Chad gadya ("One Little Goat," or "An Only Kid") is a cumulative song —like The Twelve Days of Christmas — that has been an integral part of the Passover seder since at least the 16th century C.E., when the first printed haggadot appeared. The text, which is in Aramaic and is anonymous, is at least 400 years older. An allegory of Jewish history, it has been translated with rhyme and scansion (to be singable) into just about every Jewish language there is, and there are many melodies for it. Here's a literal translation (I don't know whose work this is):
One little goat, one little goat, that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
A cat came and ate the goat, that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
A dog came and bit the cat, that ate the goat, that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
A stick came and beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the goat, that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
A fire came and burned the stick, that beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the goat, that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
Water came and put out the fire, that burned the stick, that beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the goat, that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
An ox came and drank the water, that put out the fire, that burned the stick, that beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the goat, that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat,
A butcher came and killed the ox, that drank the water, that put out the fire, that burned the stick, that beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the goat, that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
The angel of death came and slew the butcher, who killed the ox, that drank the water, that put out the fire, that burned the stick, that beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the goat, that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
Then came The Holy One of Blessing and smote the angel of death, who slew the butcher, who killed the ox, that drank the water, that put out the fire, that burned the stick, that beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the goat, that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
It's been widely and freely adapted in modern times: the Israeli folk singer Chava Alberstein wrote an anti-war version that caused tremendous controversy in its time. I grew up with with a more innocuous English-language version, "Concerning a Kid," by B. Aronin and A. Piroznikov. I know for a fact that it's been recorded at least once, but I haven't been able to find a streaming file. Here are the music and lyrics, though:
(This is from The Songs We Sing, edited by Harry Coopersmith; the melody I recall is a bit more elaborate than what's given here.)
