Taking Time to Grow Lyrics
Two eaglets keep asking their mother to let them fly and see the world, and they point out that a tiny wren flew when it was only four weeks old. The mother shakes her head each time and says they must grow bigger first, because an eaglet can afford to wait.
Taking Time to Grow
"Mamma! mamma!" two eaglets cried,
"To let us fly you've never tried.
We want to go outside and play;
We'll promise not to go away."
The mother wisely shook her head:
"No, no, my dears. Not yet," she said.
"But, mother dear," they called again,
"We want to see those things called men,
And all the world so grand and gay,
Papa described the other day.
And - don't you know? - he told you then
About a little tiny wren,
That flew about so brave and bold,
When it was scarcely four weeks old?"
But still the mother shook her head;
"No, no, my dears, not yet," she said.
"Before you see the world below,
Far bigger you will have to grow.
There's time enough to look for men;
And as for wrens - a wren's a wren.
What if your freedom does come late?
An eaglet can afford to wait."
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/taking-time-to-grow/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Mary Mapes Dodge
- Tune
- Two voices: quick, begging chirps from the eaglets and a slow, calm reply from the mother
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| The mother wisely shook her head: | Shake your head slowly from side to side. |
| Far bigger you will have to grow. | Start crouched low and stretch up as tall as you can. |
What Does Taking Time to Grow Mean?
An eaglet is a young eagle. In this poem two of them are impatient. They want to fly, they want to see the world and the creatures called men, and they have an argument ready: their father once told them about a little wren that flew when it was scarcely four weeks old, which means hardly four weeks old.
Their mother does not argue back. Twice she answers in nearly the same words: No, no, my dears, not yet. Then she gives her reason in two lines: before they can see the world below, they must grow far bigger. A wren is small and can be quick about it, but she tells them, a wren's a wren, meaning that an eaglet is a different bird with a different timetable. The poem ends with a calm sentence worth saying to any child who is waiting for a turn: an eaglet can afford to wait.
History and Origin
Rhymes and Jingles by Mary Mapes Dodge was copyrighted in 1874, and this verse is one of its animal poems.
Learning Activities
- Growing chart: mark the child's height on a door frame today and again in a few months, then compare the two marks.
- Plant and wait: sow a bean in a clear cup of soil by a window and watch the first shoot come up.
- Two voices: read the eaglets in a high, eager voice and the mother in a low, slow one.
- Waiting talk: ask what the child is looking forward to, and what might be worth waiting for.