Little Willie rhymes are light verses including an indifferent or cheerfully inappropriate response to a gruesome act of violence in a quatrain form attributed to Harry Graham (1874-1936). The earliest was included among the Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes published in 1898 under Graham's pen name Col. D. Streamer while he was serving in the Coldstream Guards. Billy, in one of his nice new sashes,Fell in the fire and was burnt to ashes;Now, although the room grows chilly,I haven’t the heart to poke poor Billy.