They fought the dogs and killed the cats,
And bit the babies in the cradles,
And ate the cheeses out of the vats,
And licked the soup from the cooks' own ladles,
Split open the kegs of salted sprats,
Made nests inside men's Sunday hats,
And even spoiled the women's chats,
By drowning their speaking
With shrieking and squeaking
In fifty different sharps and flats.
- -- Robert Browning, (1812-1889)
Well, Jack Sprat is obviously more than a weird name... now I must look it up.
According to Google, "Sprats are related to sardines and herrings and are caught in a minor and intermittent fishery."
Not much fat on that kind of a fish, I guess, so the nursery rhyme seems upheld.
