One, Two, Three, Four, Five

"One Two Three Four Five, Once I Caught a Fish Alive" has a history dating back to the 18th century, with its origins rooted in English folklore as a counting-out rhyme used to determine who is "it" in children's games. The earliest recorded version appeared around 1765 in "Mother Goose's Melody," though this initial rendition was quite different from the modern one, featuring a hare instead of a fish with the lines: "One, two, three, Four and five, I caught a hare alive; Six, seven, eight, Nine and ten, I let him go again." The familiar "fish" version emerged later, derived from three variations collected in the 1880s by American folklorist Henry Bolton. Beyond its entertainment value, the rhyme serves as an effective tool for teaching basic counting skills and numeracy to young children due to its simple, repetitive structure and engaging narrative about catching and releasing a fish that bit "this little finger on my right." The rhyme also subtly introduces concepts of cause and effect and can foster empathy by showing the narrator releasing the fish after it bites them.