Eat, Birds, Eat, and Make No Waste Lyrics
A boy who is supposed to scare the birds off the field lies down instead and lets them eat, as long as everyone scatters before the master arrives.
Eat, Birds, Eat, and Make No Waste
Eat, birds, eat, and make no waste;
I lie here and make no haste:
If my master chance to come,
You must fly, and I must run.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/eat-birds-eat/
- Type
- Animal Rhymes
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Eat, birds, eat | Peck at your palm with two fingers. |
| I lie here and make no haste | Lie back and put your hands behind your head. |
| You must fly, and I must run | Flap your arms, then run on the spot. |
What Does Eat, Birds, Eat, and Make No Waste Mean?
In the past, children were paid to scare birds off newly sown fields. This one has a better idea: he lets the birds eat, tells them not to waste any, and takes it easy. Make no haste means take your time. The deal only lasts until the master comes, when the birds must fly off and the boy must run.
History and Origin
The rhyme is printed in Andrew Lang's The Nursery Rhyme Book (1897). It is the cheeky opposite of the bird-scarers' songs such as Awa', Birds, Awa', which tell the birds to take a little and leave the rest.
Learning Activities
- Act it out: one child is the lazy bird-scarer, the others are birds, and one is the master.
- Compare: say it together with Awa', Birds, Awa' and spot the difference.
- Seed tray: sow cress seeds and keep watch over them.