Reading Notes: Nursery Rhymes, Part B

Nursery Rhymes Unit: Love and Matrimony


This story is part of the Nursery Rhymes unit. Story source: The Nursery Rhyme Book edited by Andrew Lang and illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke (1897).
The Woman and the Swine rhyme...

• There was once a lady that loved a pig (weird... I know)
• One day she said, "Honey. Pig-hog, will you be mine?"
• She calls the pig honey a lot in this rhyme...
• And the pig just grunted back to her
• She told the pig that she would build him a pig stye out of silver
• She said, "Honey. And you will lie in it." 
• All he did was grunt back 
• She continued her bribery saying that the style would contain a silver pin so that the pig could go in and out
• All the pig did was grunt back at her
• Hoping that all of these amenities pleased the pig, she asked him if he would have her now as a bride 
• He said, "Grunt, grunt, grunt," and went on his way...
• I'm not sure if the pig simply denied the woman or if something else happened after this
• It might be interesting to extend this story further and elaborate more on what happened
• For example, the pig could come back or transform into a human 
• You can find the original rhyme below: 

THERE was a lady loved a swine:

"Honey," quoth she,

"Pig-hog, wilt thou be mine?"

"Grunt," quoth he.

"I'll build thee a silver stye,

Honey," quoth she;

"And in it thou shall lie;"

"Grunt," quoth he.

"Pinned with a silver pin,

Honey," quoth she,

"That you may go out and in;"

"Grunt," quoth he.

"Wilt thou now have me,

Honey," quoth she;

"Grunt, grunt, grunt," quoth he,

And went his way.

• I am also curious as to why the lady loved the swine
• Was this a romantic thing, or did she just want to keep him as a pet, etc.?
• Maybe she just wanted to take good care of him and it wasn't for romantic interests
• Here is a photo that I can use for my story...
• 
• (A pig enjoying the open air. Source: Wikimedia commons)