I Bought a Dozen New-Laid Eggs Lyrics
A shopper buys a dozen eggs from Farmer Dickens, limps home, and finds that they have turned into chickens.
I Bought a Dozen New-Laid Eggs
I bought a dozen new-laid eggs,
Of good old farmer Dickens;
I hobbled home upon two legs,
And found them full of chickens.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/i-bought-a-dozen-new-laid-eggs/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 3 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| I bought a dozen new-laid eggs | Cup both hands as if holding a carton of eggs. |
| I hobbled home upon two legs | Walk slowly with a funny limp. |
| found them full of chickens | Flap your arms and say 'cheep, cheep'. |
What Does I Bought a Dozen New-Laid Eggs Mean?
The rhyme is a joke in four lines. The buyer gets a dozen new-laid eggs, meaning eggs that were laid very recently, from a farmer called Dickens. On the way home the buyer hobbles along on two legs, and when the eggs are opened they are full of chickens.
The funny part is the word full: real eggs would not hatch on the way home, but these have done exactly that. It pairs well with an Easter or spring theme, and children enjoy guessing the last word before it is said.
History and Origin
The rhyme is printed in The Little Mother Goose (1912), a picture book of nursery rhymes. The book names no writer, and Farmer Dickens is only named in these lines.
On the same page it prints a short rhyme about a swan swimming over the sea.
Learning Activities
- Egg count: count a dozen eggs in a carton, two at a time.
- Hatching art: draw an egg that opens to show a chick inside.
- Rhyme pairs: find the two rhyming pairs: Dickens and chickens, and eggs and legs.
- Spring walk: look for nests, eggs and chicks in the garden or a park, from a safe distance.