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00:00 [theme music]
00:03 ♪ What's the truth about Mother Goose? ♪
00:21 ♪ Let's clear up all the mystery ♪
00:24 ♪ Her nursery rhymes from olden times ♪
00:26 ♪ Are really part of history ♪
00:29 ♪ What's the truth about Mother Goose? ♪
00:31 ♪ The rhymes that children learn today ♪
00:34 ♪ Let's read the signs between the lines ♪
00:36 ♪ Conduct a thorough exposé ♪
00:38 ♪ We'll find within these pages ♪
00:41 ♪ As we go behind the scene ♪
00:43 ♪ Famous people, famous places ♪
00:46 ♪ And what the verses really mean ♪
00:48 ♪ What's the truth about Mother Goose? ♪
00:50 ♪ Turn these pages and you'll see ♪
00:53 ♪ We'll get the truth, the facts forsooth ♪
00:55 ♪ Solve this age-old mystery ♪
01:01 ♪ Little Jack Horner sat in a corner ♪
01:04 ♪ Eating his Christmas pie ♪
01:08 ♪ He put in his thumb ♪
01:09 ♪ And pulled out a plump and said ♪
01:12 What a good boy am I.
01:13 [music]
01:18 According to the facts,
01:20 the history of this little rhyme
01:21 goes back to 16th century London.
01:24 [music]
01:27 Jack Horner was the servant of a city official
01:30 on his way to deliver a Christmas present
01:32 to King Henry VIII.
01:33 [whistling]
01:35 In those days, it was a custom
01:37 when bringing presents to the king
01:39 to put them in a pie.
01:41 And these presents, as Jack Horner knew,
01:44 were usually something of great value.
01:46 [whistling]
01:50 [music]
01:54 And since Jack was a bit of a knave,
01:57 he stuck in his thumb and pulled out a plum.
02:02 [music]
02:07 Which happened to be the deed to a valuable estate.
02:10 [whistling]
02:18 [music]
02:25 Boy.
02:26 [music]
02:29 When King Henry sent for the city official,
02:31 he hurried to court,
02:33 expecting some special favor in return for his present.
02:38 And we can be sure that King Henry let him have it.
02:41 [gunshot]
02:42 [music]
02:45 And as for Jack Horner,
02:47 he took up residence on his stolen estate
02:49 where he lived happily ever after.
02:52 Unless, of course, he was haunted
02:53 by a certain nursery rhyme
02:56 that became surprisingly popular at that time.
03:00 ♪ Little Jack Horner sat in a corner ♪
03:04 ♪ Eating a Christmas pie ♪
03:07 ♪ Put in his thumb, pulled out a plum ♪
03:10 ♪ Said, "What a good boy am I" ♪
03:15 ♪ Jack Horner, Jack Horner, Jack Horner ♪
03:19 [music]
03:24 ♪ Mary, Mary, quite contrary ♪
03:27 ♪ How does your garden grow ♪
03:30 ♪ With silver bells and cockle shells ♪
03:34 ♪ And pretty maids all in a row ♪
03:40 The Mary in this old rhyme was Mary Stewart,
03:43 Queen of Scotland, who came from France
03:45 to take over the throne of Scotland,
03:48 bringing with her the gay French ways,
03:50 extravagant tastes, and a love of frivolity.
03:55 Such conduct was frowned upon by the dour Scots,
03:58 who believed in preserving the stern dignity of the court.
04:02 And therefore, Mary was considered quite contrary.
04:07 The silver bells refer to the elaborate decoration
04:10 on her dresses, and her love of exotic foods,
04:13 such as cockles, account for the cockle shells.
04:17 And the pretty maids all in a row
04:19 were her ladies-in-waiting.
04:22 But behind this playful little rhyme
04:24 lies one of the most sinister and tragic stories
04:27 in all history.
04:29 Four years after her arrival in Scotland,
04:32 she married Lord Darnley, a selfish weakling
04:35 who Mary soon came to despise.
04:38 And the beautiful queen turned her attentions
04:40 to a French poet who lost his head completely
04:45 when the dour Scots interfered.
04:49 Then followed a romance with a court musician.
04:52 But this too ended on a tragic note
04:56 when the infuriated Darnley interfered.
05:00 Then came the Earl of Bothwell.
05:02 [music playing]
05:10 And the end of Lord Darnley.
05:11 [music playing]
05:14 And three weeks later, Mary and Bothwell were married.
05:19 Now Mary was considered much too contrary,
05:22 and the outraged Scots rose against her,
05:25 forced her abdication, and sent her
05:27 to the island prison of Loch Leven.
05:30 After a few months, Mary's irresistible charms
05:33 so captivated the jailer's son that he risked
05:36 his life to help her escape.
05:38 [music playing]
05:44 Then, in an attempt to regain the throne,
05:47 Mary organized a sizable army, which was defeated
05:50 after a violent battle.
05:53 Oh, dear.
05:55 And she fled to England to take refuge
05:57 with her cousin, Queen Elizabeth.
06:01 But Elizabeth became jealous of Mary's great popularity.
06:05 This dazzling beauty had become the darling of the court
06:09 and a rival for the crown and must be eliminated.
06:13 [music playing]
06:15 Mary.
06:16 Mary.
06:18 Although Mary was warned of the danger,
06:19 she was still contrary and went her Mary way.
06:22 This was her fatal mistake.
06:24 [gunshot]
06:26 And she was accused and condemned
06:28 as a traitor to the government.
06:31 But Mary refused to plead for mercy
06:34 and remained quite contrary to the end.
06:39 [music playing]
06:40 Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden
06:47 grow with silver bells and carcass shells
06:55 and pretty maids all in a row?
06:58 London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down.
07:09 London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.
07:16 The history behind this famous nursery song
07:18 is the story of Old London Bridge,
07:22 a story which begins in 1176 when
07:26 it was decided to build a permanent bridge of stone
07:28 to unite North and South London.
07:31 [music playing]
07:51 After the bridge was finished in 1209,
07:54 it was sanctified by the addition
07:56 of a beautiful two-story chapel over the central pier.
07:59 And rows of elaborately designed houses
08:04 were added over the length of the bridge,
08:07 transforming the plain Gothic structure
08:10 into a thing of such picturesque beauty
08:13 that it was acclaimed one of the wonders of the world.
08:15 [music playing]
08:18 [music playing]
08:20 The street floors were rented to merchants
08:30 who did a bustling business, drawing their customers
08:33 from the tide of traffic coming and going over the bridge.
08:36 [music playing]
08:38 The upper stories of the bridge houses
08:47 were elaborately furnished apartments
08:49 with projecting bay windows and rooftop balconies
08:54 where residents could enjoy the invigorating air off the river
08:57 and contemplate the spectacular view.
08:59 [music playing]
09:14 Little wonder that Hans Holbein and William Hogarth
09:17 and many other famous painters chose
09:20 to live on London Bridge.
09:21 [music playing]
09:23 On one occasion, a tournament was held on the bridge,
09:29 and spectators crowded every available space
09:32 to watch two knights prove their courage in glorious combat.
09:36 [drum roll]
09:38 [music playing]
09:41 [drum roll]
09:44 [music playing]
09:47 [horse neighing]
09:48 [music playing]
09:51 [horse neighing]
09:52 [music playing]
09:54 [explosion]
10:13 [horse neighing]
10:14 [music playing]
10:17 [horse neighing]
10:20 [music playing]
10:23 [horse neighing]
10:24 London Bridge was often the scene
10:26 of spectacular displays and lavish celebrations, which
10:29 marked great moments in English history.
10:31 [music playing]
10:34 While living on London Bridge was both grand and glamorous,
10:44 there were times when it was equally hazardous.
10:48 Now and then, a cargo ship would break away from its moorings,
10:51 and a bowsprit would come crashing through a window.
10:54 [music playing]
10:55 [crash]
10:56 [crash]
10:57 [crash]
10:57 [crash]
11:00 The greatest threat to the bridge and its inhabitants
11:02 was fire.
11:04 One such disaster occurred in 1666,
11:08 when a fire started in the King's Bakery
11:10 in Pudding Lane.
11:12 At first, it was of little consequence.
11:14 Then, suddenly, a strong east wind
11:17 spread the fire beyond control.
11:19 And it swept across the city and onto the bridge.
11:24 [music playing]
11:27 [fire alarm]
11:34 [screaming]
11:36 [music playing]
11:39 [screaming]
11:42 [music playing]
11:45 [fire alarm]
11:47 This was the famous Great Fire of London, which
11:50 reduced the world's largest city to a vast panorama of ashes
11:55 and charred rubble, and left London Bridge
11:59 a bare and blackened ruin.
12:00 [music playing]
12:04 During the reconstruction of London,
12:06 the bridge houses were rebuilt, and its endless tide
12:09 of humanity returned.
12:10 [music playing]
12:14 But as the centuries passed, London Bridge
12:17 began to feel its age.
12:18 [music playing]
12:22 A lot of water had passed under the old bridge,
12:30 undermining its foundations.
12:34 The intense heat of the fires had
12:36 dangerously weakened its arches.
12:38 [explosion]
12:39 And heavy timbers braced the tottering houses.
12:42 [music playing]
12:45 As violent tremors ran throughout the whole structure.
12:48 [music playing]
12:50 [explosion]
12:54 The once magnificent bridge, which
12:57 had been the pride of London and proclaimed
12:59 as one of the wonders of the world,
13:01 was declared a public nuisance, and was
13:05 ridiculed in rhyme and song.
13:07 [music playing]
13:10 [laughing]
13:13 [music playing]
13:16 [laughing]
13:19 [music playing]
13:22 [explosion]
13:26 Finally, on July the 4th, 1823, the death warrant
13:30 of the old bridge was signed, and it was demolished.
13:35 And a new bridge was built in its place, the London Bridge,
13:39 which stands today.
13:40 [music playing]
13:44 But the original London Bridge still lives on
13:47 in the famous old nursery song.
13:51 (SINGING) London Bridge is falling down, falling down,
13:55 falling down.
13:56 London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.
14:01 Shake and quake, old London Bridge.
14:03 Have a ball till your arches fall.
14:06 Jump and jive, old London Bridge, my fair lady.
14:10 And that's the truth about Mother Goose.
14:14 The whole truth?
14:15 The absolute historical truth?
14:18 Well, as far as we know, that's the truth about Mother Goose.
14:23 Now you saw the mystery.
14:25 That's all we know.
14:26 That's all to show.
14:27 We'll close our book of history.
14:29 [music playing]
14:32 [music playing]
14:36 (upbeat music)
14:39 you