Two Little Dickie Birds

Two Little Dickie Birds is an English Nursery Rhyme.:"Two Little Dickie Birds Sitting on a Wall":"One named Peter":"The other named Paul":"Fly away Peter":"Fly away Paul":"Come Back Peter":"Come Back Paul"

Hand actions

The adult, out of sight of the child, will mark in some conspicuous way the nail of the index finger of one hand and the nail of the second finger of the other hand. Both hands are then shown to the child as fists (folded fingers downwards) with the two fingers with marked nails pointing forward – these represent Peter and Paul. As the rhyme is recited, the hand actions are thus:

It is very rare that a small child will realise the sleight of hand.

In popular culture

*A pop version was recorded by Petula Clark in 1951, titled "Fly Away Peter, Fly Away Paul".

*The lyrics of the 1975 Jethro Tull song "One White Duck / 0¹⁰ = Nothing At All", make a reference to the nursery rhyme: "So fly away Peter, and fly away Paul, from the fingertip ledge of contentment".

*the nursery rhyme was included in Sesame Street. even adding more birds in different places (sparrows, doves, robins, & crows)

*On Hollywood Squares was this exchange:

Q. What did Gilbert and Sullivan's Dickie Bird say?
PAUL LYNDE: "Let's not wallow in Watergate."