✦ A Nursery Rhyme ✦

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

A traditional Mother Goose nursery rhyme

Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub. And who do you think they be? The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker!

Watch the Read-Aloud Read the Rhyme

Read aloud by Storyland Classics  ✦  20 seconds  ✦  Watch on YouTube

✦ The Rhyme ✦

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

Traditional English nursery rhyme. Public domain.

Rub-a-dub-dub, Three men in a tub, And who do you think they be? The butcher, the baker, The candlestick-maker, And all of them gone to sea.

✦ About the Rhyme ✦

Three Men in a Tub

“Rub-a-Dub-Dub” dates back to the late 1700s. The three men are tradesmen from an old town: a butcher who sold meat, a baker who made bread, and a candlestick-maker.

Going to sea in a washtub is a silly idea, which is exactly the fun. “Rub-a-dub-dub” is also the sound of scrubbing in a tub at bath time.

✦ Talk About It ✦

Questions to Share

  • Who are the three men in the tub?
  • What does a candlestick-maker make?
  • Who would you take with you in a tub boat?

✦ Keep Reading ✦

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