The House that Jack Built Cumulative Tale - English Nursery Rhyme

"The House that Jack Built" is a very old English nursery rhyme. This reading, taken from one of Randolph Caldecott's picture books for children (published in 1878 by Frederick Warne and Co.), is accompanied by some of Caldecott's delightful illustrations. It is thought that the original version of this rhyming story dates back to the mid-sixteenth century, although the earliest known appearance in print was 1755. This reading is true to the original book it is read from, and does not include the final verse found in many renditions that introduces the horse.
"The is the House that Jack Built" is in the form of a cumulative tale or a chain tale or chain story. These tales do not have complex plots, but rather rely on the rhyme and repetition for effect. Each sentence in the story builds on the sentence before, making each sentence an example of an increasingly deeply nested relative clause.
THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT
(Evergreen Tales theme music playing.)
This is the House that Jack built.
This is the Malt,
That lay in the House that Jack built.
This is the Rat,
That ate the Malt,
That lay in the House that Jack built.
This is the Cat,
That killed the Rat,
That ate the Malt,
That lay in the House that Jack built.
This is the Dog,
That worried the Cat,
That killed the Rat,
That ate the Malt,
That lay in the House that Jack built.
This is the Cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the Dog,
That worried the Cat,
That killed the Rat,
That ate the Malt,
That lay in the House that Jack built.
This is the Maiden all forlorn,
That milked the Cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the Dog,
That worried the Cat,
That killed the Rat,
That ate the Malt,
That lay in the House that Jack built.
This is the Man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the Maiden all forlorn,
That milked the Cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the Dog,
That worried the Cat,
That killed the Rat,
That ate the Malt,
That lay in the House that Jack built.
This is the Priest, all shaven and shorn,
That married the Man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the Maiden all forlorn,
That milked the Cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the Dog,
That worried the Cat,
That killed the Rat,
That ate the Malt,
That lay in the House that Jack built.
This is the Cock that crowed in the morn
That waked the Priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the Man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the Maiden all forlorn,
That milked the Cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the Dog,
That worried the Cat,
That killed the Rat,
That ate the Malt,
That lay in the House that Jack built.
This is the Farmer who sowed the corn,
That fed the Cock that crowed in the morn,
That waked the Priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the Man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the Maiden all forlorn,
That milked the Cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the Dog,
That worried the Cat,
That killed the Rat,
That ate the Malt,
That lay in the House that Jack built.
THE END
(Evergreen Tales theme music playing.)
MUSIC CREDITS
The theme music heard in this video was created and recorded by Eddie Lewis (www.EddieLewis...).