The classic tale of the Queen of Hearts and her stolen tarts, paired here with the short bedtime chant Come, Let's to Bed. Familiar and rhythmic, with a stern king and a sorry knave that are easy to act out.
From Mother Goose / Nursery Rhymes (traditional). See the whole collection.
The Queen of Hearts,
She made some tarts,
All on a summer's day;
The Knave of Hearts,
He stole the tarts,
And took them clean away.
The King of Hearts
Called for the tarts,
And beat the Knave full sore;
The Knave of Hearts
Brought back the tarts,
And vowed he'd steal no more.
COME, LET'S TO BED
"To bed! To bed!"
Says Sleepy-head;
"Tarry awhile," says Slow;
"Put on the pan,"
Says Greedy Nan;
"We'll sup before we go."
About this rhyme
First printed in The European Magazine, April 1782, as one of a set of verses about playing-card court figures. · Lewis Carroll reused the Queen, King and Knave of Hearts for the tart-theft trial in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
This one has a real paper trail. It was first printed in 1782, one of a set of verses about a pack of playing cards, and the Queen, King and Knave here are literally the court cards.
Lewis Carroll later borrowed the whole cast for the trial scene in Alice in Wonderland.
Public domain. Text from The Real Mother Goose (Blanche Fisher Wright, 1916), via Project Gutenberg. View the source edition