Lambs Eat Ivy - And Ginger Eats Lamb Ears

Lambs Eat Ivy
And Ginger Eats Lamb Ears

There I was caring for Ginger, my new Irish Setter puppy. I really do love her, but it is extremely taxing to teach potty-training to a puppy slightly older than two months. It was so reminiscent of what I had done with my children and grandchildren. Additionally, I went through that experience a half century before with my first Ginger. About the only difference is that the children had diapers and then training pants, both of which Ginger doesn't use.

Since Ginger can communicate with me in English, we talk about nearly everything, which includes my love for her. However, since I truly do love her, I would appreciate a reciprocal relationship. All that she should do is to tell me that she must go to the potty...outside. Initially, I employed bribery with Ginger. If Ginger doesn't have an accident, she will get a small treat. Well, perhaps the issue was the size or quantity of the eatable enticement. Therefore, I reasoned that, if I increased the incentive, she would take note.

Off I went shopping for Ginger and found some lamb ears, which are essentially thin and crispy rawhide. I thought that Ginger would enjoy this additional tasty treat to her elk antler and other various pieces of rawhide that now clutter the house.

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While I was delighted that Ginger could chew on something other than my fingers, she took a keen interest in her lamb's ears. In appreciation for the lamb's ears, Ginger began another Thus Spoke Ginger.

Ginger asked, "Are you familiar with the song that came out in 1943, the year you were born, entitled, Mairzy Doats ?" I replied that when I was a young child, my parents and grandmother would sing that song to me. However, it has been over seven decades that anyone sang that song to me, and I have forgotten much of the song. So, Ginger sang the song for me.

Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey
A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn't you?
Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey
A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn't you?

If the words sound queer and funny to your ear,
A little bit jumbled and jivey.

Say, "Mares eat oats and does eat oats
and little lambs eat ivy."

Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey
A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn't you?
Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey
A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn't you?

My response to Ginger's solo of Mairzy Doats was that she did a nice job singing, but the lyrics seem essentially meaningless to me. Ginger went into a long literary journey related to English nursery rhymes to explain the meaninglessness of the message. "Milton Drake said that he wrote that poem due to his preschool daughter singing, "Cowzy tweet and sowzy tweet and liddle sharksy doisters."

Before I could question the meaning of that nonsensical sentence, Ginger morphed that verse into understandable English, "Cows eat wheat and sows eat wheat and little sharks eat oysters." Nevertheless, that sentence still lacked any significance to me. Ginger brushed off my comment by merely explaining that it was Drake's genesis of the Mairzy Doats lyrics.

Ginger went on about song, which actually became a big hit back in the time of WWII. In fact, American soldiers would use some of the lyrics as passwords. "Can you imagine some German or Japanese saying, 'Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey?'"

I replied that was a great password. However, I thanked Ginger for her very informative tutorial session with me. In addition, I promised her that she'd get some more lamb's ears if she worked harder at potty-training. Ginger agreed with the caveat that she was only a couple months old.

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