It is thought this nursery rhyme dates back to 1580 when John Lant, the organist of Winchester Cathedral recorded a similar rhyme.
However it would be nearly 200 years later, in 1765 when it was published in Mother Goose's Melody, that it started to resemble the rhyme today
'Ding Dong Bell' lyrics
Ding dong bell, Pussy’s in the well. Who put her in? Little Johnny Green. Who pulled her out? Little Tommy Stout
More famous nursery rhyme lyrics
Main image: © Walter Crane, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons