Ten Little Mice Sat Down to Spin - English Children's Songs - England - Mama Lisa's World: Children's Songs and Rhymes from Around the World - Intro Image

Notes

Here's another version from The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes (circa 1920) edited by Walter Jerrold:

Six Little Mice Sat Down to Spin

Six little mice sat down to spin,
Pussy passed by, and she peeped in.
"What are you at, my little men?"
"Making coats for gentlemen."
"Shall I come in and bite off your threads?"
"No, no, Miss Pussy, you'll bite off our heads."
"Oh, no, I'll not, I'll help you spin."
"That may be so, but you don't come in."

Here's another version of this rhyme that can be found in Harry's Ladder to Learning (1850):

Four little mice sat down to spin,
Pussy pass'd by and she peep'd in;
"What are you at, my fine little men?"
"Making coats for gentlemen."
"Shall I come in, and cut off your thread?"
"No! no! Miss Pussy, you'll bite off our head."

Here's the version from The Little Mother Goose (1912), illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith:

Some little mice sat in a barn to spin,
Pussy came by, and she popped her head in;
"Shall I come in and cut your threads off?"
"Oh, no, kind sir, you will snap our heads off."

Ten Little Mice Sat Down to Spin - English Children's Songs - England - Mama Lisa's World: Children's Songs and Rhymes from Around the World - Comment After Song Image

Thanks and Acknowledgements

The first version of the rhyme can be found in A History of Nursery Rhymes (1899) by Percy B. Green. The illustration is from The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes (circa 1920) edited by Walter Jerrold (1865 - 1929) and illustrated by Charles Robinson (with some graphical editing of the above image by Lisa Yannucci)