Girl With The Curl

“Girl with the curl” has often been a part of my bio as it changes here and there to fit my mood or word length requirements of any given site, but it wasn’t until about a month or so ago that I realized not everyone was familiar with this beloved nursery rhyme.

Sometime between learning to read and getting a book and record combo for “The Fox and the Hound,” my favorite book was a big collection of nursery rhymes. Even then I disagreed that I consisted of “sugar and spice and everything nice.” Maybe, I thought, I was meant to be a boy. After all, even at that age I related to “snips and snails and puppy dog tails” much better than the girlie stuff. I still do, but that’s a blog post for another day.

Since “What are Little Girls Made Of?” didn’t seem to fit me, I fell in love with “There Was a Little Girl”. It was a little different in the nursery rhyme book, but I’ve recently discovered it was originally penned by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173916 )

Here is his version:

There was a little girl,

Who had a little curl,

Right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good,

She was very good indeed,

But when she was bad she was horrid.

(The version I held dear to my heart read: “When she was good, she was very, very good.” So, yes, that fit a child’s mind better than “indeed” without changing the intent of the verse.)

I ‘ve fought this curl with a hair dryer, flat  iron, and molding clay. It’s an ongoing battle. When I want to be naughty, let’s just say that curl springs to life, and leave it at that.

Besides, some people’s version of good conflicts with other people’s version of bad. Come be naughty with me.

About Pia: 

Tongue in cheek, among other places.
Girl with the curl.
Author of naughty, naughty things.

Pia's newest release, My Ghost, is now available from Silver Publishing.


A ghost of my past haunts me already, so running into another in the same graveyard where it all began is almost more than I can stand.

Almost.

So why the hell did I bring him home?