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39 animal nursery rhymes

Animal nursery rhymes

This is a list of 39 classic animal nursery rhymes. There are lots of uses for these. They are great for kids and young students to learn English in a fun way. They are also handy for poetry classes and for older students, the animal nursery rhymes have some quite interesting language as most are very old.

Just click on the plus icons to expand the words to all of the animal nursery rhymes.

A cat came fiddling out of a barn

With a pair of bag-pipes under her arm

She could sing nothing but fiddle–dee-dee

The mouse has married the bumble-bee

Pipe, cat, dance, mouse

We’ll have a wedding at our house.

The rooster is on the housetop blowing his horn

The bull’s in the barn a-threshing of corn

The maids in the meadows are making of hay

The ducks in the river are swimming away.

A wise old owl sat in an oak

The more he heard, the less he spoke

The less he spoke, the more he heard

Why aren’t we all like that wise old bird?

Baa, baa, black sheep

Have you any wool?

Yes, sir, yes, sir

Three bags full

One for the master

One for the dame

And one for the little boy

Who lives down the lane.

A swarm of bees in May

Is worth a load of hay

A swarm of bees in June

Is worth a silver spoon

A swarm of bees in July

Is not worth a fly.

a beehive for the animal nursery rhyme bees

Bow–wow-wow

Whose dog art thou?

Little Tom Tinker’s dog

Bow–wow-wow.

A little cock-sparrow sat on a green tree

And he chirruped, he chirruped, so merry was he

A naughty boy came with his wee bow and arrow

Determined to shoot this little cock-sparrow.

“This little cock-sparrow shall make me a stew

And his giblets shall make me a little pie, too.”

“Oh, no,” says the sparrow “I won’t make a stew.”

So he flapped his wings and away he flew.

Butterfly, butterfly

Whence do you come?

“I know not, I ask not

Nor ever had a home.”

Butterfly, butterfly

Where do you go?

“Where the sun shines

And where the buds grow.”

Cushy cow, bonny, let down thy milk

And I will give thee a gown of silk

A gown of silk and a silver tee

If thou wilt let down thy milk to me.

Dame Trot and her cat

Led a peaceable life

When they were not troubled

With other folks’ strife.

When Dame had her dinner

Pussy would wait

And was sure to receive

A nice piece from her plate.

A boy and dog for the animal nursery rhymes Bow Wow Wow

Great A, little a

Bouncing B!

The cat’s in the cupboard

And can’t see me.

Hey Diddle Diddle

The cat and the fiddle

The cow jumped over the moon

The little dog laughed to see such fun

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

Hickety Pickety my black hen

She lays eggs for gentlemen.

Sometimes 9 and sometimes 10.

Hickety Pickety, my black hen.

Hickory Dickory Dock

The mouse ran up the clock

The clock struck one

And down he run

Hickory Dickory Dock.

Higglety, pigglety, pop!

The dog has eaten the mop

The pig’s in a hurry

The cat’s in a flurry

Higglety, pigglety, pop!

a black hen for the animal nursery rhyme my black hen

Hoddley, poddley, puddle and fogs

Cats are to marry the poodle dogs

Cats in blue jackets and dogs in red hats

What will become of the mice and the rats?

If I had a donkey

That wouldn’t go

Do you think I’d beat him?

Oh, no, no!

I’d put him in a barn

And give him some corn

The best little donkey

That ever was born.

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout

Down came the rain and washed the spider out

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain

And the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.

Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home

Your house is on fire and your children are gone

All except one who is called little Ann

For she crept under the frying pan.

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep

And doesn’t know where to find them

Leave them alone and they’ll come home

Bringing their tails behind them.

Little Bo Peep fell fast asleep

And dreamt she heard them bleating

But when she awoke, she found it a joke

For they were all still fleeting.

Then up she took her little crook

Determined for to find them

She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed

For they’d left their tails behind them.

It happened one day, as Bo Peep did stray

Into a meadow hard by

There she espied their tails side by side

All hung on a tree to dry.

She heaved a sigh and wiped her eye

And over the hillocks went rambling

And tried what she could, as a shepherdess should

To tack again each to its lambkin.

A vintage donkey for animal nursery rhymes

Little Poll Parrot

Sat in his garret

Eating toast and tea

A little brown mouse

Jumped into the house

And stole it all away.

Little Robin Redbreast

Pit-pat all the day

Then he opened up his wings

And he flew away.

I went to look for Robin.

Where can Robin be?

I found him in the orchard

Up in a cherry tree.

Little Robin Redbreast sat upon a tree

Up went Kitty cat, and down went he

Down came Kitty, and away Robin ran

Says little Robin Redbreast, “Catch me if you can.”

Mary had a little lamb

Its fleece was white as snow

And everywhere that Mary went

The lamb was sure to go.

It followed her to school one day

Which was against the rule

It made the children laugh and play

To see a lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned it out

But still it lingered near

And waited patiently about

Till Mary did appear.

Why does the lamb love Mary so?

The eager children cry

Why Mary loves the lamb, you know

The teacher did reply.

Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone

Oh where, oh where can he be?

With his ears cut short and his tail cut long

Oh where, oh where is he?

a vintage parrot sketch

Once I saw a little bird

Come hop, hop, hop

So I cried, “Little bird

Will you stop, stop, stop?”

And was going to the window

To say, “How do you do?”

But he shook his little tail

And far away flew.

Half a pound of tuppenny rice

Half a pound of treacle.

That’s the way the money goes

Pop goes the weasel.

Up and down the City Road

In and out the Eagle.

That’s the way the money goes

Pop goes the weasel.

Every night when I go out

The monkey’s on the table.

Take a stick and knock it off

Pop goes the weasel.

A penny for a ball of thread,

Another for a needle.

That’s the way the money goes,

Pop goes the weasel.

Shoe a little horse

Shoe a little mare

But let a little colt

Go bare, bare, bare.

Six little mice sat down to spin

Kitty passed by and she peeped in.

What are you doing, my little men?

Weaving coats for gentlemen.

Shall I come in and cut off your threads?

No, no, Mistress Kitty, you’d bite off our heads.

Oh, no, I’ll not; I’ll help you spin.

That may be so, but you can’t come in.

I had a little hen, the prettiest ever seen

She washed me the dishes and kept the house clean

She went to the mill to fetch me some flour

She brought it home in less than an hour

She baked me my bread, she brewed me my ale

She sat by the fire and told many a fine tale.

a sketch of a cat catching mice

Dickory, dickory, dare

The pig flew up in the air

The man in brown soon

Brought him down

Dickory, dickory, dare.

The lion and the unicorn were fighting for the crown

The lion beat the unicorn all around the town

Some gave them white bread and some gave them brown

Some gave them plum cake and drummed them out of town.

Once I saw a little bird

Come hop, hop, hop

So I cried, “Little bird

Will you stop, stop, stop?”

 

And was going to the window

To say, “How do you do?”

But he shook his little tail

And far away he flew.

The little black dog ran ‘round the house

And set the bull a-roaring

And drove the monkey in the boat

Who set the oars a-rowing,

And scared the cock upon the rock

Who cracked his throat with crowing.

The owl and the pussycat went to sea

In a beautiful pea-green boat

They took some honey and plenty of money

Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above

And sang to a small guitar

‘O lovely Pussycat! O Pussycat, my love

What a beautiful Pussycat you are

You are, You are!

What a beautiful Pussycat you are!’

Pussycat said to the Owl, ‘You elegant fowl

How charmingly sweet you sing!

O let us be married! too long we have tarried

But what shall we do for a ring?’

They sailed away, for a year and a day

To the land where the Bong-tree grows

And there in a wood, a Piggy-wig stood

With a ring at the end of his nose

His nose, his nose

With a ring at the end of his nose.

‘Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling

Your ring?’ Said the Piggy, ‘I will.’

So they took it away and were married next day

By the Turkey who lives on the hill.

They dined on mince and slices of quince

Which they ate with a runcible spoon

And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand

They danced by the light of the moon

The moon, the moon

They danced by the light of the moon.

An owl sketch for animal nursery rhymes article

There was a little guinea pig

Who being little was not big

He always walked upon his feet

And never fasted when he eat

When from a place he ran away

He never at the place did stay

And while he ran, as I am told

He ne’er stood still for young or old.

He often squeaked and sometimes violent

And when he squeaked he ne’er was silent

Though ne’er instructed by a cat

He knew a mouse was not a rat.

One day, as I am certified

He took a whim and fairly died

And as I’m told by men of sense

He never has been living since.

Three blind mice, three blind mice

See how they run, see how they run

They all ran after the farmer’s wife

Who cut off their tails with a carving knife

Did you ever see such a thing in your life

As three blind mice?

There were two birds sat on a stone

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de

One flew away, and then there was one

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de

The other bird flew after

And then there was none

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de

And so the stone

Was left alone

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.

If I’d as much money as I could tell

I never would cry young lambs to sell

Young lambs to sell, young lambs to sell

I never would cry young lambs to sell

a lamb picture for animal nursery rhymes

If you enjoyed the animal nursery rhymes check out the pairs of rhyming words picture cards or the rhyming words for kids. The two syllable words that rhyme are great for older students also!

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