The Dog and the Shadow — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

A Dog, crossing a bridge over a stream with a piece of flesh in his mouth, saw his own shadow in the water, and took it for another Dog, with a piece of meat double his own in size. He therefore let go his own, and fiercely attacked the other Dog, to get his larger piece from him. He thus lost both?that which he grasped at in the water, because it was a shadow and his own, because the stream swept it away.
It is not wise to be too greedy.

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Learning from "The Dog and the Shadow"

Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "The Dog and the Shadow" 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.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the words to The Dog and the Shadow?
The lyrics to The Dog and the Shadow are: A Dog, crossing a bridge over a stream with a piece of flesh in his mouth, saw his own shadow in the water, and took it for another Dog, with a piece of meat double his own in size. He therefore let go his own, and fiercely attacked the other Dog, to get his larger piece from him. He thus lost both?that which he grasped at in the water, because it was a shadow and his own, because the stream swept it away. / It is not wise to be too greedy.
How many lines does The Dog and the Shadow have?
"The Dog and the Shadow" has 2 lines of verse.

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