I Had a Little Nut Tree Lyrics
A tree that grows nothing but a silver apple and a golden pear, and a princess who travels all the way from Spain to see it. Few nursery rhymes pack so much magic into six lines.
I Had a Little Nut Tree
I had a little nut tree, nothing would it bear
But a silver apple and a golden pear;
The King of Spain's daughter came to see me,
And all for the sake of my little nut tree.
I skipped over water, I danced over sea,
And all the birds in the air couldn't catch me.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/i-had-a-little-nut-tree/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Traditional
- Best for ages
- 2 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| I had a little nut tree | Stand tall and stretch your arms up like branches. |
| But a silver apple and a golden pear | Cup one hand, then the other, as if holding each fruit. |
| The King of Spain's daughter came to see me | Walk in a slow, royal way with your nose in the air. |
| I skipped over water, I danced over sea | Skip on the spot, then twirl. |
| And all the birds in the air couldn't catch me | Flap your arms and run in a small circle. |
What Does I Had a Little Nut Tree Mean?
The singer owns a very unusual tree. It grows no ordinary nuts, only one silver apple and one golden pear, and it is so special that a Spanish princess comes to visit. In the last two lines the singer is so happy that they skip and dance across water and sea faster than the birds can follow.
Older printings give the tree a silver nutmeg instead of an apple. The apple is the version most families sing today.
History and Origin
When James Orchard Halliwell collected the rhyme in the 1840s, he added a short note wondering whether it referred to Joanna of Castile, the daughter of the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, who visited the court of Henry VII in England in 1506. He did not claim to know, and nobody has proved it since. It is a nice story to tell children, as long as you tell it as a guess.
Learning Activities
- Draw the tree: give children silver and gold crayons and let them decide what else their own magic tree would grow.
- Map it: find Spain and England on a map, and talk about how long the princess's trip would take by boat.
- Fruit sorting: put a real apple and pear side by side and name the differences in shape, color and feel.
- Dance the ending: play a short piece of music and let children skip and twirl, then freeze when it stops.