<P> The novel goes on to describe a nineteenth - century Fourth of July celebration by children housed in a hospital in Roosevelt Island, New York (then known as "Blackwell's Island"):' Then the little girls began to seek their own amusements . They played "hide and seek," "ring, ring a rosy," and a thousand wild and pretty games' . </P> <P> Another early printing of the rhyme was in Kate Greenaway's 1881 edition of Mother Goose; or, the Old Nursery Rhymes: </P> <P> Ring - a-ring - a-roses, A pocket full of posies; Hush! hush! hush! hush! We're all tumbled down . </P> <P> In 1882, Godey's Lady's Book has the following version: </P>

What does ring around the rosie song mean