Little Bunny Foo Foo is a children's poem, involving a rabbit harassing a population of field mice. The rabbit is scolded and eventually punished by a fairy. Like many traditional folk songs, there are multiple versions with differing variations. It is also known under the alternative name Little Rabbit Foo Foo; "Foo Foo" is sometimes spelled as "Fu Fu". The poem is sung to the tune of "Down by the Station" (1948), and melodically similar to Itsy Bitsy Spider and the popular French-Canadian children's song "Alouette" (1879).
The rhyme is usually sung by an older person to a younger child, using a repetitive tune that reinforces the meter, accompanied by hand gestures. In this mode of transmission, it is a form of tickle play that teaches and reinforces motor skills, often passed as childlore.
One of the more popular versions of the song is as follows:
Little bunny Foo FooWent hopping through the forestScooping up the field miceAnd bopping them on the headDown came the Good Fairy, and she said"Little bunny Foo FooI don't want to see youScooping up the field miceAnd bopping them on the head."I'll give you 3 chances,
And if you don't behave, I will turn you into a goon!"And the next day...
Little bunny Foo FooWent hopping through the forestScooping up the field miceAnd bopping them on the headDown came the Good Fairy, and she said"Little bunny Foo FooI don't want to see youScooping up the field miceAnd 'bopping them on the head."I'll give you 2 more chances,
And if you don't behave, I will turn you into a goon!"And the next day...
Little bunny Foo FooWent hopping through the forestScooping up the field miceAnd bopping them on the headDown came the Good Fairy, and she said"Little bunny Foo FooI don't want to see youScooping up the field miceAnd bopping them on the head."I'll give you 1 more chance,
And if you don't behave, I will turn you into a goon!"And the next day...
Little bunny Foo FooWent hopping through the forestScooping up the field miceAnd bopping them on the headDown came the Good Fairy, and she said"Little bunny Foo FooI don't wanna to see youScooping up the field miceAnd bopping them on the head."I gave you three chances and you didn't behave so....POOF. She turned him into a Goon.
An alternate version is
Little Bunny Foo FooHopping through the forestScoopin' up the field miceBopping 'em on the head!Then the Good Fairy came and said:"Little Bunny Foo FooI don't want see youScoopin' up the field miceBashing 'em on the head!I'll give you 3 chances,And if you don't behave, I will turn you into a goon!"Some versions were similar, but different:
Little Rabbit Foo FooRunning through the forestScooping up the field miceAnd bopping them on the head!Down came the Good Fairy, and she said:"Little Rabbit Foo FooI don't wanna see youScooping up the field miceAnd bashing them on the head!I will give you three chances,And if you don't behave, I will turn you into a Goon!"One other version goes
Little Bunny Foo Foohopping through the forestScooping up the field miceAnd bashing them on the head!Down came the Good Fairy, and she said:"Little Bunny Foo FooI don't wanna see youScooping up the field miceAnd bashing them on the head!I will give you three chances,Then POOF you're a Goon."In some versions the Good Fairy turns Little Bunny Foo Foo into a goose or a Goon. Also, in other versions, Little Bunny Foo Foo reforms and is rewarded by the fairy by not being transmogrified. Also, in some versions the Angel Gabriel is used instead of the Good Fairy, in others the Green Fairy. Some versions replace "I don't wanna see you" with "I don't like your attitude" or "What am I gonna do with you". "Hopping through the forest" is also often replaced by "riding in the forest" and goon is often written as goonie. Sometimes a final verse is added:
Little goonie Foo-FooSwimming through the waterScooping up the tadpolesAnd bopping them on the head!One common ending has Little Bunny Foo Foo turned into a Goon, with a pun ending "And the moral of the story is: Hare today, goon tomorrow." This form of story telling with a pun ending is also known as a feghoot.
The story is also retold in the comic Lenore, The Cute Dead Girl where Lenore plays as Little Bunny Foo Foo and gets told to stop bopping field mice on the head by the Good Fairy. She continues bopping other animals instead, and so the Good Fairy reappears and reprimands her by saying: "No bopping ANY animals on the head!" Lenore responds by bopping the fairy. The moral of the story was: "Be more specific".
The rhyme is retold in illustrated children's books.
The original poem can be heard in the first episode of the direct-to-video series Barney and the Backyard Gang.
A version of this rhyme is sung by Butters Stotch in an episode of South Park called "Something You Can Do with Your Finger", which aired in season 4.
In Brazil the song was translated into Portuguese by the Brazilian singer Xuxa for the album Xuxa Só Para Baixinhos 3 ("Xuxa Only for Little Ones"), with the name Coelhinho Fufu. In it, instead of bopping the field mice on the head, he sharply kisses them and (though not said in the song lyrics) drops them, and the Good Fairy (known literally as the Fairy Godmother) gives him a long lecture, and the penalty for using up his three chances by disobeying is being turned into a duckling.
In an eerie book found in shopping malls in the United States, a female Little Bunny Foo Foo is portrayed making small cakes. However, rats would constantly come and steal her desserts. This irritates her so much that she chases and pounds the rats in their heads. The fairy, who is unaware of the rats' thievery, however, blames Little Bunny Foo Foo for the pounding, and tells her to stop. The bunny tries to be peaceful but the way the rats still try to steal her delicacies make her want to go physical on them. After three warnings ignored, the fairy morphs Little Bunny Foo Foo into a giant vicious gerbil. The giant gerbil gets revenge by chasing and finally devouring the fairy. The gerbil returns home to enjoy her cakes. The attendees at her party don't seem to mind her appearance.