Little Cock Robin Peeped Out of His Cabin Lyrics
A little robin looks out of his cabin at the first cold of winter, shrugs it off, and tucks his head under his wing.
Little Cock Robin Peeped Out of His Cabin
Little Cock Robin peeped out of his cabin
To see the cold winter come in.
Tit for tat, what matter for that?
He'll hide his head under his wing!
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/little-cock-robin-peeped-out-of-his-cabin/
- Type
- Animal Rhymes
- Tune
- Spoken briskly, with a cheeky shrug on the third line
- Best for ages
- 2 to 6 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| peeped out of his cabin | Peek out from behind your hands, then pull back. |
| the cold winter come in | Wrap your arms around yourself and shiver. |
| hide his head under his wing | Tuck your chin into your elbow like a bird with its head under a wing. |
What Does Little Cock Robin Peeped Out of His Cabin Mean?
A robin looks out from his little home, which the rhyme calls a cabin, and sees that the cold winter is arriving. The third line, Tit for tat, what matter for that?, is a bold little answer, as if the robin is saying the weather will not worry him. In the last line he simply hides his head under his wing to keep warm.
It makes a good start for talking about how birds cope when the weather turns cold.
History and Origin
The rhyme is printed in The Little Mother Goose (1912), a picture book of nursery rhymes illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith. Every rhyme in that book has its own picture beside it, so it can be shared while looking at a drawing.
Learning Activities
- Bird watching: look out of a window and count the birds you see on a cold day.
- Feed the birds: hang up seeds or a bird feeder in winter and watch who visits.
- Wing tucking: try the last line with your arms, then talk about why a bird tucks its head under its wing.
- Winter picture: draw a robin in a tree with snow falling around it.