NCFR h Mary Had A Little Lamb 1851

mary

Mary had a little lamb,
Little lamb, little lamb,
Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow

And everywhere that Mary went,
Mary went, Mary went,
Everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go

It followed her to school one day
School one day, school one day
It followed her to school one day
Which was against the rules.

It made the children laugh and play,
Laugh and play, laugh and play,
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school

And so the teacher turned it out,
Turned it out, turned it out,
And so the teacher turned it out,
But still it lingered near

And waited patiently about,
Patiently about, patiently about,
And waited patiently about
Till Mary did appear

'Why does the lamb love Mary so?'
Love Mary so? Love Mary so?
'Why does the lamb love Mary so?'
The eager children cry

'Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know.'
Loves the lamb, you know, loves the lamb, you know
'Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know.'
The teacher did reply

Mary's Little Lamb First Publication Date: 1830

Original Text: The Juvenile Miscellany, new series, V (Boston: Putnam and Hunt, 1830): 64. Facsimile in Yankee Doodle's Literary Sampler of Prose, Poetry, & Pictures Being an Anthology of Diverse Works Published for the Edification and/or Entertainment of Young Readers in America Before 1900, Selected from the Rare Book Collections of the Library of Congress and Introduced by Virginia Haviland and Margaret N. Coughlan (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1974): 321-22. Z 1232 H38 1974 Robarts Library. Revised version in Sarah J. Hale's The School Song Book (Boston: Allen & Ticknor, 1834): 14-15. Facsimile in Yankee Doodle's Literary Sampler, 162-63.

Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow,
And every where that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go;
He followed her to school one day --
That was against the rule,
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school.

And so the Teacher turned him out,
But still he lingered near,
And waited patiently about,
Till Mary did appear.
And then he ran to her and laid
His head upon her arm,
As if he said -- "I'm not afraid --
You'll shield me from all harm."

"What makes the lamb love Mary so,"
The little children cry;
"O, Mary loves the lamb you know,
The Teacher did reply,
"And you each gentle animal
In confidence may bind,
And make them follow at your call,
If you are always kind."