Little Bunny Foo Foo

Little Bunny Foo Foo is a children's rhyme, involving a rabbit harassing a population of field mice. The rabbit is scolded and eventually punished by a fairy.

One of the more popular versions of the song is as follows::Little bunny, Foo Foo:Hopping through the forest:Scooping up the field mice:And bopping them on the head::Down came the Good Fairy and she said,:"Little bunny, Foo Foo:I don't want to see you:Scooping up the field mice:And bopping them on the head."Another version is:"Little Bunny Foo Foo:Hopping through the forest:Scoopin' up the field mice:Bop 'em on the head!:Then the Good Fairy came and said::'Little Bunny Foo Foo:I don't wanna see you:Scoopin' up the field mice:Bop 'em on the head!:I'll give you 3 chances,:And if you don't behave, I'll pop your little head off."

Some versions were similar, but different:

:"Little Rabbit Foo Foo:Running through the forest:Scooping up the door mice:And bopping them on the head!:Down came the Good Fairy, and she said::"Little Rabbit Foo Foo:I don't wanna see you:Scooping up the field mice :And bopping them on the head!:I will give you three chances,:And if you don't behave, I will turn you into a GOON!"

The moral to this version is often told as "Hare today, GOON tomorrow."

The rhyme is retold in a number of illustrated children's books ["Little Rabbit Foo Foo" by Michael Rosen illustrated by Harold Robins, Walker Books Ltd, 2003, ISBN 978-0744598001 and "Little Bunny Foo Foo: Told and Sung by the Good Fairy" by Paul Brett Johnson, Scholastic Press, 2004, ISBN 978-0439373012 ]

This rhyme could appear to have been inspired by "Bad Sir Brian Botany" by A. A. Milne. [ [http://www.meirionnydd.force9.co.uk/english/p.nonsense.html Nonsense poems. Scroll down ] ] The line "he went among the villagers and blipped them on the head" is an obscure similarity, the rhythm is substantially shared, and both Sir Brian and Bunny Foo Foo get their comeuppance. "Bad Sir Brian Botany" can be interpreted as a satire of feudalism.Fact|date=February 2007

Regional variants lyrics include:Blue Fairy, Fairy Princess, Mother Nature, or Little Angel (as opposed to "Good Fairy")"I don't like your attitude!" (as opposed to "I don't wanna see you!") and/orspelling Little Bunny's name as "Frou Frou" or "Lil' bunnai fu fu". An additional ending, "Little Goon Foo Foo kept hoppin' through the forest..." for a last chorus signifies the opposite of the story's moral intention.

Some variations include calling the bunny a rabbit or substituting "bashing" for "bopping." Some variants also substitute "kissing" for "bopping," as some parents or care givers consider the word bopping too violent for young children. This, however, contradicts one potential moral of the song, which might be to not be mean to animals.

Another potential moral is that one should not take advantage of others, lest one be taken advantage of themselves. This would be a variation on the common golden rule.

A further version has him turned into a field mouse at the end and then another bunny hops through the forest and gives FooFoo a taste of his own medicine.

ong in popular culture

This song was recorded by the band The Moldy Peaches on their eponymous debut album. Only the first verse is sung, followed by shouts of "Little Bunny Foo Foo"!

In South Park, Butters Stotch auditions for a boy band with the song.

An issue of Roman Dirge's comic "Lenore" contains a version of the story, in which Lenore is dressed in a bunny suit, attacking small animals.

Little Bunny Foo Foo has also appeared as a character in the comic strip Funny Bunnies, where she lives out the role sung in the popular children's rhyme.

In an episode of Boy Meets World Eric sings it to cheer Rachel up.

Frank Caliendo references the song when he impersonates John Madden in a sketch

This song was recorded by Cabbage in 1995. It ends with a whirlpool like guitar and references to the Wizard of Oz (auntie Em! It's a Twister!)

This song was featured on Lamb Chop's Play Along with Shari Lewis

The song was recorded by NeverEndingWonder in late 2007. It was the most-requested song of December 2007 on several leading Internet Radio stations.

Trout Fishing in America, a popular children's music duo, reference Bunny Foo Foo in the live version of their song, "The Window," wondering why no-one in the audience requested the bunny for a verse of their song (which inevitably ends with the call to "throw 'em out the window.") This is rectified by the audience putting up their fingers for Bunny Foo Foo ears and singing the song along with the "throw 'em out the window" chorus.

On 21 April 2008, syndicated newspaper cartoonist Steve Boreman's daily comic strip "Little Dog Lost" began a storyline featuring Little Bunny Foo Foo.

The 9/25/08 edition of Tony Carrillo's syndicated comic strip F Minus featured several disgruntled field mice nailing a sign to a tree which stated, "Wanted: James 'Bunny' Foo Foo."

References