There Was a Little Pretty Lad Lyrics
A lad who lives alone is pestered by rats and mice, goes to Ireland to find a wife, and cannot bring her home without a wheelbarrow.
There Was a Little Pretty Lad
There was a little pretty lad,
And he lived by himself,
And all the meat he got
He put upon a shelf.
The rats and the mice
Did lead him such a life,
That he went to Ireland
To get himself a wife.
The lanes they were so broad,
And the fields they were so narrow,
He couldn't get his wife home
Without a wheelbarrow.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/there-was-a-little-pretty-lad/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Chanted at a steady walking pace
- Best for ages
- 3 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| All the meat he got he put upon a shelf | Reach up and place an imaginary plate on a high shelf. |
| The rats and the mice | Wiggle your fingers like small scurrying feet. |
| Without a wheelbarrow | Push an invisible wheelbarrow in front of you. |
What Does There Was a Little Pretty Lad Mean?
The lad has a problem: the rats and the mice keep getting at the food he puts on the shelf, and they give him such a life that he leaves. In Ireland he finds a wife, and then the nonsense begins.
The last verse turns things upside down. A lane should be narrow and a field broad, but here the lanes are broad and the fields narrow. Because of this, the lad cannot get his wife home without a wheelbarrow. In old English, meat could mean any food, not just the flesh of animals. The silly picture of pushing a wife in a wheelbarrow is the joke.
History and Origin
James Orchard Halliwell prints the rhyme in The Nursery Rhymes of England in three four-line verses.
Learning Activities
- Upside-down lanes: draw a lane that is very broad and a field that is very narrow and laugh at the picture.
- Wheelbarrow walk: take turns pushing a soft toy in a toy wheelbarrow across the garden.
- Map the trip: find Ireland on a map and trace the lad's journey with a finger.