Little Bunny Foo Foo
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Little Bunny Foo Foo is a children's rhyme, involving a rabbit harassing a population of field mice. The rabbit is scolded and eventually punished by a fairy.
The rhyme is usually sung by an older person to a younger child, using a repetitive tune that reinforces the meter, accompanied by hand gestures. In this mode of transmission, it is a form of tickle play that teaches and reinforces motor skills, often passed as childlore.
One of the more popular versions of the song is as follows:
- Little bunny Foo Foo
- Hopping through the forest
- Scooping up the field mice
- And bopping them on the head
- Down came the Good Fairy, and she said
- "Little bunny Foo Foo
- I don't want to see you
- Scooping up the field mice
- And bopping them on the head."
Another version is
- "Little Bunny Foo Foo
- Hopping through the forest
- Scoopin' up the field mice
- Bop 'em on the head!
- Then the Good Fairy came and said:
- 'Little Bunny Foo Foo
- I don't wanna see you
- Scoopin' up the field mice
- Bop 'em on the head!
- I'll give you 3 chances,
- And if you don't behave, I will turn you into a Goon!"
Some versions were similar, but different:
- "Little Rabbit Foo Foo
- Running through the forest
- Scooping up the field mice
- And bopping them on the head!
- Down came the Good Fairy, and she said:
- "Little Rabbit Foo Foo
- I don't wanna see you
- Scooping up the field mice
- And bopping them on the head!
- I will give you three chances,
- And if you don't behave, I will turn you into a Goon!"
Some dispute remains as to whether the Good Fairy turns Little Bunny Foo-foo into a Goose or a Goon.[1] Obviously, it's a goon as the moral of the story (Hare today, goon tomorrow.) would make no sense otherwise.
The rhyme is retold in illustrated children's books.[2]
[edit] Variants
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This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009) |
Local and regional variants of the lyrics include:
- Little Rabbie or Little Rabbit (instead of Little Bunny);
- substituting "bashing" for "bopping";
- Blue Fairy, Fairy Princess, Fairy Godmother, Mother Nature, or Little Angel (as opposed to "Good Fairy");
- "I don't like your attitude!" (as opposed to "I don't wanna see you!")
- spelling Little Bunny's name as "Frou Frou" or "Lil' bunnai fu fu".
Some variations substitute "kissing" for "bopping," as some parents or care givers consider the word bopping too violent for young children. This, however, contradicts one potential moral of the song: not to be cruel to animals.
Another version has the rabbit himself turned into a field mouse at the end, whereafter another bunny hops through the forest and gives FooFoo a taste of his own medicine, pointing to the moral that one should not take advantage of others, lest one be taken advantage of in turn. This would be a variation on the common golden rule.
An additional ending, "Little Goon Foo Foo kept hoppin' through the forest..." for a last chorus signifies the opposite of the story's moral intention.
[edit] References
- ^ Inside the classroom (and out), Kenneth L. Untiedt, p. 36.
- ^ Little Rabbit Foo Foo by Michael Rosen illustrated by Harold Robins, Walker Books Ltd, 2003, ISBN 978-0744598001 and Little Bunny Foo Foo: Told and Sung by the Good Fairy by Paul Brett Johnson, Scholastic Press, 2004, ISBN 978-0439373012
