Speed Bump by Dave Coverly for February 10, 2010

I don’t get it.

Thanks, I thought it was just me as I don’t get it either.

I also don’t get it but it must be something to do with the children’s nursery rhyme.

Let the pet out! Now!

This may be the first Speed Bump I don’t get. I’m guessing this is some local thing that people do in Mr. Coverly’s area of the country that no one else knows about.

“it’s ALIVE! It’s ALLLLIIIIIIVVVVEEEEE!!!!!

I got it, but it’s not funny because I didn’t know the poem. If it was familiar, this would probably be really good.

It’s referring to a rhyme that parents do with little kids. The version I remember is: Round and round the garden, find the teddy bear (drawing circles on the childs palm) One step, two step (walking fingers up the childs arm) And we find him under there (tickling under the arm).

Never heard this rhyme before. Thanks, Digital Frog. I wonder what the origin of this rhyme is - what culture/region is it from?

It’s easy… The teddy just came in from the garden… Dirty feet…. No need to let him out. He just came in

I sure hope those are just teddybear tracks he’s leaving behind.

I’m surprised so many of you didn’t get the joke. Maybe they need to add nursery rhymes to college curricula! :-)

Rmom, I think it’s probably British origin. I loved this one as a kid and my kids loved it too. Everything is real to a child so of course the bear is real too.

DorianKTB–I took a really great lit class that covered (among other things) the historical basis of nursery rhymes. “Ring around the Rosie” is all about the bubonic plague, for example. It was fascinating! We did not cover the teddy bear rhyme though :-)

I try not to think too hard or long on these things.

I think it’s clear from these posts….it’s not a well-known verse, but I’m sure for those who know it … it works.

Nver heard of this one either. I see a research grant in the offing.

I figured it must be a newer version. Mine was about a “wee mouse - up a bit, up a bit, into wee house” (done with a Scottish accent by my great aunt). I DID understand that Teddy got paws dirty in the garden though, so that works! Cute!

Notinksanymore: Wikipedia offers several reasons to doubt the plague theory of “Ring Around the Rosie”. But it’s probably one of those things we’ll never know.

As for the nursery game in this cartoon, it is completely new to me. I wonder how many more of these things are floating around out there. (If Diana wants a research grant, try the Office of Spending Other People’s Money.)

Round and round the garden Like a Teddy bear One step, two step Tickle you under there.

To my certain knowledge, at least 50 years old. UK version.