The True Story Behind Mary’s Little Lamb

[@dmoore8595]

Well at least this nursery rhyme has a happy history. There are so many rhymes that have such dark histories to them. 😊 😔

[@dmcloren]

That's toootally what I expected this to be!! 😭

[@janneaufire4762]

@D Moore Agreed. I hesitated on listening to the story but happy on the ending.

[@scottstuerke4560]

Quit being so sensitive. The old rhymes of Mother Goose and The Brothers Grim were fun and usually a message to do better.

[@sharonnycum5414]

People made up those story's. This is the only one I actually believe.

[@ernesto4643]

​@@dmcloren me too

[@natashadaniels2562]

I was so nervous that this nursery rhyme was going to end up dark like a lot of the other ones

[@Loralanthalas]

Exactly the state I listened in as soon as he said she was real... I was like, oh no.

[@jermanefields6470]

I was just about to say that! Where I work they like to sing “ring around the rosie” I cannot sing that…plus I get dizzy too easily! 😂

[@lyallfurphy]

Look up the second verse

[@kayliathequeen9612]

Me too! I was ready for a bloody murder. What a relief

[@melissabrown5104]

Omg so was I lmao I thought they were gonna say Mary gutted it and sacrificed it for some wierd ritual or that was the start of a serial killer. 😅 So glad it was a good ending for the lamb

[@petermorhead4160]

"Why does the lamb love Mary so? Because Mary loves the lamb, you know.

[@janne639]

This made me cry Peter. Thank you. My beloved sister died forty days ago and I've been usable to cry, to access the pain. She loved animals and they loved her. Many of the pets we grew up with simply followed her home from school. Her last dog was like Mary's little lamb - it was an orphan she raised from the day it was born. Of all her pets over the decades it was the one whose death she never really got over. I like to think they're together now. And now I know I can finally begin to grieve. And when I need to cry I'll think to myself, Why does the lamb love Mary so? Because Mary loves the lamb, you know.

[@dmcloren]

​@@janne639I'm so sorry for your loss. So profound that such a simple thing can have such a healing effect. ❤️ Yes, I believe your sister is now reunited with her beloved animals that passed before. 🌈❤️ Love never dies.

[@ernesto4643]

​ there is a special place in heaven for those who treat God's creatures well

[@mariegreen6163]

@@janne639 thinking of you god bless, so sorry💜✝️🕯🙏🏼xx

[@rosalindahenry7001]

@@ernesto4643 For sure!😀🕊

[@Lordknowswhere]

I had a lamb in the 70s and he used to wait for me at the bus stop. He was beautiful. 🙏🏼

[@hazelmulvey3855]

Ah thats lovely to hear different now

[@lulub1433]

What a love!

[@mcdoogle_robotman]

I'm surprised that Edison didn't take credit for the poem.

[@twistoffate4791]

Right? That would be exactly what he'd certainly done before.

[@voutsider190]

That's good, lol

[@prissylovejoy702]

Everyone is always bashing on Edison. Go head, have fun but throw away your phone and stop listening to music. There are about a hundred other things you use everyday that make your hypocritical lives so comfy.

[@bradfordrusso7480]

@@prissylovejoy702 Watch it! You are raising the ire of Nikola Tesla fans. All but one or two of Edison's inventions was stolen from his employees. Read the patents. The legal term "Assigned" appears. That means they signed over the ownership (and money) rights to him. Edison's chicanery in cheating Tesla is legendary. So is his savage ignorance of rudiments of both math and science. How stupid and bull-headed can one obstinate man be, to not realize a white hot filament (or ANY incandescent thing) exposed to air/oxygen is going to burn up? I learned that in 3rd grade. Edison never made it past the 3rd month of 1st grade! (Edison was so ignorant and stubborn, he almost qualifies as Mennonite.) A Wheatstone bridge, amp and volt meters, plus Ohm's law would have resolved the issue in a dozen experiments. Instead of the insanity of 10,000. Can you say "barking up the wrong tree?" Edison's stupid phonograph (foil or wax cylinder) was impractical. And is NOT being used. It was Alexander Graham Bell who made it practical, by inventing the flat disk. If Edison had won out, we would NOT be using elecricity, at all. Because DC was impractical. So are his carbon filament light bulbs. They weren't practical until the filament was made of metal. The entire world is using Tesla's AC system.

[@janethalken8269]

​@@prissylovejoy702 you're probably disappointed that he didn't make a record of the elephant screaming when he electrocuted it. Your point is that he accomplished things? The other comments are regarding the fact that he stole others' ideas and put the patents in his own name. So your comment doesn't make sense. He didn't invent those things, he just took the credit. And once he arranged to help kill a rogue elephant by an elaborate electrocution in public. That's your hero.

[@bradfordrusso7480]

Being a true story, it teaches us a lesson about love, life, devotion. These are all powerful forces of nature. I was surprised to hear a classmate wrote the poem. It is now obvious he was NOT writing a work of fiction. He was expressing the lesson he learned by observing this manifestation of nature. (One might even get the impression this young lad was "sweet" on Mary.)

[@richardlusk1715]

I got the impression he was making fun of Mary,but your view sounds better

[@nekkoskrilla6750]

@@richardlusk1715, I'm sure he was clowning her. They said he was older. So why would he be trying to be sweet on a kid? Says a lot the mind frame of Mr. Russo..... 🙄🙄🙄

[@richardlusk1715]

@@nekkoskrilla6750 I think you've got a twisted mind

[@annedavis6090]

My first thought was he was fond of her, and thought well of her relationship with the lamb.

[@bradfordrusso7480]

@@annedavis6090 Yes! You ARE Correct. She demonstrated the capacity for Love In Action. That is what makes us attractive and attracted to similar people. May I share the greatest words of wisdom from the greatest movie of all time? ... Professor Marvel gifts a heart-shaped pocket watch to the Tin Man. With these words: "And remember, my sentimental friend ... That a heart is NOT judged by how much you love. But by how much you are loved by others."

[@johnconlon9704]

When Mary had a little lamb the doctors were surprised; but when old MacDonald had a farm the doctors nearly died.

[@seanpetaia]

Wow nice Poem

[@SusanPederson]

I remember that one! 😄

[@joeys7701]

Poor John Roulstone didn’t even realize he wrote the most famous poem and got nothing for it. All based on a crush. 😂😂

[@ghostcityshelton9378]

Same thing with the Peace Sgin= it was never patented. Too late now. Walt Disney stole the Mikey Mouse idea from another man who didn't have the $ to keep fighting Walt in court== WELL MICKY MOUSE JUST BECAME ' PUBLIC DOMAIN'.

[@Garbeaux.]

Happened when he was super young too.

[@lulub1433]

Still cool to be the author of one of the most iconic Nursery Rhymes in history!

[@humblemarty]

Adorable as heck. I like this rhyme had a wholesome origin story.

[@KDu400]

Right? So many nursery rhymes are about death…this is refreshing, no matter if it’s true or not 😂

[@lulub1433]

I know! It's literally word for word what really had happened, refreshing unlike Ring around the Rosy!

[@matthewwilliams4065]

I'm a wizard for your gizzard gobble gobble

[@ThePumpingiron27]

Finally! A nursery rhyme with a true story attached, that doesn't have to do with something dark.

[@uralbob1]

This is a very sweet story, whether it is historically accurate or not. It’s a song that I lovingly remember from my youth. This is a song that we kids would sing in the car with our beautiful mother. We all loved singing with our loving, sweet mom. I miss her so. She was God’s greatest gift to me!

[@marisapaola9010]

Enjoyed reading your post, beautiful. May your dear mother, and also my beloved mother rest in peace.❤️

[@uralbob1]

@@marisapaola9010 ❤️Back to you, lovely lady!

[@junegartley]

Had a dog who used to follow me to school,much to teachers annoyance.

[@curlywurly70]

You never know with these KZbin shorts. I started listening to this one and was worried that it was going to end in some horrible way. I'm relieved that it was wholesome.

[@melaniekeeling7462]

Me too. These nursery rhyme back stories can be quite gruesome.

[@bradfordrusso7480]

@@melaniekeeling7462 If you look carefully, it is the nursery rhymes and fairy tales from EUROPE that are gruesome. The Grim's fairy tales are quite GRIM. That's because they originated in a place where life was harsh, brutal, and ugly. EX: In the sanitized American re-telling of Hansel & Gretal, the stepmother innocently sent them out to gather berries for supper. But, in the European version, she wickedly sent them to the area of the forest where the witch was known to live. So they would be Eaten ! And she would no longer have to work to feed or raise them. Now, fast forward to America. Where the Founding Fathers deliberately constructed a culture that "cast out" the ugliness of England. Most people do Not realize that what we call "Mother Goose" rhymes were written by an American author, with a distinctly American character and flavor. Intended to convey, instill, and build American virtues and values. That author was L. Frank Baum. His book can be described as the first run-away best seller in publishing history. Who was this Baum? You know him better as the author of the great children's classic "The Wizard of Oz" !

[@melaniekeeling7462]

@@bradfordrusso7480 I was unaware that L.Frank Baum had written Mother Goose.

[@melaniekeeling7462]

For me, he is a hero, someone who strove and strove to provide for his large family. His love for his wife and sons helped him to weather all sorts of storms and finally become successful.

[@trinityjean5300]

I live up the road from this little school house - it’s on the Wayside inn property in Sudbury Ma. It’s a beautiful area with a chapel behind it and a functioning water mill across the street. A gorgeous place to take photos a d have a picnic etc. My dad and aunt both got married in the chapel (not to each other!) and I take my grandson there at least once a month in good weather to play. Don’t miss it if you’re ever in Massachusetts!

[@nlcrme]

Such a very sweet piece of history ❤ 😍 Finally, something endearing and wonderful to learn on the internet. We need more of these sweet stories 😍 ❤

[@seanclark2531]

I wonder who put this poem to the iconic melody we all know and love?

[@seanclark2531]

@@chinopisces thanks for the info.

[@peggyhall843]

The first lambs born on our little farm came way early. It was Feb in Indiana. We did not know what we were doing. When I went out to feed the animals and gather eggs I found one of our ewes had found a corner in a stall and her twins were there looking at the open door as I went in. It took me a minute to realize the two were frozen solid. It was still dark out. They came so early. I can't forget it. My mom went out after and did something- I don't know. I should not have told her- my dad was a rock- he would have known. I was about 9. Funny how things stay with you.

[@kerisilva]

wow Peggy, what a story. it's not easy growing up on a farm especially back in the day. ❤❤❤

[@cincin4515]

In Australia in my area, the New England, it can snap freeze lambs and adult sheep. Our bureau of meteorology has a weather app for the phone that issues grazier alerts for the sheep. No doubt saving many. I feel for you. I've heard other tales of rams breaking fences and getting at sheep too early and them all dying while birthing. Farming is a hard life some time.

[@Janet_sky]

And She still has the Lamb😊 and everywhere that Mary went that Lamb was sure to go..🌷

[@robertdesantis6205]

"Mary had a little lamb, a little beef, a little ham" . . . Oops, wrong poem. My grandma used to serve lamb with mint jelly. I never cared for it much. Prefer to see them running free in the grass! 🐑

[@Fnstine]

See Stevie Ray Vaughans version on his Texas Flood album from 1983.

[@charlottearrington2030]

Animals know what love and caring is. If people only took note and did the same .

[@bevelynsolomon3125]

I love it thank you Jesus

[@favourlawrence9818]

May God receive them both Mary and her little lamb in heaven. She was a Good Samaritan and had a heart of charity and love. May God bless them.

[@68jroche]

Mary had a little lamb She also had a bear I've often seen her little lamb But I've never seen her bear.

[@bodyofhope]

I've heard this one all my life, and now I finally know where it comes from!

[@johnschoen703]

Wow. I can't get enough of the history that is unknown but documented. Thank God for u tube shorts.

[@larrybarnes3920]

While I live, I learn.

[@joansmith1195]

Thst was fun! Mary most likely was a kind girl who loved animals. The lamb bonded with her.

[@patcomerford5596]

A lovely story.❤

[@awaywithfairies4689]

What a sweet and adorable story🐑💖

[@DeadDave666]

My father told me he had a goat named Billy that would follow his school bus all the way to school and wait outside for him to get out and then it would follow back home after school was out.... 😊 reminded me of him. Thank you. 😊

[@KDu400]

I’m so happy to hear a nursery rhyme that isn’t morbid 😂

[@duniaemakemak996]

I always sing this poem since I learnt it in my primary school when I was in year 3 (standard 3). Now I am already 56 years old and still remember this poem/song.

[@pietadon]

I just heard that if you're going to write a poem for a girl she's going to literally tell everyone. No rough drafts people!

[@NoliMeTangere1163]

And the tune which accompanies it, was written for the poem by Lowell Mason. Many consider him to be the father of Music Education in America.

[@RochelleEskue]

I ♥️♥️♥️ this tale. Thank You ⭐👏

[@sarahdeason493]

Thank you for this beautiful information ❤

[@mikkimikki5376]

Such a lovely story.

[@Worldopain]

Now look what the song "Do you know the Muffin man"s origins are. Dark stuff.

[@toyfan2812]

The muffin man??

[@steveandme63]

The one who lives on Drury Lane?

[@Worldopain]

@@steveandme63 Thats the one. Don't go there if you're a child.

[@somporn-ownercoggin]

I really like this story Amen 🙏

[@victoriannmccurdy32]

COOL! 😎👍 Love this story! 💕

[@sutty8526]

Most nursery rhymes have a dark back story so nice to see one that's not depressing

[@jillgarrison1917]

It reminds me of a Farside cartoon. Where Mary is about to cut into her dinner. It reads "That evening with shades drawn, Mary had a little lamb."

[@StunningHistory]

Far Side is classic! 😄

[@lulub1433]

What a treat for those children to see a lamb at school!

[@pattycool8592]

Lovely story . Thanks for sharing

[@christineparis5607]

This reminds of the character in the movie. "Cold Mountain", where she rescues the Jude Law character and nurses him back from death. She sits petting her goat while telling him that they were such good companions, and provided companionship and milk, and then she adds, "and meat", and slices the goats throat, holding it while it very quickly dies. The next scene shows her cooking the meat while he eats ravenously. It was so well done, and so sad....when he tells the old woman that she could be shot for helping him, she responds briskly, "What are they gonna do? Cut short my young life?"....you knew she was indifferent to fear, just didn't care...

[@2007VolkswagenJetta]

Sarah Josepha Hale wrote Mary Had a Little Lamb based on a student of hers who’s pet lamb followed her to school everyday. There’s a book called “Thank You, Sarah: The Woman who Saved Thanksgiving” that spoke about it. Also if you search her up she’s credited at the author

[@saraoneal8810]

Aww! That's beautiful ❤

[@comptodc]

Mary is actually a descendent on my father’s mother’s side…the poor lamb ended up being gored to death a few years later by a cow or bull on the farm and, if I remember the story correctly, died in Mary’s arms 😢

[@ardiscichon6761]

Awww. So sad!

[@froggieredcliffe8097]

I sing this song to my Grandson. on one visit i heard him singing it quietly to himself, so cute

[@ehwren]

My grandmother always use to tell me that I am a great great grandchild of this woman.. she has since passed and I have no way of actually knowing

[@Lesrocheschic]

Now you know... Do your genealogy

[@ehwren]

@@Lesrocheschic I have the kit.. but then I read they are selling your coding to people... I decided not to

[@Lesrocheschic]

Is the only way to do it... No. It's the Cheapest, but you can go about it differently.

[@paigealsup1031]

I hope she had that lamb forever ❤

[@kittikat_]

This is the 1800’s version of “going viral”! 😹💕

[@kimquinn7728]

The little school house is located now at Longfellow Wayside Inn, Sudbury, MA. Beautiful place to visit, have a lunch or dinner and stay if you chose. One of the oldest still running Inns and restaurants in America. Lovely.

[@sheromanysooklal775]

A very Beautiful story.

[@sarajaidritzema9285]

That is so cool, that's there's a story behind one of the world's most beloved nursery rhyme and its one that was sung to me, as a child and I have sung to my own children.

[@h.calvert3165]

What a charming story! 🐑

[@jackiechild9740]

I had a baby lamb when I was a kid for much the same reason... I loved that lamb ❤️ and she also followed me everywhere, we were best friends 🥰

[@shanclarke1024]

Aww beautiful I love that nursery rhymes

[@PMQB]

Such interesting to learn this. Thank you for sharing. J. K

[@WeebooMeeboo]

Finally a nursery rhyme that doesn't have a dark meaning behind it

[@mandycote5662]

Thank you for its origin An actual true story that is a good one ♥️

[@camgood9562]

I've lived in Massachusetts since I was born (and I live in Boston now). I love to learn about the history here!

[@tobascoheat6582]

That's interesting! I'm glad to know that. ❤ 👍

[@donnabirtley6790]

That's a great little story!

[@shortshift327]

This is a wonderful story

[@aprilestepp5791]

awwwwwwww so precious and sweet

[@moxietovani7108]

I'm so glad this didn't have a horrific backstory like so many nursery rhymes.

[@ladyhonor822]

I Adore this historical fact 🙏🇺🇲❤️

[@viviennedoonar5466]

Love 💓 this tale

[@gregorygalloway794]

That's an amazing story.

[@South3West77]

So true for so many people and animals, true love. It definitely is for me. Stevie Ray Vaughan, does a smooth class version of that prom. Blessings Y'all

[@michaelsmyth3935]

Yep, glad someone saw the beauty in that.

[@bradfordrusso7480]

Everyone knows the first verse of the poem. But few know the second: It followed her to school, one day. Which was against the rule. It made the children laugh and play. To see a lamb in school. Then, the 3rd verse is about how the mean old-bat school marm got angry that the children were disruptive. So she threw chalk-board erasers at the lamb. To scare it off. It was actually the white chalk dust that made the "black sheep of the family" look like it's fleece was white. LOL.

[@peggyhall843]

That's so cool- thank you!!🐑🐑🐑

[@brandid4239]

That kid didn't know the poem would live on for ages

[@briannall6232]

Interesting piece of Nostalgia. Thank You!

[@Angelic102]

Very cute❤

[@thelasthandbook6704]

The one room schoolhouse where this all took place still exists, but was moved to Sudbury, MA, where it is on the grounds of the Wayside Inn.

[@mariaakras4382]

So interesting, didn't know this.

[@Khaleesi_Of_Kittens]

That's adorable ❤

[@marylee4454]

When we lived on the farm, I was three, twin lambs were born. They were given to me. My oldest brother made up a song about the occasion it went as follows; Mary had a little lamb Her father shot it dead She brought it to school one day Between two hunks of bread Farm kid’s are realist’s

[@nancyouverson2777]

@ Mary Lee I also had lambs & calves on our hobby farm. I was nearly an adult before I realized that we were cannibals. That’s also about the time I realized kids who live on real farms never give names to the animals.

[@daleneparker3229]

How cool is this. Thanks for sharing.

[@lisascarrott6142]

How lovely I wonder if mary lived a very long happy healthy life I hope the lamb did too. I love stories like this such a happy story

[@realchanger8220]

itsy Bitsy Spider is based on a real spider too....oh the perseverance of that spider😄

[@pjones6749]

One of the few nursery rhymes that aren't super creepy!

[@honorableone625]

Hey finally a nursery rhyme that doesnt have a dark origin

[@heatherchandler4030]

That’s wonderful ❤

[@cynthiapearson7537]

This is good to know this story . Beautiful I think 🤔

[@cadillacpojones7316]

🤣😂🤣 i was bracing myself for something super messed..whew😅 my anxiety lowered🤣

[@mobaycomama4590]

🐑 Finally, a childhood rhyme that's actually based on a happy event!! I'm starting to believe that our subconscious (or most people) automatically goes to the worst possible thoughts, due to the nursery rhymes taught to us as children. Especially, since unbeknownst to us they were mostly all about terrible diseases and horrible people. 🖤✖️🖤✖️

[@julietphillips1991]

The story in itself is like a "Once upon a time" tale.

[@mandybrown4345]

Beautiful Story...

[@janetDVM]

This poem was written by my ancestor Sarah Josepha Hale. She was also the long time editor of Godey’s Lady’s book- a periodical for women.

[@user-hf9pw5gb9x]

GLORY to GOD, THANK You JESUS HE ABBA FATHER LAMB JESUS HE THE PRECIOUS LAMB off GOD AMEN

[@laurakelly3666]

I’m so glad this story wasn’t a sad one.

[@rinaroldan8921]

That's an awesome story

[@danyelleperry143]

Aw thats wholesome ☺ the way he's talking i thought for sure they killed the lamb while it was waiting for Mary

[@juanap2230]

At least this nursery Rhyme is pleasant 😄

[@irismaxwell5969]

Sweet memories 💖 💕 💓 ♥️ ✨️ ❤️

[@vickifox9753]

Awesome, never knew that!!❤❤❤

[@karenreaves3650]

Very sweet story