The Heifer and the Ox — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics
A Heifer saw an Ox hard at work harnessed to a plough, and tormented him with reflections on his unhappy fate in being compelled to labor. Shortly afterward, at the harvest home, the owner released the Ox from his yoke, but bound the Heifer with cords, and led her away to the altar to be slain in honor of the festival. The Ox saw what was being done, and said to the Heifer: "For this you were allowed to live in idleness, because you were presently to be sacrificed."
The lives of the idle can best be spared.
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- rhymes with afterward
- rhymes with allowed
- rhymes with altar
- rhymes with and
- rhymes with away
- rhymes with because
- rhymes with being
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- rhymes with but
- rhymes with compelled
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- rhymes with done
- rhymes with fate
- rhymes with festival
- rhymes with for
- rhymes with from
- rhymes with hard
- rhymes with harvest
- rhymes with heifer
- rhymes with her
Look Up Definitions
- afterward definition
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- away definition
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- done definition
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- festival definition
- hard definition
- harnessed definition
- harvest definition
- heifer definition
- home definition
- honor definition
- idleness definition
- labor definition
- led definition
- live definition
More Nursery Rhymes
Learning from "The Heifer and the Ox"
Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "The Heifer and the Ox" 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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Generate a verseFrequently asked questions
- What are the words to The Heifer and the Ox?
- The lyrics to The Heifer and the Ox are: A Heifer saw an Ox hard at work harnessed to a plough, and tormented him with reflections on his unhappy fate in being compelled to labor. Shortly afterward, at the harvest home, the owner released the Ox from his yoke, but bound the Heifer with cords, and led her away to the altar to be slain in honor of the festival. The Ox saw what was being done, and said to the Heifer: "For this you were allowed to live in idleness, because you were presently to be sacrificed." / The lives of the idle can best be spared.
- How many lines does The Heifer and the Ox have?
- "The Heifer and the Ox" has 2 lines of verse.
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