I ran across this in the reader for the text series Artes Latinae. The text says it’s “an old favorite turned into Latin verse.” I’ll just give the last verse in Latin, then the translation. So far, merely googling key phrases from the Latin or a straightforward English translation reveals no more information. I’d especially like to know if the original had a tune associated with it, though similar things like The House that Jack Built or For Want of a Nail lack actual tunes, so I’m not too hopeful on that account.
I’ll just give the last verse, and its English equivalent:
Et in ave penna est;
Penna in ave, avis in ōvō, ōvum in nīdō,
Nīdus in rāmō, rāmus in quercū, quercus in colle,
Et collis nōn movētur
And on the bird is a feather
A feather on the bird, the bird in an egg, the egg in a nest,
The nest on a branch, the branch on an oak, the oak on a hill
And the hill does not move