The Herdsman and the Lost Bull — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

A Herdsman, tending kine in a forest, lost a Bull-calf from the fold. After a long and fruitless search, he made a vow that, if he could only discover the thief who had stolen the Calf he would offer a lamb in sacrifice to the Guardian Deities of the forest. Not long afterwards, as he ascended a small hillock, he saw at its foot a Lion feeding on the Calf. Terrified at the sight, he lifted his eyes and his hands to heaven, and said: "Just now I vowed to offer a lamb to the Guardian Deities of the forest if I could only find out who had robbed me; but now that I have discovered the thief, I would willingly add a full-grown Bull to the Calf I have lost, and give them both to the guardians of the forest, if I may only secure my own escape from this terrible Lion in safety."
That which we are anxious to find, we are sometimes even more anxious to escape from, when we have succeeded in finding it.

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Learning from "The Herdsman and the Lost Bull"

Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "The Herdsman and the Lost Bull" 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.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the words to The Herdsman and the Lost Bull?
The lyrics to The Herdsman and the Lost Bull are: A Herdsman, tending kine in a forest, lost a Bull-calf from the fold. After a long and fruitless search, he made a vow that, if he could only discover the thief who had stolen the Calf he would offer a lamb in sacrifice to the Guardian Deities of the forest. Not long afterwards, as he ascended a small hillock, he saw at its foot a Lion feeding on the Calf. Terrified at the sight, he lifted his eyes and his hands to heaven, and said: "Just now I vowed to offer a lamb to the Guardian Deities of the forest if I could only find out who had robbed me; but now that I have discovered the thief, I would willingly add a full-grown Bull to the Calf I have lost, and give them both to the guardians of the forest, if I may only secure my own escape from this terrible Lion in safety." / That which we are anxious to find, we are sometimes even more anxious to escape from, when we have succeeded in finding it.
How many lines does The Herdsman and the Lost Bull have?
"The Herdsman and the Lost Bull" has 2 lines of verse.

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