THE OLD MAN WHO LIVED IN THE WOODS

There was an old man who lived in the woods,
As you can plainly see,
Who said he could do more work in a day
Than his wife could do in three.
"If this be so," the old woman said,
"Then this you must allow,
That you will do my work for a day
While I go drive the plow.

"But you must milk the Tiny cow
For fear that she go dry,
And you must feed the little pigs
That are within the sty.
And you must watch the bracket hen
Lest she should lay astray,
And you must wind the reel of yarn
That I spun yesterday."

The old woman took the staff in her hand
And went to drive the plow.
The old man took the pail in his hand
And went to milk the cow.
But Tiny hinched and Tiny flinched
And Tiny cocked her nose,
And Tiny gave the old man such a kick
That the blood ran down to his toes.

"It's here, my good cow, and ho, my good cow,
And now, my good cow, stand still!
If ever I milk this cow again,
'Twill be against my will!
And then he fed the little pigs
That were within the sty,
But he bumped his head against a post,
And how the blood did fly.

And then he watched the bracket hen
Lest she should lay astray,
But he forgot the reel of yarn
His wife spun yesterday.
He swore by all the stars in heaven
And all the leaves on the tree,
That his wife could do more work in a day
Than he could do in three!

He swore by all the leaves on the tree
And all the stars in heaven
That his wife could do more work in a day
Than he could do in seven!

That's pretty much how I remember it. The version may be drawn from the one in the Flanders collection.

Sandy^^