A hush and a promise of bread, milk, custard or a tart, whatever will settle a crying dolly. Gentle and reassuring, it is a nice one to borrow when a small person needs exactly the same comfort.
From Mother Goose / Nursery Rhymes (traditional). See the whole collection.
Hush, baby, my dolly, I pray you don't cry,
And I'll give you some bread, and some milk by-and-by;
Or perhaps you like custard, or, maybe, a tart,
Then to either you're welcome, with all my heart.
About this rhyme
A gentle comfort rhyme, the kind said while rocking a real baby or a doll to stop the crying. Bread and milk, custard, a tart: whatever it takes. It reads nicely as a genuine offer, said slowly, one food at a time, while you rock.
Public domain. Text from The Real Mother Goose (Blanche Fisher Wright, 1916), via Project Gutenberg. View the source edition