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One, Two, Three, and Four Legs

A riddle rhyme from The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, by Walter Jerrold and Charles Robinson

This riddle rhyme comes from The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, collected by Walter Jerrold and illustrated by Charles Robinson, first published in 1903. The rhyme is a puzzle: two legs is a man, three legs is a stool, four legs is a dog, and one leg is a leg of meat. Children delight in solving the riddle and imagining the chase. It teaches observation, counting, and playful thinking—and reminds us that sometimes the simplest stories are the cleverest. This text reflects its era.

Band

Purple · Pre-readers and first readersTypical starting range: ages 4–5

Length

short · about 390 words in 4 sections · 4 pictures

Source

The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, Walter Jerrold and Charles Robinson

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (6 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Colouring page
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.

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