Snail, Snail, Come Put Out Your Horn Lyrics
Pick up a snail that has pulled itself into its shell, say these two lines, and wait. Children have been coaxing snails out with rhymes like this for centuries.
Snail, Snail, Come Put Out Your Horn
Snail, snail, come put out your horn,
To-morrow is the day to shear the corn.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/snail-snail-come-put-out-your-horn/
- Type
- Animal Rhymes
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 2 to 7 years
What Does Snail, Snail, Come Put Out Your Horn Mean?
The "horns" are a snail's tentacles, which it pulls in when it is frightened and stretches out again when it feels safe. The rhyme asks the snail to come out, because tomorrow is the day to shear the corn, an old way of saying harvest the grain.
History and Origin
Snail-calling rhymes turn up all over Europe, in English, German, French and many other languages, which suggests children everywhere tried the same thing. This version is from Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes. Some older versions threaten the snail if it stays in its shell, but this gentle one simply asks it to come out.
Learning Activities
- Snail watch: after rain, find a snail, say the rhyme quietly and wait for its tentacles to appear.
- Count the tentacles: garden snails have four: two long ones with eyes at the tips and two short ones for smelling.
- Draw a spiral: draw snail shells and count how many times the spiral turns.