One, two buckle my shoe

One, two,

Buckle my shoe;

Three, four,

Shut the door;

Five, six,

Pick up sticks;

Seven, eight,

Lay them straight;

Nine, ten,

A big fat hen;

Eleven, twelve,

Dig and delve;

Thirteen, fourteen,

Maids a-courting;

Fifteen, sixteen,

Maids in the kitchen;

Seventeen, eighteen,

Maids in waiting;

Nineteen, twenty,

My plate’s empty.

Origin

This counting rhyme may originally have gone up to thirty.

It is thought to have originated in 1780 in Wrentham Mass. However forms of it are commonly found in Germany, France, Holland and Turkey.