Rub a dub dub,
Three men in a tub,
And who do you think they be?
The butcher,
The baker,
The candlestick maker,
Turn them out, knaves all three !






History:

The presence of "be" instead of "are" may be an earlier contemporary English variation, an instance of the subjunctive climate, or merely poetic permit to attain a verse. An unconventional conclusion is: They all sailed away to ocean.