The numerous theories seeking to explain the rhyme have been largely discredited. James Orchard Halliwell's suggestion that it was a corruption of an ancient Greek chorus was probably passed to him as a hoax by George Burges. [2] [7] a b C. R. Wilson and M. Calore, Music in Shakespeare: a Dictionary (London: Continuum, 2005), ISBN 0826478468, p. 171. These more experienced animals will be an example to the younger ones on how to behave while out to pasture.

We also recommend you simultaneously put older, more trusted animals as your newer, more skittish cows. This often leads to the rest of the herd being ill at ease, skittish, and behaving differently than usual. S. H. Gale, Encyclopedia of British Humorists: Geoffrey Chaucer to John Cleese (London: Taylor & Francis, 1996), p. 1127.a b c d e f g I. Opie and P. Opie (1977). The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. Oxford University Press. p.202. ISBN 978-0-19-869111-2. Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts (Penguin Random House, 2016, 1st ed), Christopher de Hamel, p. 323

When people close their eyes and imagine cows, jumping isn’t something likely to come to mind, but it’s not that uncommon. This is because they usually feel frantic, scared, or otherwise overwhelmed when they behave this way.This is also when they aren’t as likely to bust down the fencing you’ve set up, provided you’ve given them enough space for your entire herd to move freely. In England, there was even a famous case of an extremely active bovine making a 6′-foot leap to land on the roof of a low house!