The Crow and the Pitcher — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

A Crow, perishing with thirst, saw a pitcher, and, hoping to find water, flew to it with great delight. When he reached it, he discovered to his grief that it contained so little water that he could not possibly get at it. He tried everything he could think of to reach the water, but all his efforts were in vain. At last he collected as many stones as he could carry, and dropped them one by one with his beak into the pitcher, until he brought the water within his reach, and thus saved his life.
Necessity is the mother of invention.

Explore Words From This Rhyme

Find Rhymes

Look Up Definitions

More Nursery Rhymes

Browse all nursery rhymes →

Learning from "The Crow and the Pitcher"

Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "The Crow and the Pitcher" uses 2 lines to create a memorable verse — proof that effective poetry doesn't need to be long. Pay attention to the meter: the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables is what makes the rhyme stick in your head.

Songwriters and poets can borrow these patterns. Try writing your own lyrics using the same rhyme scheme and line length as this nursery rhyme. You can also use words from the poem above as starting points — click any word to find rhymes or look up its definition, then build from there.

Create your own verse

Inspired by "The Crow and the Pitcher"? Try writing your own rhymes:

Generate a verse

Frequently asked questions

What are the words to The Crow and the Pitcher?
The lyrics to The Crow and the Pitcher are: A Crow, perishing with thirst, saw a pitcher, and, hoping to find water, flew to it with great delight. When he reached it, he discovered to his grief that it contained so little water that he could not possibly get at it. He tried everything he could think of to reach the water, but all his efforts were in vain. At last he collected as many stones as he could carry, and dropped them one by one with his beak into the pitcher, until he brought the water within his reach, and thus saved his life. / Necessity is the mother of invention.
How many lines does The Crow and the Pitcher have?
"The Crow and the Pitcher" has 2 lines of verse.

Explore More Word Tools