<P> Ringa ringa roses, Pocket full of poses, Hush - sha bush - sha, All fall down . </P> <P> A reference to a young children's game named Ring o' Roses occurs in an 1846 article from the Brooklyn Eagle . A group of young children (the eldest being about seven) form a ring, from which a boy takes out a girl and kisses her . </P> <P> An early version of the rhyme occurs in a novel of 1855, The Old Homestead by Ann S. Stephens: </P> <P> A ring--a ring of roses, Laps full of posies; Awake--awake! Now come and make A ring--a ring of roses . </P>

Where did the nursery rhyme ring around the rosie come from