Mary Had a Little Lamb

Mary Had a Little Lamb

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.


full poem

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 keep me from all harm.'

'What makes the lamb love Mary so?'
  The eager 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 .'

Mary Had a Little Lamb
Thomas Edison reciting "Mary Had a Little Lamb"
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Music

"Mary Had a Little Lamb" (originally, "Mary's Lamb") is a poem by Sarah Josepha Hale. It was published in her Poetry for Children in 1823. It tells of a lamb who follows his little mistress to school. In the 1830s, Lowell Mason set the poem to music. In 1877, Thomas Edison recited "Mary Had a Little Lamb" for the first recording of the human voice.