There Was an Old Woman Sold Puddings and Pies

The main form most readers know is short and vivid: an old woman selling pies, catching dust at the mill, and crying “Hot pies—hot pies!” through the streets. But there are some variations worth noting.

One expanded version adds a playful second verse:

Hot pies and cold,
Pies to sell;
Wherever she goes,
You may follow her
By the smell.

This extra stanza leans into the sensory world of the street-seller. The pies don’t just shout their name — they trail an aroma you can almost imagine wafting down the lane.

Origins

Long before this rhyme was tucked into Mother Goose books, it probably belonged to the streets. Vendors in London and other towns made their living by walking door to door, calling out what they had to sell. A shout of “Hot pies!” wasn’t poetry — it was the sound of supper arriving. Children would have known that cry by heart, the way we know the jingle of an ice cream truck today.

The line about dust in her eyes rings with lived experience. Imagine trudging back from the mill with flour flying in the air, or trying to cross a road while carts rattled past and grit stung your face. Folding that detail into the rhyme gave the old woman personality. She wasn’t a fairy-tale figure — she was a working woman, tough enough to squint through the dust and keep right on shouting her wares.

Meaning

There isn’t a lesson tucked inside here — no warning, no moral. It’s a snapshot of working life. The old woman makes her rounds, calls out her pies, and endures whatever comes her way, even a face full of dust.

For children, it’s a mix of comedy and rhythm. The chant “Hot pies—hot pies!” is fun to say out loud, and the idea of dust in her eyes adds a touch of silliness. The rhyme mirrors real life but exaggerates it just enough to entertain.