My Tame Squirrel Lyrics
A child describes a pet squirrel with a quick step and a long furry tail. It sleeps under the pillow, ignores every scolding, and builds a soft nest from cotton, worsted and silk, with a hoard of hazelnuts hidden nearby.
My Tame Squirrel
I have a little squirry,
His step is quick and light,
His tail is long and furry,
And his eyes are large and bright.
He burrows 'neath my pillow,
And curls himself to sleep;
Or in my basket willow
He slyly loves to creep.
It's of no use to scold him,
He always has his way,
Though oft and oft I've told him
To be quiet in his play.
But bolder still and bolder
He grows with every week;
He springs upon my shoulder,
And frisks across my cheek.
He builds his nest aloft there
Behind a barricade;
And none can tell how soft there
The little crib he's made -
What piles of snowy cotton,
What balls of worsted bright,
What skeins of silk forgotten,
Or left within his sight.
And none can tell what bunches
Of hazelnuts are stored,
What dinners and what lunches
Are in that secret hoard.
O Squirry, nimble Squirry!
I love thy merry ways,
And never yet grew weary
To watch thee in thy plays.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/my-tame-squirrel/
- Type
- Animal Rhymes, Poems for Children
- Tune
- Quick and bright, slowing on the squirrel's secret hoard
- Best for ages
- 4 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| He springs upon my shoulder, | Run two fingers up your arm and tap your shoulder. |
| And frisks across my cheek. | Skip your fingers lightly across your cheek. |
What Does My Tame Squirrel Mean?
The poem is a portrait of a lively small animal. The squirrel is quick and light on its feet, with a furry tail and bright eyes. It creeps into a willow basket, sleeps under a pillow, and takes no notice when scolded: he always has his way. Its habit of collecting is the heart of the poem. In its nest aloft, up high, behind a barricade, a barrier, it piles soft things: cotton, worsted (a kind of wool yarn) and skeins of silk, which are loose coils of thread.
It also keeps food. Bunches of hazelnuts are stored in a secret hoard that nobody can see, and squirrels in the wild do bury and store nuts. The last verse tells the squirrel the speaker is never weary of watching its plays. Wild squirrels are best watched from a distance today, which is a good thing to say to a child while reading the poem.
History and Origin
A pet squirrel is the subject of this portrait, taken from an American book of children's verses that was revised in 1911.
Learning Activities
- Nut hunt: hide a handful of toy nuts or pebbles around a room, then let the child find them like a squirrel's secret hoard.
- Watch from far: sit quietly in a park or garden and spot a squirrel, noting its tail, its quick step and what it carries.
- Nest of soft things: gather cotton wool, yarn and cloth scraps in a small box to make a nest for a toy.
- Count the stores: list the four things in the squirrel's hoard: cotton, worsted, silk and hazelnuts.