But some may ask what there is in these simple melodies,attributed to Mother Goose, which gives them so secure and beloveda place in the home, the school and the public library. Is it thehumor, the action, the rhythm, or the mystery of the theme whichappeals so strongly to critical little minds in each generation ofchildhood, and even to adult minds so fortunate as to have retainedsome of the refreshing naiveté of early years?

It is useless to try to explain the charm of these nonsense melodies.The children themselves do not know why they love them.No mother can tell us the magic of the spell which seems to be castover her restless baby as she croons to it a Mother Goose lullaby.No primary teacher quite understands why the mere repetition orsinging of a Mother Goose jingle will transform her listless, inattentiveclass into one all eagerness and attention. But mother andteacher agree that the best of these verses have an even more potentinfluence than that of innocently diverting and entertaining the child.The healthy moral, so subtly suggested in many of the rhymes, isunconsciously absorbed by the child's receptive mind, helping himto make his own distinction between right and wrong, bravery andcowardice, generosity and selfishness.