There was an old lady who swallowed a fly
I don’t know why she swallowed a fly —Perhaps she’ll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a spider, that wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her;
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don’t know why she swallowed a fly — Perhaps she’ll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a bird. How absurd to swallow a bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider, That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her;
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don’t know why she swallowed a fly — Perhaps she’ll die!
This fun nursery rhyme gets sillier and sillier; in each stanza the old lady swallows a larger animal to deal with the animal she had swallowed previously:
There was an old lady who swallowed a cat. Fancy that, to swallow a cat!
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird, etc.
There was an old lady who swallowed a dog. What a hog, to swallow a dog;
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat, etc.
There was an old lady who swallowed a cow. I don’t know how she swallowed a cow;
She swallowed the cow to catch the dog, etc.
Finally, she goes too far:
There was an old lady who swallowed a horse…; …She’s dead, of course! *
All lasting children’s rhymes contain profound truths; that’s why they last. Here are three things I thought about as I went over these seemingly meaningless lyrics:
- SOME PEOPLE WILL SWALLOW ANYTHING.
- SOMETIMES THE CURES WE COME UP WITH CREATE BIGGER PROBLEMS.
- ALL LIVING THINGS ARE CONNECTED IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS.
I believe this third truth may be contained in Paul’s intriguing teaching about the ultimate redemption God has in mind for his creation:
“Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘All things are put in subjection,’ it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-28)
What if the “all things” of the last portion of the quote includes not only all people, but also all horses, cows, goats, dogs, cats, birds, spiders and flies? Maybe the God of the Universe is so awesome that he does not waste the tiniest speck of life he’s created? Just saying.
* Check out versions of this rhyme as a song (Burl Ives,1964) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQHmZMf6zwo and as a poem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFaNA2bGCXY
— Pastor George Van Alstine