Lyrics of Mary Had a Little Lamb

Mary had a little lamb is a beautiful rhyme for kids. The poem was composed by an American writer Sarah Josepha Buell Hale (1788–1879). Although the poem was written earlier, it was published in May 1830. The poem Mary Had A Little Lamb is neither based on real-life nor has any historical background like many other rhymes for kids. The poet was inspired by a young girl named Mary Sawyer who one day took her little pet lamb to school at the suggestion of her brother.

Mary Had A Little Lamb

The Theme of the Poem “Mary Had A Little Lamb”

The poem “Mary Had A Little Lamb” is a story about a little girl who had a little lovely pet ‘Lamb’. The lyrics of the poem represent the love and attachment of the young girl with her little pet ‘Lamb’. Love, excitement, and emotional attachment are the main themes of the poem. The poem exhibits the great love and closeness between the young girl and her little pet ‘Lamb’. It is the young girl's intense care and attachment that pushed the lamb to follow her even at school. The presence of lamb in school excited the children immensely. Everyone at school felt so strange looking at the love and affection of the lamb towards Marry. 

Let’s now look at the lyrics of the poem “Mary Had A Little Lamb”. 

Mary Had A Little Lamb Lyrics

Mary had a little lamb, 

Little lamb, little lamb,

Mary had a little lamb.

Its fleece was as 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,

Till Mary did appear.

“Why does the lamb love Mary so”?

The eager children cry.

Summary of the Poem “Mary Had A Little Lamb”

There was a little girl named Marry. She had a little lamb whose fleece was as white as snow. The little lamb used to follow the young girl ‘Marry’ wherever she went. 

One day, the little girl Mary was getting ready to go to school. The little lamb even wanted to follow her to school. The young girl said to the lamb, “No, you can’t follow me”. It is against the school rules. Therefore, Mary left the lamb at home and went to school. But, without giving any clue to Marry, the little lamb followed her to school silently.

As Mary reached school, she found that a little lamb was following her. She felt very upset. But, all the other children in school were happy to see the little lamb at school. They laughed and played with the lamb cheerfully.

On seeing this, the teacher tried hard to turn the lamb out of the school. But, the lamb still dawdles near the mary till the school hours get over. The other children in the school were curious to know why the lamb loves Mary so much. The teacher explained to students that it was because Marry’s love for her pet is eternal.

The Moral of the Poem  “Mary Had A Little Lamb”

Don’t get tense when life does not go the way you planned or want. Often, life goes beyond your imagination. There are many people in the world who love their pet so much because their pet gives them emotional support and loves them immensely without expecting anything in return. Seeing this, you may get embarrassed a bit but you should be amazed and proud to see the love between owner and pet. Therefore, you should be kind to animals.