Feb 5th – Hi & Lois: This Little Piggy

Hello everyone!

Today’s comic is Hi & Lois featuring a popular English nursery rhyme. 

Comic Breakdown

“…and this little piggy had none.” – Hi telling a nursery rhyme to Trixie

Later in the day.

“Trixie!  Why are you putting your foot in Dawg’s bowl?” – Lois confused by her daughter’s actions

“This little piggy is hungry.” – Trixie’s thoughts and explanation for her odd actions

What is a nursery rhyme?

A nursery rhyme is a song or poem meant for young children.  These poems and songs have been around for centuries.  Popular English language nursery rhymes mostly date from the 1700s and 1800s.

Many nursery rhymes are also used to teach a moral or academic lesson.  They are similar to fairy tales but shorter and meant for a younger audience. 

What is going on?

Hi is telling a nursery rhyme to his baby daughter Trixie.  The nursery rhyme is “This Little Piggy”.  The nursery rhyme tells of a short story of a group of little pigs and different things that they do.  Every finger or toe represents a pig.  The rhyme is often used to teach young children how to count. 

Trixie has taken the rhyme too literally and thinks that her toes are little pigs therefore she needs to feed them!

This Little Piggy

“This Little Piggy”, also known by the name “This Little Pig”, is a fingerplay nursery rhyme for very young children.  It exercises finger and toe coordination for young children.  It also teaches them to count and track small numbers.  The rhyme originated in the early 1700s.

Every toe or finger represents a pig in the story.  The rhyme is mostly played using toes.

There are several versions of “This Little Piggy”.  The most common one used today is:

This little piggy went to market,

This little piggy stayed home,

This little piggy had jam and bread,

This little piggy had none,

And this little piggy went crying all the way to town.

Today’s images are from here, here, here, here, here, and here.