[1] The earliest recorded reference to the rhyme is from John Lant, the organist of Winchester Cathedral in 1580, who recorded the following rhyme: Jacke boy, ho boy newes, The cat is in the well, Let us ring now for her Knell, Ding dong ding dong Bell.

[2] The phrase 'Ding, dong, bell' also appears in these passages of Shakespeare's plays: The Tempest, Act I, Scene II: Sea nymphs hourly ring his knell: Hark!

The Merchant of Venice, Act III, Scene II: Let us all ring fancy's knell; I'll begin it – Ding, dong, bell.

[1] In his New Nursery Rhymes for Old (1949) Geoffrey Hall published the following alternative: Ding dong bell Pussy's at the well Who took her there?

What a jolly boy was that To get some milk for pussy cat Who ne'er did any harm But played with the mice in His father's barn.