Five Little Ducks

Five Little Ducks

Five little ducks went swimming one day, Over the hill and far away, Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack," But only four little ducks came back! Four little ducks went swimming one day, Over the hill and far away, Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack," But only three little ducks came back! Three little ducks went swimming one day, Over the hill and far away, Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack," But only two little ducks came back! Two little ducks went swimming one day, Over the hill and far away, Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack," But only one little duck came back! One little duck went swimming one day, Over the hill and far away, Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack," But no little ducks came back! Mother duck went looking one day, Over the hill and far away, She found them working, "Quack, quack, quack, quack," "We're building a nest!" they all called back! First duck found some twigs that day, Carried them home the whole long way, Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack," "Good job!" she said, "I'm proud of that!" Second duck found moss so green, Softest moss she'd ever seen, Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack," "Perfect for our soft nest back!" Third duck found feathers light, Fluffy, soft, and shining bright, Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack," "So pretty! Now please bring them back!" Fourth duck found rocks so round, Pretty rocks upon the ground, Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack," "Nice finds for our growing stack!" Fifth duck found grass so soft, Picked it up and held aloft, Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack," "Great grass! Our nest's right on track!" Six ducks worked together well, Building home where they would live, Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack," "Best family! All together, that's a fact!"

About Five Little Ducks

Five little Ducks Nursery Rhyme Meaning & Lessons

🏠 Families Work Best When Everyone Helps! : Each little duck found something special to help build their nest - sticks, moss, feathers, rocks, and grass. The song shows you that when every person in a family does their part to help, you can build something wonderful together that's better than anyone could make alone!

🎁 Surprises Show How Much You Care!: The little ducks wanted to surprise their mother by building her a beautiful nest! This teaches you that when you do something kind or helpful for someone you love without being asked, it shows them how much you care about them and makes them feel very special.

👂 Sometimes What Looks Scary Has a Happy Reason!: When the ducks didn't come back, Mother Duck was worried - but they were actually doing something wonderful! The song teaches you that sometimes when things seem scary or confusing, there might be a good reason that you'll discover later, so it's important to look and listen before getting too upset.

🦆 Did You Know?: Even though "Five Little Ducks" feels like a very old nursery rhyme, it actually became really popular in the 1980s when a famous children's singer named Raffi put it on his album in 1982! The song is called a "counting song" because it helps children learn numbers by counting backwards from five to zero, then back up to six when all the ducks return!Like many nursery rhymes, it started as stories that parents and grandparents told out loud to children before it was ever written down in books. The really fun part is that there's a finger play that goes with it - you can hold up your fingers and make them "swim away" as you count down!

Five Little Ducks Original Nursery Rhyme Lyrics


Five little ducks went out one day,
Over the hills and far away.
Mummy duck said, "quack quack quack quack,"
But only four little ducks came back.

Four little ducks went out one day,
Over the hills and far away.
Mummy duck said, "quack quack quack quack,"
But only three little ducks came back.

Three little ducks went out one day,
Over the hills and far away.
Mummy duck said, "quack quack quack quack,"
But only two little ducks came back.

Two little ducks went out one day,
Over the hills and far away.
Mummy duck said, "quack quack quack quack,"
But only one little duck came back.

One little duck went out one day,
Over the hills and far away.
Mummy duck said, "quack quack quack quack,"
And all of the five little ducks came back.

Sign up for early access

Twirl your very own tales

Enter your email and be the first to twirl your very own tales when we launch your personalised story creator.