And then there's that fearsome line in the "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer: If I should die before I wake.

But sometimes I wonder if kids really "get" some of these as horrible. I absolutely loved Grimm's Fairy tales, and my mother hated some of them--she used to say that it seemed that the more savage they were, the better I liked them! Now, thinking back on some of them, I too am horrified. I remember one, Falada, where the old horse's head was nailed up on the wall...[shudder].

Interesting thread, Max. I know very little about this, and hope to hear from others.

Jackie, have you read the non-watered-down, unexpurgated and unadulterated Grimm's tales (adult section of the library/bookstore)? When the good brothers weren't busy tracking down examples of the Great Vowel Movement, they were recording some of the most sadistic folk tales I've ever come across.

the non-watered-down, unexpurgated and unadulterated Grimm's tales (adult section of the library/bookstore
Ai-eee, I don't think so! Do I want to??

For those who may not be familiar with this childhood nightly prayer :

Original :

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I should die before I wake
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Alternate version:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
Angels guide me through the night,
And wake me with the morning light.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
A bag of peanuts at my feet.
If I should die before I wake
Give them to my sister Kate.

Max, you are absolutely right, it sounds dreadfull. but as a child, i thought it was lovely to be about to sleep in a tree, rocked by the wind, and as for down will come baby, cradle and all.. well, that okay, if i fall, i am still snug in my bed.. it not like i fell out of bed, and besides i did that all the time, and it usually only woke me, it didn't hurt.

and as jackie says, kids don't mind gory things the way adults do.. and it last well into young adult hood. most adults aren't interested in horror movies, but teens are! maybe something about imagined horrors as a way of learning coping skills? (and adults, know all to well, real horrors, and don't think them entertaining.)

Rock a bye swabbie, asleep in the rack.
When the ship rolls you'll fall on the deck.
When the ship pitches your rack will collapse,
So rock a bye swabbie, sleep until Taps.*

*Actually® Tattoo, but that doesn't scan (or rhyme).

So rock a bye swabbie, sleep until Taps.*

Hell, Faldage, the Navy can't get much sleep, unless their Taps is a hundrred and eighty degress different from Army Taps, which is beddie bylow for the dogfaces at sundown.

http://www.va.gov/pubaff/celebAm/taps.htm

We used to sing "Rockabye baby" as we were putting the small ones to bed, with a dramatic playful downward motion at the end, intended to make them forget they didn't want to go to bed. Here is an intertesting essay about nursery rhymes:

http://www.arts.uwaterloo.ca/ENGL/courses/engl208c/esharris.htm

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my toys to break.

We sing:

Rock-a-bye baby (or insert child's name) in the tree top
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall
And mama (or other parent, or whoever) will catch you, cradle and all

Picked it up from a friend and like it much better.

>A bag of peanuts at my feet

Is this the pre don't-you-dare-bring-a-peanut-near-my-child version?

the pre don't-you-dare-bring-a-peanut-near-my-child version

Or another case of retroactive scariness.

Buy me some organic hypoallergenic unsalted soynuts and Cracker Jack®...

May I recommend, for those who do not know it, a wonderful book called "Lullabies and Night Songs" which contains 48 traditional verses set to music or arranged by Alec Wilder and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. [Published by Harper [US] in 1965; The Bodley Head [UK] in 1969] -- public libraries should have copies still as I'm not sure whether it's available now.

Our family copy is well-worn and was much used as we sat around the piano playing and singing (the accompaniments are not difficult). Do families still do this? My middle son (born 1969) brought his partner to visit recently and specifically asked to hear many of his favourites again.

AnnaS postulates, Ithacally, When the good brothers weren't busy tracking down examples of the Great Vowel Movement, they were recording some of the most sadistic folk tales I've ever come across.

Ooooh, yus, indeedy. I got my mitts on a book which (I'm told) was a direct translation of the aptly-named Brothers Grimm's REAL fairy tales. I thought, initially, that I was reading a de-bowdlerised ripoff of the tales. Then I read the preface. I never did get to finish the book, it was someone else's and I had to give it back. *sob*

Them Germans really know how to entertain children appropriately at bedtime. Makes Marge Simpson look like a caring mother ...

Speaking of which, does anyone remember the Sapphire and Steel TV series from twenty years ago?