Children called out under a bright moon, told to leave their supper and their beds behind for one more game. It carries the giddy, slightly forbidden joy of being allowed out after dark.
From Mother Goose / Nursery Rhymes (traditional). See the whole collection.
Girls and boys, come out to play,
The moon doth shine as bright as day;
Leave your supper, and leave your sleep,
And come with your playfellows into the street.
Come with a whoop, come with a call,
Come with a good will or not at all.
Up the ladder and down the wall,
A half-penny roll will serve us all.
You find milk, and I'll find flour,
And we'll have a pudding in half an hour.
Public domain. Text from The Real Mother Goose (Blanche Fisher Wright, 1916), via Project Gutenberg. View the source edition