| Little Miss Muffet | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Real Name |
Miss Muffet |
|
First Appearance |
Unknown |
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Original Publisher |
Unknown |
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Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
"Little Miss Muffet" is a nursery rhyme, one of the most commonly printed in the mid-twentieth century.
- Little Miss Muffet
- Sat on a tuffet,
- Eating her curds and whey;
- Along came a spider,
- Who sat down beside her
- And frightened Miss Muffet away.
Origins and Meaning[]
Like many such rhymes, its origins are unclear. Some claim it was written by Dr Thomas Muffet (d.1604), an English physician and entomologist, regarding his stepdaughter Patience; others claim it refers to Mary, Queen of Scots (1543–87), who was said to have been frightened by religious reformer John Knox (1510–72). The former explanation is speculative and the latter is doubted by most literary scholars, who note that stories linking folk tales or songs to political events are often urban legends.
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Four Color #41,59,68,90,103,185
Public Domain Comics Inspired by Little Miss Muffet[]
- Plastic Man #6: Criminal "First Reader" McGool took on the identities of nursery rhyme characters such as Mother Goose, Little Jack Horner, and Little Miss Muffet. He was captured by Plastic Man and Woozy Winks who impersonated Humpty Dumpty and Old King Cole to trap McGool.
“Little Miss Muffet,” illustration from The National Nursery Book, ca. 1870.