Three Ways Lyrics
A swan loves to glide and splash and thinks the frog is wrong to dive. The frog loves to dive and dash and thinks the swan is wrong to glide. Then a pond lily says it is better than either to float with grace and keep your place.
Three Ways
"How sweet," said the swan,
"To glide and plash!
And not, like a frog,
To dive and dash."
"How fine," said the frog,
"To dive and dash!
And not, like a swan,
To glide and plash."
"But better than either
To float with grace,"
A pond lily whispered,
"Yet keep your place."
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/three-ways/
- Type
- Poems for Children, Animal Rhymes
- Written by
- Mary Mapes Dodge
- Tune
- Light and balanced: the first two verses are mirror images, the third is soft and slow
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| To glide and plash! | Sweep one arm smoothly through the air like a swan gliding. |
| To dive and dash! | Dip your hand down quickly as if diving, then flick your fingers. |
What Does Three Ways Mean?
The first two verses are a mirror. The swan says how sweet it is to glide and plash (to plash is to splash lightly) and not to dive and dash like a frog. The frog says the same words the other way round. Each animal is certain that its own way is the best, and the two verses use almost exactly the same words to say it.
The third verse brings a new voice: a pond lily, which floats where it grows. Its way is to float with grace and keep your place, so it says its way is better than either. The poem leaves the arguing there and does not choose a winner. A child can enjoy the sound of it: plash rhymes with dash, and the swan and frog trade the same four ending words.
History and Origin
Mary Mapes Dodge wrote this poem for her 1874 book of children's verse.
Learning Activities
- Three voices: have three people read the swan, the frog and the lily, each in a voice that fits.
- Be each one: glide slowly like the swan, hop like the frog, then stand still and sway like the lily.
- Water play: in a bowl of water, float a leaf, sink a pebble and splash a hand to see three different things.
- My way: ask the child about something they like doing a certain way, and why.