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In the earliest known versions, the first ingredient for boys is either "snips" or "snigs", [6] the latter being a Cumbrian dialect word for a small eel. The rhyme sometimes appears as part of a larger work called What Folks Are Made Of or What All the World Is Made Of.
The first two lines at least appeared in dance books (1708, 1719, 1728), satires (1709, 1725), and a political broadside (1711). It appeared in the earliest extant collection of nursery rhymes, Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book, published in London around 1744. The 1744 version included the first six lines. [3]
The rhyme (and at least some of its variants) tells the story of an extremely beautiful girl (of Dutch descent, hence the song's title) who is popular with boys (particularly around the neighborhood, block or the whole town) and has a rather unattractive boyfriend; some versions mention that the boyfriend dumps the pretty Dutch girl in favor of an even prettier girl.
Some nursery rhymes turn up in disguise: The Moon shines Bright, The Stars give a light, And you may kiss A pretty girl At ten a clock at night. This is an earlier version of: When I was a little boy My mammy kept me in, Now I am a great boy, I'm fit to serve the king. I can handle a musket, And I can smoke a pipe. And I can kiss a pretty girl
Because I am good. I'll pat pretty pussy, And then she will purr; And thus show her thanks For my kindness to her. I'll not pinch her ears, Nor tread on her paw, Lest I should provoke her To use her sharp claw. I never will vex her Nor make her displeased: For pussy can't bear To be worried and teased. [2]
The answer was “girls who wear glasses.” Defending champion Will Wallace got the answer right. “Yeah, a little problematic,” host Ken Jennings said after Wallace gave his answer.
The rhyme was first printed in 1820 by James Hogg in Jacobite Reliques. Apple Pie ABC: United Kingdom 1871 [7] Edward Lear made fun of the original rhyme in his nonsense parody "A was once an apple pie". Akka bakka bonka rakka: Norway: 1901 [8] Nora Kobberstad's Norsk Lekebok (Book of Norwegian Games). [8] All The Pretty Little Horses
[2] [3] A showcase for poetic wordplay, the Miracles utilized several famous nursery rhymes in this song; in fact, the song's title itself is a variation of the rhyme "What Are Little Girls/Little Boys Made Of?"