Mum's 'grim' nursery rhyme find leaves parents shocked

"I've not heard it before, but it left my daughter asking A LOT of questions," the woman said. 

A mum has made a shocking discovery while reading her child a nursery rhyme from a book she got from the library. 

After posting the 'grim' passages to Facebook, parents weighed in on whether they thought it was appropriate for a child. 

Meanwhile, others were left confused, saying they remembered the nursery rhyme completely differently...

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Image: Facebook

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The nursery rhyme left her daughter with "a lot of questions"

"Reading my daughter a poem from her library book and came across this one," the mum wrote to the Facebook group, attaching a photo of the offending page.

"I've not heard it before, but it left her asking  A LOT of questions."

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'I Had a Little Brother,' is the poem she's referring to, and it goes like this: 

I had a little brother,

His name was Tiny Tim,

I put him in a bath tub,

To teach him how to swim.

He drank up all the water,

He ate up all the soap,

He died last night

With a bubble in his throat.

In came the doctor,

In came the nurse,

In came the lady

With the alligator purse.

"Dead," said the doctor,

"Dead," said the nurse,

"Dead," said the lady

With the alligator purse.

Out went the doctor,

Out went the nurse,

Out went the lady

With the alligator purse.

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"Pretty dark"

In the comments, many people were taken aback by the direct nature of the poem and the way it so casually deals with the topic of death, especially given the fact it's aimed at children.

"That's grim for a kids' reading book," claimed one.

"A lot of nursery rhymes are actually pretty dark," explained another. 

"Nearly all nursery rhymes are dark," agreed someone else. "Humpty Dumpty is about someone getting their head cut off, and Ring a Ring o' Roses is about the Black Death."

However, among the discussion, some people pointed out that this is likely an earlier version of a since-updated nursery rhyme.

"Must be from the 80s," suggested one parent, adding, "It's since changed to 'I had a little turtle'."

Another agreed, saying, "I swear it's now called Tiny Tim and says, "I had a little turtle... not I had a little brother."

According to the updated version, the narrator's pet turtle still gets soap in his throat but is tucked into bed alive and well, albeit with a few bubbles popping in his mouth. 

I think we'll stick with that one...

Originally published as Mum's 'grim' nursery rhyme find leaves parents shocked