A charming ditty I found in Mary Webb’s engaging novel.  I wondered if she was quoting a rhyme or song current in her day, but I’ve found no reference to it elsewhere.  I wanted to feature it here in the hope it will carry forward on somebody’s lips as they skip.  If you need an antidote to doom-scrolling, do a jig while reciting…

Shift your feet in nimble flight

You’ll be home by candlelight.

Open the gates as wide as the sky,

And let the king come riding by.  

Source: Mary Webb, Precious Bane (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1981), p. 230

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