A long, cumulative comic tale of an old woman running errands for her dog, who gets into ever more unlikely mischief every time she turns her back. It builds through repetition the way the best long rhymes do, so children can join in on the pattern well before the ending.
From Mother Goose / Nursery Rhymes (traditional). See the whole collection.
Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard,
To give her poor dog a bone;
But when she got there
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.
She went to the baker's
To buy him some bread;
When she came back
The dog was dead.
She went to the undertaker's
To buy him a coffin;
When she got back
The dog was laughing.
She took a clean dish
To get him some tripe;
When she came back
He was smoking a pipe.
She went to the alehouse
To get him some beer;
When she came back
The dog sat in a chair.
She went to the tavern
For white wine and red;
When she came back
The dog stood on his head.
She went to the hatter's
To buy him a hat;
When she came back
He was feeding the cat.
She went to the barber's
To buy him a wig;
When she came back
He was dancing a jig.
She went to the fruiterer's
To buy him some fruit;
When she came back
He was playing the flute.
She went to the tailor's
To buy him a coat;
When she came back
He was riding a goat.
She went to the cobbler's
To buy him some shoes;
When she came back
He was reading the news.
She went to the sempster's
To buy him some linen;
When she came back
The dog was a-spinning.
She went to the hosier's
To buy him some hose;
When she came back
He was dressed in his clothes.
The dame made a curtsy,
The dog made a bow;
The dame said, "Your servant,"
The dog said, "Bow-wow."
About this rhyme
This one has a named author, which is rare for a nursery rhyme. Sarah Catherine Martin wrote the version we all know, and it came out in 1805 as a picture book, The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and Her Dog. It sold in huge numbers. The opening verses may be older than her book, but the long run of adventures that follows is Martin's. The story that it is secretly about Cardinal Wolsey refusing Henry VIII his divorce is folklore, added later, with nothing behind it. Martin's dog is simply a very theatrical dog, one who plays dead and then laughs about it.
The verses are a run of small surprises, so read them straight and let each turn arrive on its own. The cupboard is bare. The dog is dead. The dog is laughing. Children enjoy the reversal, and it stays gentle, since the dog is fine all along. Good for a longer sit-down, with plenty of verses to keep going.
Public domain. Text from The Real Mother Goose (Blanche Fisher Wright, 1916), via Project Gutenberg. View the source edition