Song of Six Pence

Illustration from Sing a Song of Six Pence drawn by Walter Crane. The caption reads: Four and Twenty Blackbirds baked in a pie. The maid is rolling the dough needed to make the pie while the blackbirds are perched dangerously on top of the food. Their animosity to the maid and the reason they bit off her nose may be explained by the fact that she baked the poor creatures into a pie. Serves her right.