“Three Blind Mice”

They kept on singing until someone laughed and then the song ended ragged and breathless and laughing… –By the Shores of Silver Lake, Chapter 22, “Happy Winter Days”

It was great fun! Laura could last longer than anyone because Pa had taught her and Carrie and Grace to sing ‘Three Blind Mice’ long ago … — These Happy Golden Years, Chapter 23, “Barnum Walks”

     
Three Blind Mice first appears in the Little House books as sung by the Ingalls and Boast families during winter evenings in By the Shores of Silver Lake. In the manuscript for By the Shores of Silver Lake, Wilder wrote that in addition to “Three Blind Mice,” the Ingallses and Boasts sang: “I saw Esau kissing Kate, / And in fact we all three saw. / I saw Esau, he saw me, / And she saw, I saw Esau…. Pa said that was an awful lot of sawing. They always sang a round until someone laughed. Then they stopped.” Wilder’s “I Saw Esau” was called “The Country Cousin;” it was published by E. Mack in 1870.

Aside from being a popular nursery song, it is often suggested that “Three Blind Mice” has its origin in English history. The farmer’s wife refers to Queen Mary I, daughter of King Henry VIII. Mary’s violent persecution of Protestants led to her being given the nickname “Bloody Mary.” The farmer in this case was her husband, King Philip of Spain, who owned massive estates of land. The three blind mice were nobleman who continued to practice their Protestant faith and by doing so were convicted of plotting against the Queen, who didn’t have them blinded, she had them burned at the stake.

“Three Blind Mice” is one of the songs Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder sing in singing school during These Happy Golden Years. There was a singing school held in De Smet from February through April 1884, conducted by a Mr. Forbush. Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote that singing school was taught by Mr. Clewett; Frank Clewett had taught the De Smet school classes during the spring 1883 term. A homesteader in neighboring Clark County, Mr. Clewett often lived in De Smet until moving to California in the 1890s. It is possible that he taught a singing school that was never mentioned in the local newspapers.

Laura’s singing school book was called The Conqueror; it was written by C.E. Leslie and R.H. Randall, and published in 1880 by The Chicago Music Company. Leslie wrote a number of hymnals and singing school books, and he traveled widely, promoting his program and holding classes in a number of states. Many of the songs in The Conqueror were composed by Leslie or Randall. Laura’s singing school book was purchased for seventy-five cents and is today on display at the Laura Ingalls Wilder / Rose Wilder Lane Home and Museum in Mansfield, Missouri. The book begins as Wilder wrote in These Happy Golden Years, with an explanation of notes, rests, and clefs. It then continues with simple exercises, starting with “do re mi fa sol la si do” and moving on to simple songs.

Wilder went into more detail about singing school in both the Pioneer Girl manuscripts and the manuscript for These Happy Golden Years. Obviously an important and pleasant memory from her young adulthood, she included complete lyrics for a number of songs which were omitted from the published These Happy Golden Years. “Three Blind Mice” is found in The Conqueror with two other rounds: “Chicago Street Cries” and “The Bramble Bush.” In the shorter revised Pioneer Girl manuscript, Wilder included “Bramble Bush,” saying that it and “Three Blind Mice” were rounds the Ingalls family had sung with the Boasts in the Surveyors’ house.

In the manuscript for These Happy Golden Years, Wilder wrote the following about “Three Blind Mice”: “The sopranos started the song. When they were at the beginning of the second line the altos began with the first. After them a line behind came the tenors and a line behind them the bass joined in. They sang around and around until everyone was lost. Laura thought it great fun and was glad Pa had taught her the notes and that she had sung ‘Three Blind Mice’ on the shore of Silver Lake years ago.”

     

“Three Blind Mice” (SSL 22; THGY 23; PG)
     “Three blind mice! Three blind mice!”
     “Three blind mice, see how they run…”