What Are Little Boys Made Of?

"What Are Little Boys Made Of?" is a popular nursery rhyme dating from the early nineteenth century:

:"What are little boys made of?":"Snips and snails, and puppy-dogs' tails,Common variations replace "snips" with "slugs" (especially in the UK), "snakes", or "frogs". In [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10607/10607-h/10607-h.htm "The Real Mother Goose"] (Rand McNally, 1916), the word is "snaps". It has also been conjectured that the original words were " [http://www.rhymes.org.uk/what_are_little_boys_made_of.htm Snips of snails] ", meaning little bits of snails. The punctuation and use of the possessive in "puppy-dogs' tails" also varies.] ":"That's whatOr "And that's what" or "And such are". These variations are also found in the next stanza.] little boys are made of."

:"What are little girls made of?":"Sugar and spice, and everything nice,Or "Sugar and spice, and all things nice."] ":"That's what little girls are made of."

The rhyme is part of a larger work called [http://www.delamar.org/mgs-long_folksmadeof.html "What Folks Are Made Of"] or "What All the World Is Made Of". Other stanzas describe what babies, young men, young women, sailors, soldiers, nurses, fathers, mothers, old men, old women, and all folks are made of. Burton Stevenson [http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=34884#473556 attributed] the two verses above to the English poet Robert Southey (c. 1820).

David Bowie uses a modified line from this in the song "Magic Dance" from the "Labyrinth" soundtrack.

References in pop culture

*In one Calvin and Hobbes comic, Hobbes recites the rhyme to Calvin, who then asks what tigers are made of, and Hobbes responds "Dragonflies and katydids, but mostly chewed up little kids," much to Calvin's annoyance.

*The show The Powerpuff Girls is based off of this poem, as the three main characters are made of sugar, spice and everything nice and later in the series three boys made just like the powerpuff girls are made with Snakes and snails, and puppy-dogs' tails

Notes and references

ee also

*"What Are Little Girls Made Of?" for the "" episode based upon the rhyme
*"The Powerpuff Girls", a cartoon that takes the poem literally.