140 NURSERY RHYMES.

 

CCXXII.

THE cuckoo and the gowk,

The laverock and the lark,

The twire-snipe, the weather-bleak ;
How many birds is that?

Three, for the second name in each line is a synonym.

[The cuckoo is called a gow in the north of England; the lark, a Zaverock; and the
twire-snipe and weather-bleak, or weather-bleater, are the same birds. ]

CCXXIII.

HODDY-DODDY,
With a round black body ;
Three feet and a wooden hat:
What’s that?
An iron pot.

{In the country, an iron pot with three legs, and a wooden cover, the latter raised or
put on by means of a peg at the top, is s used for suspending over a fire, or to place
on the hearth with a wood fire. |

CCXXIV.

THE fiddler and his wife,
The piper and his mother,

Ate three half cakes, three whole cakes,
And three quarters of another.

How much did each get?

The fiddler’s wife was the piper’s mother. Each one there-
fore got $+ 1+} or 13.