A: I'll sing the one O. B: What means the one O? A: When the one is left alone, No more can be seen O! C: I'll sing the two Os. D: What means the two Os? Two's the lily-white boys--three's the rare O--four's the gospel makers--five's the thimble in the bowl--six is the provokers--seven's the seven stars in the sky--eight is the bright walkers--nine's the gable rangers--ten's the ten commandments--'leven's the 'leven evangelists--twelve's the twelve apostles.[60] [60] Jessopp, "A Song in Arcady," in _Longman's Magazine_, June, 1889, p. 187. The version current in Herefordshire is preserved as far as number eight only:-- Eight was the crooked straight, Seven was the bride of heaven, Six was the crucifix, Five was the man alive, Four was the lady's bower [_or_ lady bird, _or_ lady, _or_ lady's birth?], Three was the Trinity, Two was the Jewry, One was God to the righteous man To save our souls to rest. Amen.[61] [61] From Stoke Prior, Herefordshire, in Addy, S. O., _Household Tales and Traditional Remains_, 1895, p. 150. Some of our nursery rhymes which are nonsensical represent these lines in a further degradation:-- One, two, three, four, five, I caught a hare alive; Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, I let her go again. (_c._ 1783, p. 48.) And the following, in which "sticks" takes the place of _crucifix_, while "straight" recalls _crooked straight_:-- One, two, buckle my shoe, Three, four, shut the door, Five six, pick up sticks, Seven, eight, lay them straight. (1810, p. 30). The rhyme is sometimes continued as far as twenty:-- Nine, ten, a good fat hen, Eleven, twelve, who shall delve? _etc._ The tabulation of the explanations of numbers of these various songs will give an idea of the degradation to which words are liable, when they have lost their meaning. It shows also that some information can be recovered from comparing what is apparently nonsensical. _One._--Scotland: One all alone. Dorset: One is one and all alone. Cornwall: Is all alone and ever must remain so. Derbyshire: One was dressed in green O. Norfolk: One left alone no more can be seen O. Hereford: One was God to the righteous man. _Two._--Sc.: Lilly and rose. Dt.: Lilly white boys. C.: Lilly white maids clothed in green. Db.: Lilly white maids. N.: Lily white boys. H.: Jewry. _Three._--Sc.: Thrivers. Dt.: Rivals. C.: Bright shiners. Db.: Threble thribers. N.: Rare O. H.: Trinity. _Four._--Sc.: Gospelmakers. Dt. " C. " Db.: Gospelrhymers. N.: Gospelmakers. H.: Lady's bower.