Nursery Rhymes

In addition to wondering about the morality of Princess stories, now I have to wonder about some nursery rhymes too? Case in point: (and I'm not making this up, this is straight out of a book I read to my daughter.)

Goosey, Goosey, Gander
Goosey, Goosey, Gander
Whither shall I wander?
Upstairs and downstairs,
And in my lady's chamber.

There I met an old man,
Who wouldn't say his prayers,
I took him by the left leg,
And threw him down the stairs.

Okay, fine, you met a stranger in your lady's chamber... that would make anyone crazy but would you throw him down the stairs just because he didn't say his prayers? Seems a bit extreme to me - almost 'Pulp Fiction' kind of extreme. ;)

I just don't understand the purpose of the next one. The picture in the book is of a couple kids drawn playing outside a house at night. One of the kids doesn't have any shoes on and my daughter has pointed out that he needs shoes every time we read that book - ever since she could talk. Yeah, really.

Girls and Boys, Come out to Play
Girls and boys,
come out to play.
The moon is shining
as bright as day.
Leave your supper
and leave your sleep,
And come with your playfellows
into the street.

I guess it's supposed to be a whimsical kind of rhyme about the fun that could be had outside on a night with a full moon? But as a parent... it's not like I'm just going to let my kids go play outside in the middle of dinner?! (I know, I know... these are just nursery rhymes and their purpose is more for learning words and how they work together in a cute little story, they just struck me as funny tonight)