Nursery Rhyme - can you tell me about it?

[arcturus]

Where did the following nursery rhyme come from - who wrote it and when?

Thanks,
AT.

I had a dog, and his name was Dandy,
His eyes were brown and his coat was sandy,
His tail was short and his legs were bandy,
The best in the world was my Dog Dandy!

Down in the village we had a fair
And I had a shilling to spend down there,
So Dandy and me trotted along,
Happy together, I was singing a song.

I bought apples, cakes and candy
And soon I forgot about Dog Dandy,
Then suddenly, when I looked round
Dandy was nowhere to be found.

I asked the lady selling candy
If she’d seen my Dog Dandy.
"No" she said "but if I do,
I’ll send him straight home to you!"

The gentleman at the peanut stall
Hadn’t seen Dandy Dog at all,
And the policeman walking round the fair
Hadn’t seen Dandy anywhere there!

Just then a boy came running up,
He said to me "is this your pup?"
"No" I said "He’s far too small
He’s not like my old dog at all!"

Folks brought dogs from everywhere.
Greyhounds, pekes and poms were there.
Wire haired terriers and dalmatians,
Poodles, prize dogs and alsatians.
Dogs of every shape and kind,
But never a dog that looked like mine!

So home I went sad and forlorn
Wondering where my poor dog had gone.
Had he stowed away on a ship,
Or was he petted by ladies and fed on milk?

As I opened the door and mounted the stair
Who do you think was waiting there?
With his eyes so brown and his coat so sandy
Wagging his tail was MY DOG DANDY.

[azmuse]

it's apparently a mother goose rhyme; i couldn't find it in either The Real Mother Goose or Anthology of Children's Lit. Out of curiosity (as i'm sure you did) i searched online; found only the first verse, and no author given.
WOW. where did you find that?

paraphrase: according to the anthology, some mother goose rhymes are from The Oxford Nursery Rhyme Book - no author(s)given, only the assemblers' names. John Newbery's Mother Goose rhymes may have been also written by Oliver Goldsmith, however he stated that he took them from the "lips of the Old British nurses."

[arcturus]

Yes, I searched the web and could only find the first verse. The rhyme was told to my father by his mother in the early 30s. She also told it to me as a small child in the late 50s. My Dad wrote out the whole rhyme from memory.

It seems like an old English rhyme, but I wonder about the word 'candy' - not a particularly English word. Maybe there's an American influence here.

[Christine1152]

I wonder if anyone knows an old English rhyme that starts with:

Here I come stiff as a stump,
Selling my blacking a penny a lump,

It goes on like a children's game, telling them to hush and do what they're told. I'm researching it as a surprise for a friend who is trying to remember the rhyme her English grandmother used to tell her...thanks to all in advance

[Ken Kelly]

I still have a book from the 40’s called My Dog Dandy. It is in a very poor state but the rhyme and pictures are still there. There is no publisher or author shown.
Here is the Rhyme verbatim:

I have a dog and his name is Dandy,
His tail is short and his legs are bandy,
His eyes are brown and his hair is sandy,
The best in the world is my dog Dandy.

We went down to the village fair,
I had a shilling to spend down there,
To spend on roundabouts and swings,
And ever so many exciting things.

I bought apples, cakes and candy,
And quite forgot about dog Dandy.
Suddenly when I looked around,
Dandy was nowhere to be found.

I asked the lady selling candy,
Whether she’d seen my dog Dandy.
“No,” she said, “but if I do,
I will send him home to you.”

The gentleman at the peanut stall,
Hadn’t seen Dandy dog at all.
The policeman walking round the fair,
Hadn’t seen Dandy anywhere.

Buy everyone was awfully kind,
And helped me my lost dog to find.
A little girl came running up,
And said to me, “Is this your pup?”

I answered, “No, he’s far too small,
He’s not like my old dog at all.”
And then a Gypsy brought along,
A white Bull Terrier big and strong.

Folks brought dogs from everywhere,
Greyhounds, Poms and Pekes were there.
Wire haired Terriers and Dalmatians,
Poodles, prize dogs and Alsatians.

Spaniels and Collies all in a line,
But never a dog who looked like mine.
I thanked the folks who’d been so kind,
In helping me my dog to find.

Sadly I walked home alone,
Wondering where my dog had gone.
Was he with the Gypsy man,
In his painted caravan?

Had he gone to take a trip,
As a sea-dog on a ship?
Or did he lie on a bed of silk,
Petted by ladies and fed on milk?

Home I went and climbed the stair,
And who do you think was waiting there?
With bright brown eyes and coat so sandy,
Wagging his tail was my dog Dandy.

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[Kathyp.]

I wonder if anyone knows an old English rhyme that starts with:

Here I come stiff as a stump,
Selling my blacking a penny a lump,

It goes on like a children's game, telling them to hush and do what they're told. I'm researching it as a surprise for a friend who is trying to remember the rhyme her English grandmother used to tell her...thanks to all in advance

I remember this from when I was a child. My grandmother used to play a game with us which was like 'statues' .This was in Northwest England, but her parents had roots in Ireland and Wales.
There was an old woman
As stiff as a stump
Selling her blacking a penny a lump.
You must neither laugh, smile, show your teeth or say I will...
I hope this is the correct version. We had to stay perfectly still as far as I remember. Hope this helps.
Kathy