No. 33 Whistle, Daughter, Whistle
| “Whistle, daughter, whistle, | |
| And I’ll give you a sheep.” | |
| [After an interval.] | “Mother, I’m asleep.” |
| “Whistle, daughter, whistle, | |
| And I’ll give you a cow.” | |
| [A faint attempt.] | “Mother, I don’t know how.” |
| “Whistle, daughter, whistle, | |
| And I’ll give you a man.” | |
| [A loud and clear whistle.] | “Mother, now I can!” |
New York.
The subject of this and the preceding number has furnished endless mirth to popular poetry. The present song is ancient; for it is identical with a German, Flemish, and French round of the fifteenth or sixteenth century, in which a nun (or monk) is tempted to dance by similar offers. The spirit of the latter piece seems to be rather light-hearted ridicule than puritanic satire, and the allusion does not show that the piece is subsequent to the Reformation.