The relationship of many historical events to the Nursery Rhyme have been long forgotten.
The Bubonic Plague and its symptoms were parodied in Ring around the Rosy
English Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary) was believed to be the 'star' of the Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary rhyme which featured a hidden reference to the Queen's treatment of Protestants using instruments of torture (silver bells) and execution by burning them alive at the stake! It's no wonder that this Queen has since been known as Bloody Mary!
Witches and their 'familiars', like cats, frogs, mice and owls, are frequently, but obliquely, referred to in the words of a Nursery Rhyme as we have discussed in The Identity of Mother Goose.
We need to understand the people, history and cultures of by-gone days to unlock the hidden meanings of the humble Nursery rhyme.