Two versions -- probably more; tune of "twinkle-twinkle":

Ah vous dirais-je maman
Ce que me fait si pensant?/Ce qui cause mon torment?
Papa veut que je raisonne
Comme une grande personne
Moi je dis que les bonbons
Valent mieux que la raison.

Oh, shall I tell you, Mama,
What makes me so pensive/What's tormenting me?
Papa wants me to reason
Like a big person--
Me, I say candy
Is worth more than reason.

Ah, vous dirai-je maman
Ce qui cause mon tourment?
Depuis que j'ai vu Sylvandre
Me regarder d'un air tendre
Mon coeur dit a chaque instant,
Peut-on viver sans amant?

Shall I tell you, Mama,
What causes me torment?
Since I saw little Sylvander
Looking at me with a tender air
My heart asks each instant
"Can one live without love?"

I know, my French is vile. I do not know which of these versions has the better claim to "tradition" (priority/method of transmission/distribution, an old argument, eh?). For the second, there are extended lyrics -- much too extended and, after the first stanza, too syntactically complex to be credible as a child's song if you're asking me (and no one has). About the tune -- I asked the catters for some help with a "children's mocking tune" a while back and got the most amazingly helpful and expert responses. The thread's around here somewhere.

Adam

HTML line breaks added. --JoeClone, 22-Jul-02.