Sueann Watkins, age 14, of Rutland, Vt., for her question:

WHEN WAS THE FIRST NURSERY RHYME WRITTEN?

Nursery rhymes are little stories that are told in rhymed verse. Many of them can be traced back to ancient times. The term "nursery rhyme," however, didn't come along until it was used in a publication in 1824.

Before we called them nursery rhymes, they ware simply called songs, ditties or melodies. Some were also called "Tales of Mother Goose." These old stories, many of which were in verse form, were collected by a French writer named Charles Perrault and published back in 1698.

Nursery rhymes were passed on through countless generations. We aren't sure who first said to a restless baby: "Hush a bye baby on a tree top.u

Here are just a few of the classic nursery rhymes that have helped children to count or amused them as they jumped, skipped, rolled, climbed or rode a hobbyhorse: "pat a cake, pat a cake, baker's man"; "the farmer in the dell"; "ring around the rosie"; and "London Bridge is falling down."

Many rhymes were counting out rhymes that were used to decide which child would be "it" in a game. Many rhymes want with games of bouncing balls and skipping rope: "last night and the night before, 24 robbers came to my door"; "one, two, three O'Leary"; "butterfly, butterfly, touch the ground."

A lot of nursery rhymes are based on daily activities: "rain, rain go away, come again another day"; "early to bed, early to rise."

Lots of rhymes known today grew out of festivals, ceremonies and rites used hundreds of years ago in Europe. Some of them helped to explain the wonders of the word, the changing from day to night and the movement of ocean tides. Others were old chants that were said as a way to help control the rains, storms, droughts and floods.

Rhymed verses took the place of newspaper cartoons back in the 17th Century. Anyone could criticize a ruler if verses were used. Who's to say if Little Bo Peep is really Mary Queen of Scots? Is Jack Sprat really Charles I? Was Queen Elizabeth the lady who rode a cockhorse to Banbury Cross?

The earliest complete nursery rhyme book had the title of "Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book" and it was printed in London in 1744. Note, however, that the word "nursery" wasn't used in the title.

"Mother Goose's Melody or Sonnets for the Cradle" was printed in 1780.

Rhyme books printed during the 18th Century were very small and measured only three inches by an inch and three quarters. They were bound in bright colored papers and had gilt edges. They weren't hard cover books. They had 50 to 70 rhymes, printed one to a page.

Since no one knew where the rhymes had come from, publishers often made up names for the authors: Nurse Lovechild, Tommy Thumb, Gammer Gurton.

Books printed during the 19th Century used more rhymes than had appeared in early books. "Melodies Complete" had 180 different rhymes, while some of the Mother Goose books of this period had 800 or gore.