Little Bo Peep was published in chapbooks that were either anthological or singular. The 1845 and 1922 editions contained other nursery rhymes. The '65-'89 edition contained only the Little Bo Peep story. The 1845 edition contains uncolored woodcuts for illustrations while the 1865 and 1922 edition were both colored. The 1965 edition color is more vibrant while the 1922 color is pastel.
Little Bo Peep (1845)
LITTLE Bo-peep has lost her sheep, And cannot tell where to find ‘em; Leave them alone, and they’ll come home, And bring their tails behind ‘em. Little Bo-peep fell fast asleep, And dreamt she heard them bleating; When she awoke, she found it a joke, For still they all were fleeting. Then up she took her little crook, Determin’d for to find them; She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed, For they’d left their tails behind them. It happen’d one day, as Bo-peep did stray Unto a meadow hard by; There she espied their tails side by side, All hung on a tree to dry. She heaved a sigh, and wiped her eye, And over the hillocks she raced; And tried what she could, as a shepherdess should, That each tail should be properly placed. |
|