Old King Cole and Other Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes

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Old King Cole was a merry old soul,

And a merry old soul was he;

He called for his pipe,

He called for his bowl,

And he called for his fiddlers three.

And every fiddler, he had a fine fiddle,

A very fine fiddle had he;

"Tweedle dee, tweedle dee," said the fiddlers:

"Oh, there's none so rare as can compare

With King Cole and his fiddlers three."

A Good King

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Old King Cole sounds like he was a good king - or at least he was fun!

Kings are given a great amount of power over whole countries and all of the people in them.

Unfortunately, most of the time, kings were not picked because they were good or loved their countries. They simply inherited their thrones because they were born into royal families.

There were some good kings throughout history but many more were ruthless and cruel. When one person has too much power, money, or fame sometimes they feel like they like they should be waited on hand and foot.

They feel like they deserve to be worshiped.

A really good king doesn't separate himself from his people and demand to be worshiped. He knows their needs and should want to help them - not take from them.

A truly good king should serve his people rather than demand to be served.

A perfect example of a truly good king is Jesus. He is the King of the whole universe! But he became a regular man to be with his people, to know their needs and their pain and suffering.

He never demanded that people worship him, although he certainly is worthy of it. He served his people. He got his hands and feet dirty working side by side with them, helping them and teaching them.

He even washed some of their feet! So if you want to know how a truly good king should act, read all about the perfect king and how he acted in the book of John in the bible.

Fun Facts About Kings

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* Did you know that King George the I who ruled England many years ago could not speak English fluently? He was born in Germany and spoke German but inherited the throne of England.

It was during his reign (maybe because he couldn't speak the language) that the cabinet system led by a prime minister began.

* Back in bible times you had to request an audience with the king (which meant you wanted to meet with or talk to the king). If you approached the king, without being granted an audience, you could be executed - even if you were the queen!

Thanks for listening to Old King Cole with us! If you want to find out about a very brave Queen who did approach her King without an audience and what happened, click here.

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