He went for water with a sieve, But soon it all ran through; And now poor
Simple Simon Bids you all adieu." The
term Simple Simon has since been used to
refer to any foolish or gullible person or to a simpleton. 2. a
reference to the
children's story Epaminondas, which tells of a young
boy, Epaminondas, who lives with his
mother on one side of a hill. The story relates how the little
boy travels to his grandmother's
house on the other side of the hill and is
given items, such as
bread and
cake, to take
home. On his first journey he carries a
cake home to his
mother but, by the
time he reaches
home the
cake is nothing but crumbs. Noticing the crumbs his
mother instructs him how to correctly carry a
cake. The
following week he is
given a
block of butter. Applying his
mother's
cake instructions to the butter he
returns home. When he reaches
home the butter has melted. His
mother noticing such, instructs him on how to correctly carry the butter. The story continues with Epaminondas applying his
mother's instructions to the
wrong items until finally his
mother decides to go to the grandmother's