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.
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 .'
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"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.
