I'll Tell You a Story Lyrics
"I'll tell you a story about Jack a Nory, and now my story's begun." Then it is over. This is the rhyme parents have used for generations when a child asks for just one more story.
I'll Tell You a Story
I'll tell you a story
About Jack a Nory,
And now my story's begun:
I'll tell you another
About Jack his brother,
And now my story's done.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/ill-tell-you-a-story/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 2 to 7 years
What Does I'll Tell You a Story Mean?
It is a teasing trick. It promises a story, then ends almost at once, first about Jack a Nory and then about his brother. It is the perfect reply to a child who keeps asking for "one more story" at bedtime, and most children find the trick funny once they catch on.
History and Origin
The rhyme appears in James Orchard Halliwell's collections from the 1840s and was already known long before. "Jack a Nory" seems to have been a made-up name chosen to rhyme with "story".
Learning Activities
- Bedtime joke: use it once as a pretend story, then tell a real one.
- Shortest story: challenge your child to tell a whole story in one sentence.
- Rhyme a name: invent a new character whose name rhymes with story, like Rory or Dory.