Here's a breakdown of the origin:
* The nursery rhyme: The rhyme itself is based on a children's counting rhyme called "Ten Little Niggers". This original rhyme, published in the late 19th century, was racist and offensive.
* Agatha Christie's use: In 1939, Christie used the rhyme in her novel "And Then There Were None" as a macabre device to foreshadow the deaths of the characters. She adapted the rhyme to eliminate the racial slur, changing it to "Ten Little Indians".
* Later revisions: The rhyme has been revised over the years to make it more politically correct.
The story of "And Then There Were None": The novel revolves around a group of ten individuals invited to a remote island. They are all connected to a past event that involves a murder. One by one, they are killed off in a manner that corresponds to the verses of the rhyme.
Therefore, the origin of the "Ten Little Indians" rhyme is a combination of the original racist nursery rhyme and Agatha Christie's adaptation of it in her novel.