Some Mathematical Nursery Rhymes by Jonathan Rosenberg (all rights reserved by the author) Each one of these is a parody of a standard Mother Goose rhyme. I've included the originals for comparison. #1. Mother Goose Version: Jack, be nimble, Jack, be quick, Jack, jump over The candlestick. Jack jumped high Jack jumped low Jack jumped over and burned his toe. Nimble Topologist: Jack, be nimble, Jack, be quick, Jack, remember The Whitney Trick. Dimension high, Dimension low: The first is easy, The second, no. #2. Mother Goose Version: Little Jack Horner Sat in a corner, Eating a Christmas pie. He stuck in his thumb And pulled out a plum, And said, "What a good boy am I!" Little Jack Mathematician: Little Jack Horner Sat in a corner, Computing digits of pi. He started to hum, "Dum, diddle, dee dum." And said, "What a good boy am I!" #3. Mother Goose Version: Jack Sprat could eat no fat, His wife could eat no lean, And so between the two of them They licked the platter clean. Jack Sprat and the Finitely Generated Abelian Groups Jack Sprat didn't like them flat(*), His wife could accept no torsion, And so between the two of them Each group they could apportion. (*) As Z-modules, of course.