10 budak hitam, 10 little Indians and Agatha Christie

Have you ever heard the 10 Little Indians' nursery rhymes? I bet most of you have. Can't remember? The one with 'One little two, little three, little Indian, four little five little six, little Indian, seven little eight, little nine little Indian, ten little Indian boys'? And usually the 'Indian' is replaced with a kid's name for example: 'One little two, little three, little Aqilah....and so on? Still can't remember? Never mind. What about 10 budak hitam? Have you ever heard the rhyme?

10 budak hitam main tepi jalan,

Satu kena langgar, tinggal lagi sembilan.

9 budak hitam main terjun papan,

Satu patah kaki, tinggal lagi lapan.

8 budak hitam minum air keruh,

Satu sakit perut, tinggal lagi tujuh.

7 budak hitam main tepi kolam,

Satu tak mahu naik, tinggal lagi enam.

6 budak hitam makan buah delima,

Satu tertelan biji, tinggal lagi lima.

5 budak hitam main lompat-lompat,

Satu tak mahu berhenti, tinggal lagi empat.

4 budak hitam duduk tepi jaga,

Satu tak mahu tidur, tinggal lagi tiga.

3 budak hitam usik lembu tua,

Satu kena tendang, tinggal lagi dua.

2 budak hitam main lempar batu,

Satu sudah luka, tinggal lagi satu.

1 budak hitam banyak susah hati,

Tak mahu makan nasi, langsung dia mati.

When I was little, my father would sing this rhyme if I refused to eat rice. He would emphasize the last stanza and I would be so irritated that I gave up not eating and joined him. Okay, enough about my childhood, back to our 10 little Indians. What I've written here is the Malay version of 10 little Indians. Wanna hear the 'Agatha Christie' version of 10 little Indians?

10 little Indians went for a dine,

One got choked and now there are nine.

9 little Indians sat up very late,

One died in sleep and now there are eight.

8 little Indians travelling in Devon,

One decided to stay and now there are seven.

7 little Indians chopping up the sticks,

One chopped himself and now there are six.

6 little Indians playing with a hive,

One stung by a bee and now there are five.

5 little Indians going in for law,

One went to Chancery and now there are four.

4 little Indians climbing up the tree,

One fell down and now there are three.

Three little Indians walking in the Zoo,

One hugged by a bear and now there are two.

2 little Indians sitting in the sun.

One got frizzled up and now there is one.

1 little Indian all left alone,

He went out and hanged himself and now there are none.

This is not a nursery rhyme anymore, well that's why it's called the Agatha Christie's 10 little Indians version, right. And seriously, I'd really love to watch a remake, film or drama series, of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.

p/s: the rhyme might sound different from the original but the ways of death of the 10 little Indians are quite the same.