182 Rhymes and Jingles
Eenbump, teenbump, tetherbump, fetherbump, jicket.
A boy ties another’s stockings together, and then hollers as loud as he can,—
“Charlo beef,
The beef was tough,
Poor little Charley
Couldn’t get enough.”
The name in the third line is changed to suit the case in hand.
This stocking-tying is usually done by a bey’s friends while he is in swimming, and the jokers try to tie such a knot that the owner can only untie it by using his teeth. The appropriate time to say the poetry is when the boy begins to work with his teeth on the knot.
Here is a variation:—
Chew, chew—the beef.
The beef is tough,
If you don’t chew hard,
You’ll never get enough.
If a boy has a friend named Joseph, he can entertain him by the following rhyme:—
Joe, joe,
Broke his toe
Riding on a buffalo.
