The Hen and the Swallow — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

A Hen finding the eggs of a viper, and carefully keeping them warm, nourished them into life. A Swallow observing what she had done, said: "You silly creature! Why have you hatched these vipers, which, when they shall have grown, will surely inflict injury on all of us, beginning with yourself?"
If we nourish evil, it will sooner or later turn upon us.

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Learning from "The Hen and the Swallow"

Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "The Hen and the Swallow" 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 Hen and the Swallow?
The lyrics to The Hen and the Swallow are: A Hen finding the eggs of a viper, and carefully keeping them warm, nourished them into life. A Swallow observing what she had done, said: "You silly creature! Why have you hatched these vipers, which, when they shall have grown, will surely inflict injury on all of us, beginning with yourself?" / If we nourish evil, it will sooner or later turn upon us.
How many lines does The Hen and the Swallow have?
"The Hen and the Swallow" has 2 lines of verse.

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