La trippa della signora Hubbard

La trippa si trova menzionata nel brevissimo racconto in rima "Old Mother Hubbard" (la vecchia Madre Hubbard). Si tratta di una antica filastrocca, attribuita a Sarah Catherine Martin e pubblicata a cominciare dal 1790, ma probabilmente derivata da una tradizione orale che risale al sedicesimo secolo. I versi di questa storiella molto nota nei paesi anglosassoni, raccontano della Madre Hubbard alle prese col suo cane. Ed è un cane davvero speciale: suona il flauto, cavalca le capre, legge il giornale e quando la vecchia signora gli serve un po' di trippa, ecco che lo trova a fumare beatamente la pipa.

"She took a clean dish / To get him some tripe / And when she came back / He was smoking his pipe"
("Prese un piatto pulito / Per dargli un po' di trippa / Ma quando tornò a casa / Il cane stava fumando la pipa")

Dagli inizi dell'Ottocento ad oggi la filastrocca è stata ripubblicata decine di volte, ed anche rimaneggiata: alcune versioni saltano a pie' pari i versi che parlano di trippa, altre - invece che del piatto pulito - raccontano della Madre Hubbard che si reca dal macellaio. Questa la filastrocca integrale, in lingua inglese:

Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard,
To give her poor dog a bone;
But when she came there
The cupboard was bare.
And so the poor dog had none.

She went to the baker's
To buy him some bread,
And when she came back
Poor doggy was dead.

She went to the joiner's
To buy him a coffin,
And when she came back
The dog was a-laughing.

She took a clean dish
To get him some tripe.
And when she came back
He was smoking his pipe.

She went to the ale-house
To get him some beer,
And when she came back,
Doggy sat in a chair.

She went to the tavern
For white wine and red,
And when she came back
The dog stood on his head.

She went to the hatter's
To buy him a hat,
And when she came back
He was feeding the cat.

She went to the barber's
To buy him a wig,
And when she came back
He was dancing a jig.

She went to the fruiterer's
To buy him some fruit,
And when she came back
He was playing the flute.

She went to the tailor's
To buy him a coat,
And when she came back
He was riding a goat.

She went to the cobbler's
To buy him some shoes,
And when she came back
He was reading the news.

She went to the seamstress
To buy him some linen,
And when she came back
The dog was a-spinning.

She went to the hosier's
To buy him some hose,
And when she came back
He was dressed in his clothes.

The dame made a curtsey,
The dog made a bow;
The dame said, "Your servant,"
The dog said, "Bow, wow!"

This wonderful dog
Was Dame Hubbard's delight,
He could read, he could dance,
He could sing, he could write;
She gave him rich dainties
Whenever he fed,
And erected this monument
When he was dead.

I versi della prima strofa alluderebbero al cardinale Thomas Wolsey ed al re Enrico VIII. Tramite il cardinale (la signora Hubbard), il re (il cane) cercò infatti di ottenere dalla Chiesa Cattolica l'annullamento del matrimonio con Caterina d'Aragona (l'osso) per poter sposare Anna Bolena. Ma non vi riuscì (alla Chiesa Cattolica alluderebbe la dispensa vuota) ed il rifiuto del papa Clemente VII portò allo scisma religioso con Roma da cui nacque la Chiesa anglicana.

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La trippa della signora Hubbard