The Old Woman and her Pig

The old woman and her pig is a cumulative English nursery rhyme which originally developed in oral lore form until it was collected and first appeared as an illustrated print on 27 May 1906 as the true history of a little old woman who found a silver penny published by Tabart & Co.for their Juvenile Library at No. 157 New Bond Street, London. Since this time it has been re-published and re-told in print form many times.

The old woman and her pig
Illustration of nursery rhyme published on 1st Nov 1819 by John Harris (publisher)
Folk tale
NameThe old woman and her pig
Also known asThe Old Woman who found a Silver Penny;
Aarne–Thompson groupingFormula Tales (2000-2399):

Cumulative Tales (2000-2100);

The old woman and her pig (2030)
CountryEngland
RegionEurope
Origin Date1906 (first published)
Published inThe Juvenile Library at No. 157 New Bond Street (London) by Tabart & Co.

Etymology

As the nursery rhyme has been retold and republished many times, subtle variations in the name have appeared but all variations have been under two broad categories: -

Category (1) - Name refers to the Pig, examples: -

  • The Old Woman and Her Pig[1]
  • The Old Woman and Her Pig: An Old English Tale[2]
  • The Remarkable Adventures of an Old Woman and Her Pig. An Ancient Tale in a Modern Dress[3]

Category (2) - Name refers to the Coin, examples: -

  • The Old Woman and the Crooked Sixpence[4]
  • The True History of a Little Old Woman who Found a Silver Penny[5]
  • The tale of Old Mother Muggins who finds ‘a new sixpence’[5]

There is one publication which transcends both categories and does not mention the old woman: -

  • The Pig bought with a Silver Penny[6]

Classification

Under the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index (ATU) of different types of folktales, this nursery rhyme is classified as follows: -

  • > ATU
  • > 2000-2399: Formula Tales
  • > 2000-2100: Cumulative Tales
  • > 2030: The old woman and her pig[7]

Under Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, this nursery rhyme is classified as follows: -

  • > Z. Miscellaneous Groups of Motifs
  • > Z0—Z99. Formulas
  • > Z40. Chains with interdependent members
  • > Z41. The old woman and her pig[8]

Under the Roud Folk Song Index, this nursery rhyme is classified as follows: -

The plot
1906;- Illustration from The True History of a Little Old Woman who Found a Silver Penny (Tabart & co)

An old woman finds a silver penny whilst cleaning her chambers and goes to buy a pig, but can't get home when it refuses to go over a stile, she beseeches:-

  1. A dog to bite the pig, then on refusal;-
  2. A stick to beat the dog, then on refusal;-
  3. A fire to burn the stick, then on refusal;-
  4. Water to quench the fire, then on refusal;-
  5. A bull to drink the water; then on refusal;-
  6. A butcher to slaughter the bull, then on refusal; -
  7. A rope to hang the butcher, then on refusal; -
  8. A rat to gnaw the rope, then on refusal; -
  9. A cat to eat the rat

The cat accepts her request causing her demands to be met in a cascade until the pig jumps the stile, allowing and old woman to get home that night![9]

The storyline has varied through adaptations made over the centuries by re-tellers, as listed below.

The rhyme scheme
Front Cover of The Pig Bought with a Silver Penny (1881)

The rhyme scheme used for the old woman and her pig is simple couplets interspersed with the odd triplet as exemplified by the verses below: -[10]

Delighted she seized it, and, dancing a jig,

Exclaim’d, “With this money I’ll purchase a pig.”

So saying, away to the market she went,

And the fruits of her fortunate sweeping she spent

Which won't be so civil my Pig just to bite

till he crosses the Stile, though the trouble's so slight,

And now I shan't get to my cottage to-night.

Background and adaptations
1850; - Illustration by George Cruikshank

At the turn of the 19th century, significant improvements in the technology of printing illustrations including wood-cutting and engraving occurred.[11] Publishers consequently realised there was a market for children's illustrated books with the success of the prototype books such as The Picture Gallery for all Good Boys and Girls. ‘Exhibition the First’, which was published on April 28, 1801.[12] Two of the earliest children's publishers were John Harris and Benjamin Tabart, who both chose to publish the common nursery rhyme;- the old woman and the pig in illustrated form. After these early forerunners, the nursery rhyme was re-published numerous times, either as part of a compendium or as a stand-alone illustrated book. In the 19th century, the re-tellers were not given credit just the publishers but by the 20th century, the re-tellers were given credit as they varied the rhyme and the story. A selection of popular single story retellings in the 19th and 20th centuries are listed below: -

19th century retellings
  • 1806; - The true history of a little old woman who found a silver penny, published by Benjamin Tabart[13]
  • 1814; - The history of the old woman and her pig, published by John Harris[14]
  • 1830; - The Old Woman and Her Pig, published by the Williams, Orton & Company[15]
  • 1835; - Little Old Woman and Her Silver Penny, published by Henry Mozley and Sons[16]
  • 1838; - The Old Woman and Her Silver Penny, published by James Catnatch[17]
  • 1847; - The little old woman and her silver penny, published by Thomas Dean & Son[18]
  • 1847; - The ancient story of The old dame and her pig : a legend of obstinacy : shewing how it cost the old lady a world of trouble, & the pig his tail, published by David Bogue[19]
  • 1850; - The Old Woman and Her Silver Penny, published by Read & Co.[20]
  • 1855; - The Old Woman and Her Pig, published by the Sampson Low[1]
  • 1875; - The Story of the Old Woman and Her Crooked Sixpence,and Some Rhymes Told by Mother Goose, published by S.W. Tilton & Company[21]
  • 1881; - The Pig bought with a Silver Penny, published by Dean & Son[6]
  • 1887; - The story of the poor old woman and the obstinate little pig, published by J. Clarke & Company[22]
  • 1890; - The Old Woman and Her Pig, published by the McLoughlin Brothers[23]

20th century retellings
  • 1905; - The Old Woman and Her Silver Sixpence, published by Dean & Son[24]
  • 1928; - The Old Woman and the Crooked Sixpence, published by Macmillan[25]
  • 1936; - The Old Woman and Her Pig, retold by M. G. Barnes[26]
  • 1944; - The Old Woman and Her Pig, retold by Wallace C. Wadsworth[27]
  • 1960; - Old Woman and Her Pig, retold by Paul Galdone[28]
  • 1963; - The Old Woman and Her Pig, published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston[29]
  • 1973; - The Old Woman and Her Pig (Well Lived Tales), retold by Vera Southgate[30]
  • 1984; - Home Before Midnight: A Traditional Verse, retold by Bobbie Moore[31]
  • 1992; - The Old Woman and Her Pig, retold by Eric A. Kimmel[32]
  • 1993; - The Old Woman and Her Pig: An Old English Tale, retold by Rosanne Litzinger[2]

References
  1. The Old Woman and Her Pig. Sampson Low & Son. 1855.
  2. "The Old Woman and Her Pig". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  3. "The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Old Woman and her Pig, by Anonymous". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  4. Folk-Lore and Legends: English (26 August 2018). "The Old Woman and the Crooked Sixpence | Folk-Lore and Legends: English". FairyTalez. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  5. "Classics in Short No.112: Nursery Rhymes – Books For Keeps". booksforkeeps.co.uk. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  6. "The pig bought with a silver penny". digitalarchive.tpl.ca. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  7. "Multilingual Folk Tale Database". www.mftd.org. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  8. Thompson, Stith. "Motif-index of folk-literature". Motif-index of folk-literature. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  9. "A true history of a little old woman, who found a silver penny". digitalarchive.tpl.ca. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  10. "The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Old Woman and her Pig, by Anonymous". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  11. "The Technologies of Nineteenth-Century Illustration: Woodblock Engraving, Steel Engraving, and Other Processes". victorianweb.org. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  12. "The picture gallery for all good boys and girls". digitalarchive.tpl.ca. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  13. "A true history of a little old woman, who found a silver penny". digitalarchive.tpl.ca. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  14. "The History of the Old Woman and Her Pig - Price Estimate: $700 - $1000". www.pbagalleries.com. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  15. The Old Woman and Her Pig. Williams, Orton & Company at their bookstore No. 3, Broad-street. 1830.
  16. Little Old Woman and Her Silver Penny. Henry Mozley and Sons. 1835.
  17. The Old Woman and the Silver Penny. J. Catnach, 2 & 3 Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. 1838.
  18. "The little old woman and her silver penny". digitalarchive.tpl.ca. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  19. "The ancient story of The old dame and her pig : a legend of obstinacy : shewing how it cost the old lady a world of trouble, & the pig his tail". digitalarchive.tpl.ca. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  20. The Old Woman and Her Silver Penny. Illustrated by Cruikshank. Read&Company. 1850.
  21. The Story of the Old Woman and Her Crooked Sixpence,: And Some Rhymes Told by Mother Goose. : With New Illustrations. : And Directions for Sorrento Wood Carving, Showing how the Pictures May be Cut Out for Window Pictures, Children's Dolls, Etc. : Also, Designs and Directions for Dolls' Furniture. S.W. Tilton & Company. 1875.
  22. "The story of the poor old woman and the obstinate little pig". digitalarchive.tpl.ca. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  23. The Old Woman and Her Pig. McLoughlin Brothers. 1890.
  24. The Old Woman and Her Silver Sixpence. Dean & Son. 1905.
  25. The Old Woman and the Crooked Sixpence. Macmillan. 1928.
  26. Barnes, M. G. (1936). The Old Woman and Her Pig.
  27. WADSWORTH, Wallace Carter (1944). The Old Woman and Her Pig ... Illustrated by Tony Brice. Chicago.
  28. The Old Woman and Her Pig by Paul Galdone.
  29. The Old Woman and Her Pig. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1963. ISBN 978-0-03-023770-6.
  30. Series, Ladybird (1973). The Old Woman and Her Pig. Ladybird Books. ISBN 978-0-7214-0343-4.
  31. Home before midnight: A traditional verse. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books. 1984. ISBN 978-0688005306.
  32. Kimmel, Eric A. (1992). Old Woman and Her Pig. Perma-Bound Books. ISBN 978-0-605-06145-3.
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