One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
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One, two, buckle my shoe
Three, four, shut the door
Five, six, pick up sticks
Seven, eight, lay them straight
Nine, ten, a big fat hen
Eleven, twelve, men must delve
Thirteen, fourteen, maids are courting
Fifteen, sixteen, maids in the kitchen
Seventeen, eighteen, maids in waiting
Nineteen, twenty, my plate's empty ...
Parodies
A form of this nursery rhyme appears in several of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies being chanted by children:
- One, two, Freddy's coming for you.
- Three, four, better lock your door.
- Five, six, grab your crucifix.
- Seven, eight, gonna stay up late.
- Nine, ten, never sleep again.
The novel
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (1940) is a novel by Agatha Christie. It is one of several of Christie's crime fiction novels to feature the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and Chief Inspector Japp. It was also published as An Overdose Of Death and The Patriotic Murders.
Plot
The novel starts when a dentist Poirot visits is found dead in his office, holding a gun in his hand. Multiple theories for the dentist's death are suggested, most of them involving suicide, before another woman is found dead. At that point, Poirot links the two deaths together.
From the back cover of the 1961 Fontana edition :-
"Hercule Poirot was just like all of us when it came to a visit to the dentist. He hated it.
When he left Mr Morley's surgery the world seemed good. He would not be seeing Morley again for six months.
That afternoon he saw him again - DEAD.
In spite of the removal of his two chief suspects Poirot continues to delve below the surface of appearances and uncovers a cunning plot strewn with traps and false scents."
The title
The book's title is derived from a well-known children's nursery rhyme, and the chapters each corresond to a line from the nursery rhyme. Other Agatha Christie books also share this naming convention, such as Hickory Dickory Dock. In the adaptation to television, two girls are seen reciting the rhyme several times while playing outside the dentist's office.
Film versions
Adapted in 1992 with David Suchet as Poirot.
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