Mary Had a Little Lamb Lyrics

Written by Sarah Josepha Hale, published in 1830 in Poems for Our Children. Inspired by a real incident where a lamb followed a girl named Mary to school in Sterling, Massachusetts. Best for ages 1–5. The rhyme's simple AABB structure and limited vocabulary make it ideal for early language acquisition — most toddlers can complete the rhyme by filling in the last word of each line by their third birthday. Historically significant as the first audio ever recorded by Thomas Edison in 1877. Pair with a stuffed lamb toy for narrative play, or use it as a vocabulary anchor for the words "follow," "school," and "rule." For more on rhyme structure and literacy, see [why nursery rhymes matter for brain development](/blog/why-nursery-rhymes-matter-for-brain-development).

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.
And 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.