Nursery Rhymes

Nursery Rhymes are simple rhymes taught to children. The help children learn vocabulary and rhythm.

Click on a rhyme to read it.

Doctor Foster

Doctor Foster
Went to Gloucester
In a shower of rain.
He stepped in a puddle
Right up to his middle
And never went there again.
Monday's Child

Mondays child is fair of face,
Tuesdays child is full of grace,
Wednesdays child is full of woe,
Thursdays child has far to go,
Fridays child is loving and giving,
Saturdays child works hard for his living,
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.
For the Want of a Nail

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
Old King Cole

Old King Cole was a merry old soul,
And a merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe in the middle of the night
And he called for his fiddlers three.
Every fiddler had a fine fiddle,
And a very fine fiddle had he;
Oh there’s none so rare as can compare
With King Cole and his fiddlers three.
Georgie Porgie

Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie,
Kissed the girls and made them cry;
When the boys came out to play,
Georgie Porgie ran away.
Old Mother Hubbard

Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard
To get her poor dog a bone,
But when she got there,
The cupboard was bare,
And so her poor dog had none.
Hey Diddle Diddle

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.
Rain, Rain, Go Away

Rain, rain, go away,
Come again another day.
Hickory Dickory Dock

Hickory, dickory, dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory, dickory, dock.
Remember, Remember

Remember, remember
The fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses,
And all the king’s men,
Couldn’t put humpty together again.
Roses are Red

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet,
And so are you.
It's Raining, It's Pouring

It’s raining, it’s pouring,
The old man is snoring.
He bumped his head
And went to bed,
And he couldn’t get up in the morning.
Simple Simon

Simple Simon met a pieman
Going to the fair;
Said Simple Simon to the pieman
“Let me taste your ware.”

Said the pieman to Simple Simon
“Show me first your penny”
Said Simple Simon to the pieman
“Sir, I have not any!”

Simple Simon went a-fishing
For to catch a whale;
All the water he had got
Was in his mother’s pail.

Simple Simon went to look
If plums grew on a thistle;
He pricked his fingers very much
Which made poor Simon whistle.

He went to catch a dicky bird,
And thought he could not fail,
Because he had a little salt,
To put upon its tail.

He went for water in a sieve
But soon it all fell through;
And now poor Simple Simon
Bids you all adieu,
Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill went up a hill
To fetch a pail of water;
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.
There was a Crooked Man

There was a crooked man who walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse.
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
Jack be Nimble

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack jump over the candlestick.
There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,
She had so many children she didn’t know what to do;
She gave them some broth without any bread;
And spanked them all soundly and put them to bed.
Little Bo Peep

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep,
And can’t tell where to find them;
Leave them alone, and they’ll come home,
Wagging their tails behind them.
Thirty Days Hath September

Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November;
All the rest have thirty-one
Save February, that has twenty-eight alone
Except in Leap Year, that’s the time
When February’s Days are twenty-nine.
Little Jack Horner

Little Jack Horner
sat in the corner,
Eating his Christmas pie;
He put in his thumb,
And pulled out a plum,
And said “What a good boy am I!”
This Little Piggy

This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed at home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy went
“Wee wee wee”, all the way home.
Little Miss Muffet

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet
Eating her curds and whey.
Along came a spider,
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.
Three Little Kittens

Three little kittens, they lost their mittens,
And they began to cry,
“Oh mother dear, we sadly fear
That we have lost our mittens.”
“Lost your mittens? You naughty kittens!
Then you shall have no pie.”
“Meeow, meeow, meeow,
Now we shall have no pie.”

The three little kittens, they found their mittens,
And they began to cry,
“Oh mother dear, see here, see here
For we have found our mittens.”
“Put on your mittens, you silly kittens
And you shall have some pie”
“Purr, purr, purr,
Now let us have some pie.”

The three little kittens put on their mittens
And soon ate up the pie,
“Oh mother dear, we greatly fear
That we have soiled our mittens.”
“Soiled you mittens? You naughty kittens!”
Then they began to cry,
“Meeow, meeow, meeow”
Then they began to sigh.

The three little kittens, they washed their mittens
And hung them out to dry,
“Oh mother dear, do you not hear
That we have washed our mittens.”
“Washed your mittens? You are good kittens.”
But I smell a rat close by,
“Meeow, meeow, meeow”
We smell a rat close by.
Mary Had a Little Lamb

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.
Two Little Dicky Birds

Two little dicky birds
Sitting on a wall,
One named Peter,
One named Paul.
Fly away Peter,
Fly away Paul,
Come back Peter,
Come back Paul.
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

Mary, Mary, quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row.
What are Little Boys Made Of?

What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails,
And puppy dogs tails
That’s what little boys are made of.
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice
And all things nice
That’s what little girls are made of