# What's the truth about Mother Goose?
# Let's clear up all the mystery
# Her nursery rhymes from olden times
# Are really part of history
# What's the truth about Mother Goose?
# The rhymes that children learn today
# Let's read the signs between the lines
# Conduct a thorough expose
# We'll find within these pages
# As we go behind the scene
# Famous people, famous places
# And what the verses really mean
# What's the truth about Mother Goose?
# Turn these pages and you'll see
# We'll get the truth, the facts for sleuth
# Solve this age-old mystery
# Little Jack Horner Sat in a corner
# Eatin' his Christmas pie
# He put in his thumb and pulled out a plum
- # And said... - What a good boy am I.
[Narrator] According to the facts, the history of this rhyme
goes back to 16th century London.
Jack Horner was the servant of a city official
on his way to deliver a Christmas present to King Henry VIII.
[Whistling]
In those days, it was a custom that when bringing presents to the king
to put them in a pie.
And these presents, as Jack Horner knew,
were usually something of great value.
And since Jack was a bit of a knave,
he stuck in his thumb
and pulled out a plum...
[whistling]
[Snickering]
... which happened to be the deed to a valuable estate.
[Whistling]
[Grumbling]
[Narrator] When King Henry sent for the city official
he hurried to court, expecting some special favor in return for his present.
And we can be sure that King Henry let him have it.
As for Jack Horner, he took up residence on his stolen estate,
where he lived happily ever after.
Unless, of course, he was haunted by a certain nursery rhyme
that became surprisingly popular at that time.
[Male trio] # Little Jack Horner
# Sat in a corner
# Eating a Christmas pie
# He put in his thumb
# Pulled out a plum Said what a good boy am I
# Jack Horner, Jack Horner
# Jack Horner #
# Mary, Mary, quite contrary
# How does your garden grow
# With silver bells and cockle shells
# And pretty maids all in a row #
[narrator] The Mary in this old rhyme was Mary Stuart,
Queen of Scotland,
who came from France to take over the throne of Scotland,
bringing with her the gay French ways,
extravagant tastes, and a love of frivolity.
Such conduct was frowned upon by the dour Scots,
who believed in preserving the stern dignity of the court.
And therefore, Mary was considered quite contrary.
The silver bells refer to the elaborate decoration on her dresses.
And her love of exotic foods, such as cockles,
account for the cockle shells.
And the pretty maids all in a row were her ladies-in-waiting.
But behind this playful little rhyme
lies one of the most sinister and tragic stories in all history.
Four years after her arrival in Scotland,
she married Lord Darnley, a selfish weakling,
who Mary soon came to despise.
And the beautiful queen turned her attentions
to a French poet who lost his head completely,
when the dour Scots interfered.
Then followed a romance with a court musician.
But this too, ended on a tragic note,
when the infuriated Darnley interfered.
Then came the Earl of Bothwell...
... and the end of Lord Darnley.
Three weeks later, Mary and Bothwell were married.
Now Mary was considered much too contrary,
and the outraged Scots rose against her,
forced her abdication and sent her to the island prison of Lochleven.
After a few months, Mary's irresistible charms
so captivated the jailer's son
that he risked his life to help her escape.
Then, in an attempt to regain the throne,
Mary organized a sizable army,
which was defeated after a violent battle.
Oh, dear.
[Narrator] Then she fled to England to take refuge with her cousin,
Queen Elizabeth.
But Elizabeth became jealous of Mary's great popularity.
This dazzling beauty had become the darling of the court,
and a rival for the crown,
and must be eliminated.
[Whispering] Mary, Mary...
[narrator] Although Mary was warned of the danger,
she was still contrary and went her merry way.
This was her fatal mistake.
And she was accused and condemned as a traitor to the government.
But Mary refused to plead for mercy,
and remained quite contrary
to the end.
[Male trio] # Mary, Mary, quite contrary
# How does your garden grow
# With silver bells and cockle shells
# And pretty maids all in a row #
# London Bridge is falling down
# Falling down, falling down
# London Bridge is falling down
# My fair lady #
[narrator] The history behind this famous nursery song
is the story of old London Bridge.
A story which begins in 1176,
when it was decided to build a permanent bridge of stone
to unite North and South London.
After the bridge was finished in 1209,
it was sanctified by the addition of a two-story chapel
over the central pier.
Rows of elaborately designed houses
were added over the length of the bridge,
transforming the plain Gothic structure into a thing of such picturesque beauty
that it was acclaimed one of the wonders of the world.
The street floors were rented to merchants who did a bustling business,
drawing their customers from the tide of traffic
coming and going over the bridge.
[Honking]
The upper stories of the bridge houses were elaborately furnished apartments
with projecting bay windows and rooftop balconies,
where residents could enjoy the invigorating air off the river
and contemplate the spectacular view.
Little wonder that Hans Holbein and William Hogarth
and many other famous painters chose to live on London Bridge.
On one occasion a tournament was held on the bridge
and spectators crowded every available space
to watch two knights prove their courage in glorious combat.
[Screaming]
London Bridge was often the scene
of spectacular displays and lavish celebrations,
which marked great moments in English history.
While living on London Bridge was both grand and glamorous,
there were times when it was equally hazardous.
Now and then a cargo ship would break away from its moorings
and a bow sprit would come crashing through a window.
[Crashing]
The greatest threat to the bridge and its inhabitants was fire.
One such disaster occurred in 1666,
when a fire started in the king's bakery in Pudding Lane.
At first it was of little consequence,
then suddenly a strong east wind spread the fire beyond control,
and it swept across the city and onto the bridge.
Oh! Oh! Oh!
[Narrator] This was the famous Great Fire of London,
which reduced the world's largest city
to a vast panorama of ashes and charred rubble,
and left London Bridge a bare and blackened ruin.
During the reconstruction of London the bridge houses were rebuilt
and its endless tide of humanity returned.
But as the centuries passed, London Bridge began to feel its age.
A lot of water had passed under the old bridge,
undermining its foundations.
The intense heat of the fires had dangerously weakened its arches,
and heavy timbers braced the tottering houses,
as violent tremors ran throughout the whole structure.
The once-magnificent bridge, which had been the pride of London
and proclaimed as one of the wonders of the world,
was declared a public nuisance,
and was ridiculed in rhyme and song.
# London Bridge is falling down
# Falling down, falling down
# London Bridge is falling down
# My fair lady #
[narrator] Finally, on July 4, 1823,
the death warrant of the old bridge was signed
and it was demolished.
A new bridge was built in its place,
the London Bridge which stands today.
But the original London Bridge still lives on
in the famous old nursery song.
# London Bridge is falling down
# Falling down, falling down
# London Bridge is falling down
# My fair lady #
# Shake and quake Old London Bridge
# Have a ball till your arches fall
# Jumpin'jive, old London Bridge
# My fair lady
# And that's the truth about Mother Goose
- The whole truth? - The absolute, historical truth?
Well, as far as we know.
# That's the truth about Mother Goose
# Now you solved the mystery
# That's all we know That's all the show
# We'll close our book of history #