Doctor Foster travels to Gloucester in the rain and steps straight into a puddle up to his middle. Four lines, one pratfall, and enough comic timing that children ask for it again.
A bouncy chant: stamp in the puddle on 'middle'.
From Mother Goose / Nursery Rhymes (traditional). See the whole collection.
Doctor Foster went to Glo'ster,
In a shower of rain;
He stepped in a puddle, up to his middle,
And never went there again.
About this rhyme
The story you will hear is that Doctor Foster is really King Edward the First, who rode to Gloucester, was pitched into deep mud, and was so cross he never went back. It is a good story. It is also unproven, and the rhyme was not written down until the 1800s, hundreds of years after Edward. So enjoy the tale, but hold it lightly.
This is a rainy-day rhyme, best with wellies and a real puddle. Indoors, a cushion or a folded blanket makes a fine puddle to flop into. Play up the last line with mock outrage, poor Doctor Foster giving up on Gloucester for good. Children like the idea of a grown-up in a proper mess.
Public domain. Text from The Real Mother Goose (Blanche Fisher Wright, 1916), via Project Gutenberg. View the source edition