I remember being a little disturbed by this one as a child. Most nursery rhymes were very unsatisfying for me. They never seemed to go anywhere or have a happy ending. So I remember asking several questions about this one. (I didn't especially like it.)

First ... how could she lose a pocket? (Since those were sewed securely to your clothes.) My parents said this was a short word for "pocketbook" ... which was another name for a purse. Ok, that made sense to me.

Next ---> did Kitty Fisher take the lost purse back to its owner? (Even without any money in it, the purse still had some value. I darkly suspected the Kitty kept the purse for herself on a "finders-keepers" rationale.) My parents didn't know. The rhyme didn't say. (They were getting a little impatient by this time.)

Next ---> was the ribbon red by any chance? (My favorite color.) And did that give the purse more value -- since that ribbon seems to somehow stand in for the lack of pennies. (Answer: No, that just made it pretty.)

This whole thing still did not make sense to me. (And my parents clearly wished they were dealing with an easier child.) And I still didn't like the rhyme. And the answers didn't help.