Ding, dong, bell,
Pussy's in the well.

Who put her in?
Little Johnny Green.

Who pulled her out?
Little Tommy Stout.

What a naughty boy was that,
To try to drown poor pussy cat,

Who never did him any harm,
And killed the mice in his father's barn.

nursery rhyme

Here's the family's funny story about this nursery rhyme. Gather ye round, children...

When my mother and uncle were kids, my grandparents rewarded them when they learned nursery rhymes by giving them a cherry. My mother was the older child and was a fast learner; she got to eat lots of cherries. My uncle was under five and a slow learner to boot, so he got fewer cherries, though he wanted more.

One day, after my mother had enjoyed a run of great success and gotten many cherries, my uncle, in frustration, blurted out:

"Ding Dell
Putchy well
Gimme cherry, Mama!"

My grandmother let him have a cherry, and we've made fun of my uncle for that ever since.