W. W. Denslow's illustration of "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep", a children's nursery rhyme that dates to 1744, when it was published in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book. Since then, the words have remained mostly intact with few changes. The rhyme is sung to a variant of the 1761 French melody Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman, which is also used for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and the alphabet song. As with many nursery rhymes, attempts have been made to find origins and meanings for the rhyme, but no theories have been definitively proven. Denslow's illustration accompanied a 1901 edition of Mother Goose.Restoration: Lise Broer