Rich Man, Poor Man, Begger Man, Thief

"Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggerman, Thief" is a divination rhyme used chiefly by schoolgirls to foretell their futures. The title comes from one of the lines in the rhyme in which the girl is trying to find whom she will marry. During the divination, the girl will ask a question and then count out a series of actions or objects by reciting the rhyme. The rhyme is repeated until the last of the series of objects or actions is reached. The last recited term or word is that which will come true. Buttons on a dress, petals on a flower, bounces of a ball, number of jumps over a rope, etc., may be counted.

There are innumerable variations of the rhyme:
*A:"Daisy, daisy, who shall it be?:"Who shall it be who will marry me?:"Rich man, poor man, beggerman, thief,:"Doctor, lawyer, merchant, chief,:"Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor.
*B:"Grandmother, Grandmother,":"What shall I wear?":"Silk, satin, calico, cotton."
*C:"Where shall we live?":"Big house, little house, pigsty, barn."
*D:"How many children shall we have?":"One, two, three, four, five, six," etc.

Bibliography

*Gomme, Alice Bertha. "The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland". London: David Nutt (1898).
*Hazlitt, W. Carew. "Faiths and Folklore: A Dictionary of National Beliefs, Superstitions and Popular Customs, Past and Current, With Their Classical and Foreign Analogues, Described and Illustrated" (Brand's Popular Antiquities of Great Britain). London: Reeves and Turner (1905).