A gentle rhyme about treating a cat kindly, promising not to pull her tail or chase her off. Its soft rhythm and reassuring message make it a natural pick for a quiet moment with a small child.
From Mother Goose / Nursery Rhymes (traditional). See the whole collection.
I like little Pussy,
Her coat is so warm,
And if I don't hurt her
She'll do me no harm;
So I'll not pull her tail,
Nor drive her away,
But Pussy and I
Very gently will play.
How it's usually said today
I love little pussy,
Her coat is so warm,
And if I don't hurt her
She'll do me no harm.
I'll sit by the fire,
And give her some food,
And pussy will love me
Because I am good.
Traditional rhymes have no single fixed text. The main version on this page is as printed in our source edition; this one is the wording most people say today.
Public domain. Text from The Real Mother Goose (Blanche Fisher Wright, 1916), via Project Gutenberg. View the source edition