One, Two, Three, Four, Five

Origin

The first recorded version of One, Two, Three, Four, Five appeared in Mother Goose’s Melody around 1765. The original version dealt with a hare, with the words: “One, two, three, four, and five, I caught a hare alive; Six, seven, eight, nine and ten, I let him go again.” The modern version of the rhyme, which involves counting fish, is derived from three variations collected by Henry Bolton in the 1880s from America.

Children's Activities

One, Two, Three, Four, Five is a counting-out rhyme used to determine who will be “it” in games such as tag or hide-and-seek. The rhyme is repeated until the chosen number is reached, and the person at that number is “it.”
Children can also use the rhyme to practice counting and improve their math skills.

Other Versions 

The traditional Mother Goose version went as follows:
One, two, three, four, five,
I caught a hare alive;
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
I let him go again.

Modern version:

One, two, three, four, five,
Once I caught a fish alive.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
Then I let it go again.
Why did you let it go?
Because he bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
This little finger on my right.

•    In Scotland, the rhyme is sometimes sung as “One, two, three, four, five, Here I go to hell alive; Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, I come out alive again.”
•    There is also a version which uses a different animal altogether, with the lines, “One, two, three, four, five, I caught a butterfly alive; Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, I put it in a box again.” 
•    Lastly, there is an American version of the rhyme where potatoes are the central character. It goes “One, two, three, four, five, I dig my potatoes alive; Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, I carry them home again.”