Hector Protector Lyrics
Hector is dressed in his best green clothes and sent to the Queen. She does not like him, neither does the King, and back he goes. That is the whole story, told in five quick lines.
Hector Protector
Hector Protector was dressed all in green;
Hector Protector was sent to the Queen.
The Queen did not like him,
No more did the King;
So Hector Protector was sent back again.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/hector-protector/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Hector Protector was dressed all in green | Stand up straight and brush down your clothes proudly. |
| Hector Protector was sent to the Queen | March forward a few steps. |
| The Queen did not like him, no more did the King | Shake your head, then shake it again. |
| So Hector Protector was sent back again | March back to where you started. |
What Does Hector Protector Mean?
Hector turns up at the royal court in his green finery, and neither the Queen nor the King wants him. So he is sent straight home. Children enjoy the quick reversal: all that dressing up for nothing.
History and Origin
James Orchard Halliwell placed the rhyme among the historical rhymes at the start of his 1840s collection, and people have guessed at the history ever since. The name Protector suggests the title "Lord Protector", held by several powerful men in English history, but nobody has shown which one, if any, it refers to. In 1965 the American illustrator Maurice Sendak turned it into a picture book, Hector Protector and As I Went Over the Water, in which Hector is a very cross little boy who does not want to go anywhere.
Learning Activities
- Dress-up: find something green to wear and act out the rhyme, marching to the "Queen" and back.
- Read on: look for Maurice Sendak's picture book version.
- What went wrong? Ask children why the Queen might not have liked Hector, and how he could do better next time.