This little piggy went to market.
This little piggy stayed home.
This little piggy had roast beef.
And this little piggy had none.
And this little piggy cried,
Wee, wee, wee, all the way home!!
As with most nursery rhymes I think this one might have a much deeper meaning than most people give it credit for. If we look at the piggies as people you can clearly see the haves and the have nots, the rich and the poor, the bosses and the workers.
- Some people go out and travel around to see nice, new and different things, while others stay home and are usually the ones who do most of the work.
- Some people eat roast beef or expensive and rare foods cooked in a different manner to that of the poor, as opposed to the very poor who often have nothing to eat at all.
- Lastly we have the people who try to act like the rich, travelling people who end up getting hurt in an environment they are not used to and end up crying all the way home.
The next time you read or recite a nursery rhyme stop and think about what I might actually mean, and how you can teach children about daily life through them.
However, please don’t terrify young children unnecessarily like my grandchildren did when they found out that bacon was pig. They told all the other children that they eat Pepper Pig!!
Until next time – remember, safety first!