Piri-miri-dictum Domini- Swift (KY) 1934 Niles C
[From the Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles, 1961. Niles lists his C version and compares it to Halliwell's nursery rhyme. His A version is Child No. 1, Riddles Wisely Expounded and his B version is the related, "I Gave my Love A Cherry" which is part of Child 46 Appendix.
R. Matteson 2012]
Piri-miri-dictum Domini- Swift (KY) 1934 Niles C
I had three cousins over the sea,
Piri-miri-dictum Domini
Three or four presents they sent me,
Pantrum, quartrum, paradise stantrum
Piri-miri-dictum Domini.
The first was a bird without a bone,
The second was a cherry without a stone,
The third was a book that no man's read,
The fourth was a blanket without a thread,
Can there be a bird without a bone?
Can there be a cherry without a stone?
A bird in the egg's without a bone,
A cherry in the bud's without a stone,
Can there be a book that no man's read?
Can there be a blanket without a thread?
A book in the press that no man's read,
A blanket in the wool's without a thread,