Wednesday, March 8, 2006
sheesh
Apparently "Baa Baa Black Sheep" has been rewritten in some British schools, reported by the ever so reliable London Times. (HT: Joanne Jacobs) The word "black" has been removed so as not to cause offense. They replaced "black" with "rainbow" which upsets me from the point of view that the two words don't scan even remotely alike. Oh, and Humpty Dumpty is being given a new ending lest anyone get upset at his eggshell's demise. Has anyone read the Brothers Grimm lately? Talk about doomed, if this is what's happening to the sheep and the egg. Besides, it's puzzling about the sheep thing since some sheep actually are black (are sheep racist?) and in the rhyme they're simply asked if they have any wool and they respond that they do - for their master, their master's dame and for a little boy who lives down the lane. But wait: do all three live down the lane together or do they live separately? Is the master's "dame" his woman, a euphomism for something less proper? Could the little boy be their illegitimate offspring? Oh dear, oh dear. Perhaps it would be best to ban the rhyme altogether.
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