Mother Goose

Mother Goose, name traditionally associated with nursery rhymes in England and the United States. She is often depicted on the cover or frontispiece of a collection of verse for children as an ugly old woman riding a flying gander. The origin of the tradition is somewhat obscure, although it is usually traced to a French book of children's stories, Stories or Tales from Olden Times (1697; trans. 1729), by Charles Perrault; the legend “Tales of Mother Goose” appeared on the frontispiece of the original edition.