Higgledy piggledy, my black hen, She lays eggs for gentlemen. Gentlemen come every day To count what my black hen doth lay. If perchance she lays too many, They fine my hen a pretty penny; If perchance she fails to lay, The gentlemen a bonus pay. Mumbledy pumbledy, my red cow, She’s cooperating now. At first she didn’t understand That milk production must be planned; She didn’t understand at first She either had to plan or burst, But now the government reports She’s giving pints instead of quarts. Fiddle de dee, my next-door neighbors, They are giggling at their labors. First they plant the tiny seed, Then they water, then they weed, Then they hoe and prune and lop, They they raise a record crop, Then they laugh their sides asunder, And plow the whole caboodle under. Abracadabra, thus we learn The more you create, the less you earn. The less you earn, the more you’re given, The less you lead, the more you’re driven, The more destroyed, the more they feed, The more you pay, the more they need, The more you earn, the less you keep, And now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to take If the tax-collector hasn’t got it before I wake. . Ogden Nash
About This Quote

My black hen lays eggs for gentlemen. My red cow produces milk for gentlemen. Men come every day to count what my black hen lays, and if it is too many they fine my hen a pretty penny; if it is not enough they give me a bonus. If perchance she lays too many, they kill her for the pleasure of the slaughter; if she fails to lay, they kill her to make up for their losses; my green cow always produces green grass; my green maid always produces green grass; my green hen always lays green eggs; my green cow always cooperates; my green maid always cooperates. My black hen is good at laying eggs for gentlemen.

If she lays too many, they shoot her or cut off her head or legs or wings or feet or tail. If she does not lay any eggs for gentlemen, they kill her and take all the meat from her body, and leave nothing left but the skull, the ribs and the backbones. My red cow is good at producing milk for gentlemen.

If she does not produce enough milk for gentlemen, they beat her with a stick until blood comes out of every hole in her skin. They call this a punishment because it makes me sad when I hear it hurts my red cow so much.

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