A piper plays for a cow who pays him back with a penny and asks for another tune. It's an odd, cheerful little story that rewards a bit of theatrical piping from the reader.
From Mother Goose / Nursery Rhymes (traditional). See the whole collection.
There was a piper had a cow,
And he had naught to give her;
He pulled out his pipes and played her a tune,
And bade the cow consider.
The cow considered very well,
And gave the piper a penny,
And bade him play the other tune,
"Corn rigs are bonny."
About this rhyme
'Corn Rigs' (popularised by Robert Burns) is a genuine traditional Scottish song, predating this nursery rhyme's collection. · Text matches: piper plays a tune, cow pays a penny, asks for 'Corn rigs are bonny.'
A piper with nothing to give his cow plays her a tune instead, and she likes it enough to pay him a penny and request another: 'Corn Rigs are Bonny,' a real old Scottish song, not invented for the rhyme. It's nonsense with a straight face, a cow with musical taste and cash to spend. Hum a few bars for the 'played her a tune' line; the joke survives any tune you pick.
Public domain. Text from The Real Mother Goose (Blanche Fisher Wright, 1916), via Project Gutenberg. View the source edition