38
THE THIEVES

Tibbitts and Bibbitts and Solomon Sly

Ran off one day with a cucumber pie.

Tibbitts was tossed by a Kensington cow,

Bibbitts was hanged on a brambleweed bough,

And poor little Solomon—what do you think?

Was drowned one dark night in a bottle of ink.

[NOTES] This rhyme is about three boys who take a pie without asking. Bad things happen to them. A cow throws one boy into the air. One boy is caught in a tree. The third boy dies when he falls into ink and cannot breathe.

tibbitts, bibbitts and solomon sly—names of the three boys

cucumber—fruit

to toss—to throw in the air

kensington—proper name

to hang—to hold

brambleweed bough—tree arm

to drown—to die in liquid like water