Loddy, Gin, and Ella Zander Lyrics
Three children ride a gander to market and buy a crane for half a dollar. The crane talks back, tells Loddy to hurry, and flies off slowly, with Loddy still holding on.
Loddy, Gin, and Ella Zander
Loddy, Gin, and Ella Zander
Rode to market on a gander;
Bought a crane for half a dollar;
Loddy led him by the collar.
Mister Crane said: "Hi there, master,
Can't you make your legs work faster?
We can't poke along this way."
Then he slowly flew away.
Loddy held him fast, you bet,
And he hasn't come home yet.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/loddy-gin-and-ella-zander/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Leroy F. Jackson
- Tune
- Brisk trot for the first verse, then a drawl for the crane's complaint
- Best for ages
- 3 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Rode to market on a gander; | Bounce up and down in your seat as if riding a big bird. |
| Loddy led him by the collar. | Hold a pretend lead in one fist and walk forward. |
What Does Loddy, Gin, and Ella Zander Mean?
This is a tall tale in ten lines. A gander is a male goose, and a crane is a tall bird with long legs and a long neck. Three children ride one to market, which is already silly, and then buy the other for half a dollar. Nobody leads a bird by the collar, but Loddy does.
The best part is the crane's voice. It calls its owner master and complains that the pace is too slow: we can't poke along this way, where to poke along means to move slowly. Then it flies off, and the funny twist is the last couplet, since Loddy held on fast, so Loddy went too. The poem does not say where, and he hasn't come home yet is how the story ends. The rhymes are part of the joy: Zander with gander, dollar with collar, master with faster.
History and Origin
This verse is from The Peter Patter Book of Nursery Rhymes, a 1918 book by Leroy F. Jackson. The jokes here rest on made-up names and quick rhymes.
Learning Activities
- Say the names: clap on each syllable of Loddy, Gin and Ella Zander, and then on gander, to hear the rhythm.
- Crane voice: read the crane's lines in a slow, grumbling voice, and the rest of the poem in a bright one.
- What next? ask the child where Loddy might have been carried, and draw the flight.
- Bird sizes: look at pictures of a goose and a crane and compare their legs and necks.