A riddle rhyme describing 'Old Mother Twitchett', with one eye, a long tail, and a habit of leaving a bit of herself behind at every gap. The answer is a needle and thread, and working it out is half the fun.
From Mother Goose / Nursery Rhymes (traditional). See the whole collection.
Old Mother Twitchett had but one eye,
And a long tail which she let fly;
And every time she went through a gap,
A bit of her tail she left in a trap.
About this rhyme
Rhyme: 'Old Mother Twitchett had but one eye, And a long tail'...loses part of it going through gaps - the standard riddle answer is a threaded needle (eye, thread, stitching).
"A Needle and Thread" is a riddle dressed as a tiny story: Old Mother Twitchett has one eye and a long tail, and loses a bit of that tail every time she goes through a gap. Once you know the answer, a needle threading through cloth, the picture is exact.
A good one to act out with an actual needle and thread, at a safe distance from small fingers.
Public domain. Text from The Real Mother Goose (Blanche Fisher Wright, 1916), via Project Gutenberg. View the source edition