A cheeky rhyme about a scholar who once turned up on time and now saunters in at noon. The nonsense opening line is just there for the sound of it, and children pick up the rhythm fast.
From Mother Goose / Nursery Rhymes (traditional). See the whole collection.
A diller, a dollar, a ten o'clock scholar!
What makes you come so soon?
You used to come at ten o'clock,
But now you come at noon.
About this rhyme
'A diller, a dollar' is generally treated by rhyme scholars as nonsense filler for rhythm, not sense; a rival claim that 'diller' is old Yorkshire dialect for a dim boy is unconfirmed, so it's fair the copy doesn't lean on it.
A short scold for a latecomer, aimed at a schoolboy who once turned up on time and now drifts in at noon. 'A diller, a dollar' doesn't mean anything in particular, it's just a rhythmic nonsense opening to get the tease going.
Say it next time getting out of the door is a struggle.
Public domain. Text from The Real Mother Goose (Blanche Fisher Wright, 1916), via Project Gutenberg. View the source edition