The True Plum Behind the Nursery Rhyme Little Jack Horner

Ever wonder why Little Jack Horner would consider himself a good boy for pulling a plum out of a Christmas pie? Does not exactly make immediate sense does it? As with all seemingly innocuous and innocent nursery rhymes, there is a hidden story behind the little boy who sat in a corner eating a plum pie. And while we're on the subject, why was Jack sitting in a corner eating that pie on Christmas day anyway? Well, it must be remembered that it was Jack Horner himself who commented on his goodness and not someone else making this observation about it.

The reason that Jack Horner was crouching in a corner eating that pie is perhaps apparent when you stop to think about it. Why would someone be sitting in a corner instead of at the table? Because they stole it. And why would someone who stole a pie claim to be a good boy? Because he got away with it. The whole point behind the Little Jack Horner nursery rhyme was to disguise an act of thievery. The strange events of the nursery rhyme traces back to a man named Thomas Horner, who was a steward to Richard Whiting, Abbott of Glastonbury in Somerset during the 16^th century. Whiting had reason to suspect that Glastonbury was in danger of being confiscated by royal authority during the period marked by Dissolution of Monasteries. Whiting held out hope that if he could establish favor with the Henry VIII he might change the king's plans. And so he sent off his steward Thomas Horner who brought a gift of a Christmas pie to King Henry.

Of course, there were more than just plums inside that Christmas pie. In fact, hidden beneath the thick crust were title deeds to twelve manor houses. Whiting had hoped that the titles to these majestic houses would be enough to placate the king and keep him from carrying out his plans for confiscation. As he made his way to London, not-so-little Thomas Horner stuck his thumb into the pie and pulled out not a plum, but the title to one of those manor houses, Mells Manor. When he gave the pie to King Henry, there were now just eleven titles packed inside it.

Not long after the Abbot's house was dissolved, Thomas Horner moved into Mells Manor and his ancestors still own the deed to the house today. Of course, the Horner offspring have always maintained that the deed came about through perfectly legal means rather than by putting a thumb into a pie and pulling out one truly exceptional prized plum.