Lived an old mother fish

And her little fishes two.

"Swim!" said the mother;

"We swim," said the two:

So they swam and they leaped

Where the stream runs blue.



Over in the meadow,

In a hole in a tree,

Lived a mother bluebird

And her little birdies three.

"Sing!" said the mother;

"We sing," said the three:

So they sang and were glad

In the hole in the tree.



Over in the meadow,

In the reeds on the shore,

Lived a mother muskrat

And her little ratties four.

"Dive!" said the mother;

"We dive," said the four:

So they dived and they burrowed

In the reeds on the shore.



Over in the meadow,

In a snug beehive,

Lived a mother honeybee

And her little honeys five.

"Buzz!" said the mother;

"We buzz," said the five:

So they buzzed and they hummed

In the snug beehive.



Over in the meadow,

In a nest built of sticks,

Lived a black mother crow

And her little crows six.

"Caw!" said the mother;

"We caw," said the six:

So they cawed and they cawed

In their nest built of sticks.



Over in the meadow,

Where the grass is so even,

Lived a gray mother cricket

And her little crickets seven.

"Chirp!" said the mother;

"We chirp," said the seven:

So they chirped cheery notes

In the grass soft and even.



Over in the meadow,

By the old mossy gate,

Lived a brown mother lizard

And her little lizards eight.

"Bask!" said the mother;

"We bask!" said the eight:

So they basked in the sun

By the old mossy gate.



Over in the meadow,

Where the clear pools shine,

Lived a green mother frog

And her little froggies nine.

"Croak!" said the mother;

"We croak," said the nine:

So they croaked and they splashed

Where the clear pools shine.



Over in the meadow,

In a sly little den,

Lived a gray mother spider

And her little spiders ten.

"Spin!" said the mother;

"We spin," said the ten:

So they spun lace webs

In their sly little den.



Over in the meadow,

In the soft summer even,

Lived a mother firefly

And her little flies eleven.

"Shine!" said the mother;

"We shine," said the eleven:

So they shone like stars

In the soft summer even.



Over in the meadow,

Where the men dig and delve,

Lived a wise mother ant

And her little anties twelve.

"Toil!" said the mother;

"We toil," said the twelve:

So they toiled and were wise

Where the men dig and delve.