Musical Mondays: Hush Little Baby

Another lullaby I've taken to singing to Abby recently is the classic "Hush Little Baby." For some reason, one day it just popped into my head and I realized I actually remembered all of the words.

Then I got to thinking... that's a lot of stuff to buy. So, being the dork I am, I thought I would actually figure out how much the song cost (kind of along the lines of how much does my true love give me in the 12 Days of Christmas!).

Hush little baby, don't say a word, mama's gonna buy you...

• a mockingbird. So after some research, it looks like a mockingbird is illegal to have as a pet. It is a native, wild songbird, and apparently state, federal, and international laws prohibit keeping them as pets. They're not sold anywhere. Hmm. Birds as pets can cost $10-$10,000. Let's go with $100.

If that mockingbird won't sing, mama's gonna buy you...

• a diamond ring. Really? What parent would buy a diamond ring for their baby? Anyway... An article I found says that in 2005 the average diamond engagement ring cost $4146. 

If that diamond ring turns brass, mama's gonna buy you...

• a looking glass. When I think of a "looking glass" I think of "Alice Through the Looking Glass" so I"m going to assume this means a full-length mirror. Conservative average cost: $75 

If that looking glass gets broke, mama's gonna buy you...

• a billy goat. Here's something I actually know something about. I was in 4H and raised goats. This website shows an average cost of a breeding buck to be around $575. But I doubt a baby would have use for a breeding goat, so we'll go with the "commercial" bucks (read: fixed and just a pet) price of $130

If that billy goat won't pull, mama's gonna buy you...

• a cart and bull. This one's a little tricky. You typically wouldn't buy a bull for purposes of pulling a cart... they're too unpredictable. A steer would be a better fit. But most steers are sold for meat, so using some of the information found here I'm going to say he'll cost us $600. Then let's throw a couple hundred in for the cost of a cart, and you've got $800 into this one.

If that cart and bull turn over, mama's gonna buy you...

• a dog named Rover. Just like the birds above, dogs can cost $10-$10,000 depending on breed, etc. Let's say we get an average purebred dog for $500. 

If that dog named Rover won't bark, mama's gonna buy you...

• a horse and cart. Animals are tough to put an average price on. Horses can be $500-$XXXXXXX. But you can get a decent, unregistered horse for $2000. Add the cost of another cart... $2200.

And if that horse and cart fall down, you'll still be the sweetest little baby in town!

So what did we come up with? A grand total of $7951. And that doesn't include the cost to care for and feed all those animals...

Sorry Abby. I might sing this song to you to put you to sleep, but I'm not really going to spend $8000 on things that keep breaking...