The Queen of Hearts Lyrics
A queen bakes tarts, a knave steals them, and the king makes him bring them back. The Queen of Hearts first appeared in a magazine in 1782 and later gave Lewis Carroll the plot for a courtroom scene in Alice in Wonderland.
The Queen of Hearts
The Queen of Hearts,
She made some tarts,
All on a summer's day;
The Knave of Hearts,
He stole the tarts,
And took them clean away.
The second verse
The King of Hearts
Called for the tarts,
And beat the Knave full sore;
The Knave of Hearts
Brought back the tarts,
And vowed he'd steal no more.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/the-queen-of-hearts/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- First published
- 1782
- Tune
- Traditional
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts | Put on a pretend crown, then roll out pretend pastry. |
| The Knave of Hearts, he stole the tarts | Tiptoe sneakily and hide a pretend tart behind your back. |
| The King of Hearts called for the tarts | Stand tall with your hands on your hips. |
| And vowed he'd steal no more | Put your hand on your heart and promise. |
What Does The Queen of Hearts Mean?
The characters come from a deck of playing cards: the queen, the king and the knave (the old name for the jack) of hearts. The story is a simple one about stealing and saying sorry. The knave takes the tarts, gets caught and punished, returns them and promises never to steal again.
History and Origin
The rhyme was first published in The European Magazine in 1782. Lewis Carroll borrowed it for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), where the Knave of Hearts is put on trial for stealing the tarts and the rhyme is read out as evidence.
Learning Activities
- Card hunt: find the king, queen and jack of hearts in a deck of cards.
- Jam tarts: bake simple jam tarts and count them before and after the knave's visit.
- Saying sorry: talk about what the knave did to put things right.