“Three Wise Old Women”

Description

Three wise old women go walking in winter. One carries a ladder; another, a basket; "the wisest one, she carried a fan to keep off the sun." (At least) one climbs the ladder and is blown to sea. (They use the basket to bail, the fan as a sail)

Supplemental text

Three Wise Old Women
  Partial text(s)

          *** A ***

From Vance Randolph, Ozark Folksongs, Volume I, #130, p. 439.
Apparently from Bert King of Prescott, Arkansas.

Three wise old women were they, were they,
Who went to walk on a Winter's day,
One carried a ladder to climb for cherries,
One carried a basket to gather berries,
The third, she was the wisest one,
She carried a fan to keep off the sun.

(1 additional stanza, of eight rather than six lines)

          *** B ***

From Hazel Felleman, ed., The Best Loved Poems of the American
People (1936), pp. 494-495. Presumably from some other printed
collection.

Three wise old women were they, were they,
Who went to walk on a winter day.
One carried a basket to hold some berries;
One carried a ladder to climb for cherries,
The third -- and she was the wisest one --
She carried a fan to keep off the sun!

(3 additional stanzas)

Notes

Although hardly known in tradition, Randolph's text differs enough from the presumed original in Felleman that I have to think there was folk processing along the way. E.g., in the original, they climb the tree for fear of a bear; it seems as if the informant would remember that. - RBW

References

1. Randolph 130, "Three Wise Old Women" (1 text)
2. ST R130 (Partial)
3. Roud #3271
4. BI, R130