The Caterpillar Lyrics
A finger play in three verses: a fuzzy caterpillar crawls away and cannot be found, spins itself a cocoon, and comes out as a creature with wings. Each verse has its own hand movement, so small hands can act out the whole change.
The Caterpillar
Fuzzy little caterpillar,
Crawling, crawling on the ground!
Fuzzy little caterpillar,
Nowhere, nowhere to be found,
Though we've looked and looked and hunted
Everywhere around!
When the little caterpillar
Found his furry coat too tight,
Then a snug cocoon he made him
Spun of silk so soft and light;
Rolled himself away within it -
Slept there day and night.
See how this cocoon is stirring!
Now a little head we spy -
What! Is this our caterpillar
Spreading gorgeous wings to dry?
Soon the free and happy creature
Flutters gayly by.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/the-caterpillar/
- Type
- Action Songs, Poems for Children
- Written by
- Emilie Poulsson
- Tune
- Sung or said slowly in the first verse, with a hush in the second and a flutter at the end
- Best for ages
- 3 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Fuzzy little caterpillar, crawling, crawling on the ground | Move the whole hand forward along the table or floor and wriggle the thumb. |
| Nowhere, nowhere to be found | Hold both fists downward. |
| Rolled himself away within it | Rotate the thumb, then double it into the hand. |
| See how this cocoon is stirring | With the fist held downward, move it back and forth. |
| Now a little head we spy | Keep the fist downward and stick the thumb out to the side. |
| Spreading gorgeous wings to dry | Put the backs of both hands together and stretch the thumbs out side by side. |
| Flutters gayly by | Move both palms to and fro like wings. |
What Does The Caterpillar Mean?
The three verses are three stages. In the first the caterpillar is crawling and cannot be found, though everyone has "looked and looked and hunted everywhere around". The thumb is the caterpillar and the fist is the place it hides. Then the caterpillar finds its "furry coat too tight", so it makes "a snug cocoon" of silk and rolls itself away inside to sleep. The last verse is the surprise: the cocoon stirs, a head appears, and out comes a creature "spreading gorgeous wings to dry", which flutters away.
The poem tells something true. A caterpillar does outgrow its skin and sheds it. Moth caterpillars spin a silk cocoon, as in the poem, while butterfly caterpillars hang from a twig and form a hard case called a chrysalis. When the grown insect comes out its wings are crumpled and damp, so it has to wait with them spread until they dry, just as the last verse says. Gorgeous means very beautiful, and gayly is the old spelling of gaily, meaning cheerfully.
History and Origin
Emilie Poulsson (1853 to 1939) wrote this finger play for children. It is one of eighteen in her book Finger Plays for Nursery and Kindergarten, published in 1893. The book's preface says the plays first appeared in the children's magazine Babyland, and notes that children seven or eight years old play and sing "The Caterpillar" with obvious enjoyment, while some of the other plays in the book are for babies. The tune was written by Cornelia C. Roeske.
Learning Activities
- Act the change: do the three hand movements together, and then ask the children to describe the next one before the adult shows it.
- Hide the caterpillar: put a toy caterpillar under a cloth and ask where it could be, to match the 'nowhere to be found' verse.
- Cocoon craft: wrap a pipe cleaner loosely in tissue paper, then open it and add paper wings.
- Look outside: on a walk, look under leaves for caterpillars and talk about what they eat, without touching any fuzzy ones.