Two favourites bundled together: the quick hop over a candlestick, and the riddling crowd of wives, sacks, cats and kits bound for St Ives. Both live or die on delivery, all rhythm and a grin at the finish.
From Mother Goose / Nursery Rhymes (traditional). See the whole collection.
Jack be nimble, Jack be quick,
Jack jump over the candlestick.
GOING TO ST. IVES
As I was going to St. Ives
I met a man with seven wives.
Every wife had seven sacks,
Every sack had seven cats,
Every cat had seven kits.
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,
How many were going to St. Ives?
Public domain. Text from The Real Mother Goose (Blanche Fisher Wright, 1916), via Project Gutenberg. View the source edition