"I am going a-milking sir," she said.
"May I go with you, my pretty maid?"
"You are kindly welcome sir," she said.
"What is your father, my pretty maid?"
"My father's a farmer, sir," she said.
"What is your fortune, my pretty maid?"
"My face is my fortune, sir," she said.
"Then I can't marry you, my pretty maid?"
"Nobody asked you sir," she said." - Meaning and context.">
Anonymous nursery rhyme among those attributed to Mother Goose in various collections, including The First Book of Song and Story‎ (1903), edited by Cynthia May Westover Alden and Beatrice Stevens
“

"Where are you going, my pretty maid?"
"I am going a-milking sir," she said.
"May I go with you, my pretty maid?"
"You are kindly welcome sir," she said.
"What is your father, my pretty maid?"
"My father's a farmer, sir," she said.
"What is your fortune, my pretty maid?"
"My face is my fortune, sir," she said.
"Then I can't marry you, my pretty maid?"
"Nobody asked you sir," she said.

— Maiden

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets ""Where are you going, my pretty maid?"
"I am going a-milking sir," she said.
"May I go with you, my pretty maid?"
"You are kindly welcome sir," she said.
"What is your father, my pretty maid?"
"My father's a farmer, sir," she said.
"What is your fortune, my pretty maid?"
"My face is my fortune, sir," she said.
"Then I can't marry you, my pretty maid?"
"Nobody asked you sir," she said." in the context of "Anonymous nursery rhyme among those attributed to Mother Goose in various collections, including The First Book of Song and Story‎ (1903), edited by Cynthia May Westover Alden and Beatrice Stevens" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Maiden" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Maiden

About Maiden

A maiden or maid is a female virgin or, more broadly, merely an unmarried young woman or girl. Related terms include damsel and wench.