If you don't want your childhood ruined, I'd advise looking away now as parents have been left well and truly 'spooked' after making a pretty chilling realisation about 'Little Bo-Peep'
The nursery rhyme in question, which allegedly originated in16th century England and was passed down verbally for many generations before being written down in 1805, actually has quite a gory story behind it.
Understandably, parents would have probably never expected such a grim tale to follow the children's rhyme which starts off innocently enough with: " Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep, / And can't tell where to find them."
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However, as the rhyme continues, it allegedly points to way darker themes than Bo-Peep frolicking in a field after losing sight of the fluffy animals.
The lyrics go on, telling a story of Bo-Peep leaving the sheep alone in the hopes that they'll come home 'bringing their tails behind them'.
Bo-Peep then falls 'fast sleep' and was 'determined' to find them but the next segment of the rhyme is far from a cheery ending.
The rhyme rounds off: "She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed, / For they’d left their tails behind them. / It happened one day, as Bo-Peep did stray / Into a meadow hard by, / There she espied their tails, side by side, All hung on a tree to dry."
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The mental image of a load of sheeps' bloody amputated tails all hung up on a tree is a million miles away from what we thought...
Clearly disturbed by the gruesome scene before her, the rhyme ends with Bo-Peep heaving a 'heavy sigh' and wiping her eye before trying to find the sheep once again - only to 'tack' the tails back onto their behinds.
Grim.
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One TikToker, who goes by the handle @brandon_hell online, has since shared the twisted full lyrics behind the popular children's nursery rhyme prompting many parents to share their reactions to the revelation with one writing: "Ohhh my that’s baaaaaaaad."
"OK but all nursery rhymes were based on tales to warn the children to stay in line or something like that," theorised a second while another hit out: "These old nursery rhymes are so spooky!"
And a final TikTok user sarcastically penned: "Thanks for ruining our childhoods!!"
Well, you can't say we didn't warn you!
Rhiannon Ingle