Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, all the kings horses and all the kings men could put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
This is a tale that was used by peasants to make fun of a king. Marty couldnt remember which king, but thought it might be Louis the XIV. He remembers learning the tale as a child. He remembers it more because it was one of the first ones that he was ever taught.
I think that today most people would be able to re tell this tale, but again the variations are still around. I remember the men coming before the horses, but thinking about it I am not quite sure if that is true, or if it is because I just forgot the correct order.
No matter what the reason I would have told the tale a little differently which would have generated a new variation on the tale. The meaning that I attribute to the tale is that you always need to be careful because the one time that you make a big mistake it could cost you quite dearly. In this case, Humpty Dumpty was not put back together again, but was that because he was too badly damaged, or because the people around him didnt want to help him? If this tale was written so that the kind could be mocked maybe the reason why Humpty Dumpty wasnt put back together again was because of the peoples desires to let the king suffer.