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The Horse and the Stag — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

The Horse had the plain entirely to himself. A Stag intruded into his domain and shared his pasture. The Horse, desiring to revenge himself on the stranger, requested a man, if he were willing, to help him in punishing the Stag. The man replied, that if the Horse would receive a bit in his mouth, and agree to carry him, he would contrive very effectual weapons against the Stag. The Horse consented, and allowed the man to mount him. From that hour he found that, instead of obtaining revenge on the Stag, he had enslaved himself to the service of man.
He who seeks to injure others often injures only himself.

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Learning from "The Horse and the Stag"

Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "The Horse and the Stag" 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 Horse and the Stag?
The lyrics to The Horse and the Stag are: The Horse had the plain entirely to himself. A Stag intruded into his domain and shared his pasture. The Horse, desiring to revenge himself on the stranger, requested a man, if he were willing, to help him in punishing the Stag. The man replied, that if the Horse would receive a bit in his mouth, and agree to carry him, he would contrive very effectual weapons against the Stag. The Horse consented, and allowed the man to mount him. From that hour he found that, instead of obtaining revenge on the Stag, he had enslaved himself to the service of man. / He who seeks to injure others often injures only himself.
How many lines does The Horse and the Stag have?
"The Horse and the Stag" has 2 lines of verse.