13
I WENT TO TOWN ON MONDAY

I went to town on Monday

To buy myself a coat,

But on the way I met a man

Who traveled with a caravan,

And bought a billy-goat.

I went to town on Tuesday

And bought a fancy vest.

I kept the pretty bucklestraps,

Buttonholes and pocketflaps,

And threw away the rest.

 

I went to town on Thursday

To buy a loaf of bread,

But when I got there, goodness sakes!

The town was full of rattlesnakes —

The bakers all were dead.

 

I went to town on Saturday

To get myself a wife,

But when I saw the lady fair

I gnashed my teeth and pulled my hair

And scampered for my life.

[NOTES] This rhyme helps children learn the days of the week. This man goes to town four days to buy things, but he does not have any luck. On Monday, he does not get to the town. He buys a goat on the road to town. On Tuesday he buys clothes just to cut off the buttons and such. On Thursday he gets to town, but finds it full of snakes that have killed all the bakers. On Saturday he goes to town to get a wife, but he thinks she is not beautiful and so he runs away.

caravan—group of people living together in small houses that travel on wheels

fancy—very beautiful

buckle-straps—metal that keeps clothes closed

pocketflaps—the covers for pockets

goodness sakes—idiom that means oh dear or oh no

rattlesnakes—snakes that make a sound with their tails

to gnash—to bite hard many times

scampered—run

for my life—frightened I might die