

             And one for the little boy who lives down the lane.

             During the Middle Ages peasants were required to give one-third of their income to their "master"--the King; one-third to the "dame"--the nobility; and the final third for themselves--the "little boy." One version of this rhyme ends with, "And none for the little boy." The question is, which version is more accurate? The peasants in different areas may have changed this last line to depict the tyranny of their particular region more accurately (Ward 5). .

             Recently "politically correct" groups have reinterpreted this rhyme as being racist. It seems that a Birmingham nursery school can no longer read children Baa Baa Black Sheep because it has "racist undertones." The ruling by the city council delighted political activists but left parents and teachers fuming. The Working Group Against Racism in Children's Resources, which issues guidelines to education authorities, said: "The history behind the rhyme is very negative and also very offensive to black people, due to the fact that the rhyme originates from slavery. The rhyme has colonial links: `Three bags full' refers to the three bags of wool, which the slaves were told to collect and `yes sir, yes sir' is how the slaves would reply to the masters.'' .

             However, most academics believe the rhyme was a protest against a wool tax in 1275. This wool tax required peasants to give a third of their income to the king (master), a third to the nobility (dame), and could keep a third for themselves (the little boy) (Baring-Gould 35). .

             .

             Hickory Dickory Dock.

             Hickory, dickory, dock,.

             The mouse ran up the clock.

             The clock struck one,.

             And down he come.

             Hickory, dickory dock.

             This rhyme was simply a rhyme passed down between shepherds. The "hickory, dickory, dock" chant is an example of an onomatopoeia.