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Barney talent show little bunny foo foo12/6/2023 ![]() It’s a shape-shifting unlike many in nursery rhyme history. Unable to, however, our protagonist becomes our antagonist right before our eyes. And thus, the even more noble character, the Fairy, comes down from the heavens and gives our protagonist three chances to shape up. This fluffy bunny is really a violent aggressor (at least, given all the information we have at hand). ![]() Again, harmless.īut as the nursery rhyme progresses, we learn that looks can be deceiving. What could be more harmless? Plus it has a name, Little Bunny Foo Foo. We are introduced to the titular character, a rabbit. The nursery rhyme is interesting for many reasons: its repetitiveness, its memorable characters, and, perhaps most interestingly, the way it flips its moral perspective. South Park uses the song when the character Butters sings it while auditioning for a boy band. It’s also used in a Barney video, The Backyard Show and also mentioned in a Sesame Street segment, Abby’s Flying Fairy School. The song also is noted in the chapter book, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. The popular indie band, The Moldy Peaches, sang a version of the song on their studio album. In yet another, the Fairy tells Little Bunny Foo Foo to stop bopping field mice on the head, so the rabbit goes out and bops other animals on the head. ![]() So, her reprimand is both unwarranted and out of line. But the Fairy doesn’t know about this part of the story. Thus, with a right to “bop” them on the head, he does just that. The mice, or rats, have come in and stolen the desserts he’s making. In another telling, in Cori Doerrfeld’s children’s book, Little Bunny Foo Foo: The Real Story, there is an origins story to the rabbit’s violence. No longer is the rabbit bringing violence, but rather a sense of love and affection. This interpretation brings in an interesting morality. ![]() In some other renditions, Little Bunny Foo Foo kisses the field mice, instead of “bopping” them. Sometimes here, the ending includes a pun that says: Hare today, goon tomorrow! Other Renditions Each time, he loses a “chance.” In the fourth stanza, the lyrics go:Īnd now I’m gonna turn you into a goon. The verse repeats three more times, each with Little Bunny Foo Foo not heeding the Fairy’s warning. (Spoken) Down came the Good Fairy, and she said, The most common version of the lyrics these days goes like this: Some of the earliest known references to the nursery rhyme include Beverly Cleary’s 1970 children’s book, Runaway Ralph, which cites it as “Little Rabbit Fru-Fru” and a 1970 issue of The New Yorker, which calls it “Little Bunny Photo Photo.” The Lyrics But, of course, Little Bunny Foo Foo doesn’t heed her warning and, thus, incurs the consequences. Even giving you a few chances first to clean up your act. The performance of the song also involves hand gestures for the “scooping” and “bopping” of the field mice.īut the moral of the story is that if you pick on those smaller and more innocent than you, the moral authority-aka the Good Fairy-will make you pay. But it does so with cute language, memorable characters, and a fun tune. It says: if you’re a bully, you will be reprimanded. Sung to the tune of the French-Canadian children’s song “Aloutte,” or the American “Its Bitsy Spider,” this cautionary nursery rhyme talks about the consequences of one’s actions.
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