"Little Bunny Foo Foo" is a children's poem and song. The poem consists of four-line sung verses separated by some spoken words. The verses are sung to the tune of the French-Canadian children's song "Alouette" (1879), which is melodically similar to "Down by the Station" (1948) and the "Itsy Bitsy Spider".[1] The person performing the song usually includes hand gestures, e.g. for "scooping" and "bopping".[1]
The song has many different variations and is often passed on as childlore. Beverly Cleary's 1970 children's book Runaway Ralph mentions "Little Rabbit Fru-Fru" as a song heard at summer camp, and a 1970 issue of The New Yorker acknowledges "Little Bunny Phoo Phoo, a character in a children's story."[1]
"Bunny Foo Foo", a 35-foot statue of a leaping rabbit that is named for the poem, is installed at a winery in St. Helena, California.[2]
Lyrics
editLittle Bunny Foo Foo,
Hopping through the forest,
Scooping up the field mice,
And bopping them on the head.
(Spoken)
Down came the Good Fairy, and she said,
"Little Bunny Foo Foo,
I don't want to see you,
Scooping up the field mice
And bopping them on the head."
(Spoken)
"I'll give you three chances,
And if you don't behave,
I'm gonna turn you into a goon!"
The next day... or That evening... or Later that night... or A few moments later...
The verses then repeat three more times, with the spoken verse altered to reflect Little Bunny Foo Foo's decreasing number of chances. The alteration appears in the first line of the verse, which changes to "I'll give you two more chances" and "I'll give you one more chance", in the second and third iterations, respectively.
In the fourth and final iteration, when the bunny has run out of chances, the entire spoken verse is altered as follows:
"I gave you three chances,
And you didn't behave,
And now I'm gonna turn you into a goon. POOF!"[3]
Sometimes "bopping" is replaced with "kissing".[4]
One common ending has Little Bunny Foo Foo turned into a goon, with a pun ending "And the moral of the story is: Hare today, goon tomorrow."[5][6][7] This form of story telling with a pun ending is also known as a feghoot.
References
edit- ^ a b c Whitman, Neal (February 21, 2014). "The Hoax Behind Little Bunny Foo Foo". The Babbler's Lexicon. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
In any case, the earliest attestations I've been able to find are two from 1970. One is in Beverly Cleary's novel Runaway Ralph. The talking mouse Ralph finds himself at a summer camp, and is frightened to hear a boy singing 'Little Rabbit Fru-fru'. The other is from an article in the January 17 issue of The New Yorker, which mentions 'little Bunny Phoo Phoo' (spelled P-H-O-O) as a character in a children's story.
- ^ "Yeah, there's a giant bunny in that vineyard and 9 animals, vegetables and antlers you'll want to stop and see". Los Angeles Times. 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
- ^ Inside the classroom (and out), Kenneth L. Untiedt, p. 36,
- ^ "Little Bunny Foo Foo". YouTube. 30 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
- ^ ""Little Bunny Foo Foo" Song Lyrics". Grandparents.com. 2008-10-02. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ^ "Little Bunny Foo Foo". KIDiddles. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ^ Hannah Heller (April 2009). "Sing Along Little Bunny Foo Foo". Speakaboos. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
