59. Pussy Cat

“Pussycat pussycat, where have you been?”
“I’ve been up to London to visit the Queen.”
“Pussycat pussycat, what did you dare?”
“I frightened a little mouse under her chair”
“MEOWW!”

The origin of this rhyme goes back to the 16th Century Tudor England. One of the ladies waiting on Queen Elizabeth I had an old cat. It had the freedom to roam through the Windsor Castle.

On one occasion the cat ran beneath the throne of the Queen, brushing her foot with its tail.The Queen was startled but did not get angry, as she had a sense of humor!

The “good Queen Bess” decreed that the cat could wander about freely in her throne room, as long as he kept it free of mice!

Visalakshi Ramani