A short grumble about the trials of arithmetic, from multiplication to the Rule of Three. More a wry aside than a story, and a nice way to make maths sound less lonely.
From Mother Goose / Nursery Rhymes (traditional). See the whole collection.
Multiplication is vexation,
Division is as bad;
The Rule of Three doth puzzle me,
And Practice drives me mad.
About this rhyme
Text: "Division is as bad" (equal to multiplication's vexation, not worse).
A short, heartfelt grumble about arithmetic: multiplication vexes, division is just as bad, and the Rule of Three, an old method for solving proportion sums, puzzles the speaker completely.
Less a nursery rhyme than a very old complaint about maths homework, good for a laugh with a child who is learning to add.
Public domain. Text from The Real Mother Goose (Blanche Fisher Wright, 1916), via Project Gutenberg. View the source edition