Introduction:Reading "The Three Little Kittens" or "Millions of Cats" in storytime? Pair them with these cat songs.
The old grey cat is sleeping, sleeping, sleeping.
The old grey cat is sleeping in the house.
The little mice are creeping, creeping, creeping.
The little mice are creeping in the house.
The little mice are nibbling, nibbling, nibbling.
The little mice are nibbling in the house.
The old grey cat is waking, waking, waking.
The old grey cat is waking in the house.
The old grey cat is creeping, creeping, creeping.
The old grey cat is creeping in the house.
The little mice go scampering, scampering, scampering.
The little mice go scampering in the house.
Though originally written by Harry S. Miller in 1893, "The Cat Came Back" has gone through many translations... many of which aren't storytime appropriate. Check out Laurie Berkner's version on "Whaddya Think of That" for a crowd pleaser.
Bought me a cat and the cat pleased me,
Fed my cat under yonder tree.
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee, fiddle-i-fee.
Bought me a hen and the hen pleased me,
Fed my hen under yonder tree.
Hen goes chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee, fiddle-i-fee.
Bought me a duck and the duck pleased me,
I fed my duck under yonder tree.
Duck goes quack, quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee, fiddle-i-fee.
Bought me a goose and the goose pleased me
I fed my goose under yonder tree.
Goose goes honk, honk,
Duck goes quack, quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee, fiddle-i-fee.
Bought me a sheep and the sheep pleased me,
I fed my sheep under yonder tree.
Sheep goes baa, baa,
Goose goes honk, honk,
Duck goes quack, quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee, fiddle-i-fee.
Bought me a pig and the pig pleased me,
I fed my pig under yonder tree.
Pig goes oink, oink,
Sheep goes baa, baa,
Goose goes honk, honk,
Duck goes quack, quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee, fiddle-i-fee.
Bought me a cow and the cow pleased me,
I fed my cow under yonder tree.
Cow goes moo, moo,
Pig goes oink, oink,
Sheep goes baa, baa,
Goose goes honk, honk,
Duck goes quack, quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee, fiddle-i-fee.
Bought me a horse and the horse pleased me,
I fed my horse under yonder tree.
Horse goes neigh, neigh,
Cow goes moo, moo,
Pig goes oink, oink,
Sheep goes baa, baa,
Goose goes honk, honk,
Duck goes quack, quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee, fiddle-i-fee.
Bought me a dog and the dog pleased me,
I fed my dog under yonder tree.
Dog goes woof, woof,
Horse goes neigh, neigh,
Cow goes moo, moo,
Pig goes oink, oink,
Sheep goes baa, baa,
Goose goes honk, honk,
Duck goes quack, quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee, fiddle-i-fee.
Pussycat, pussycat,
Where have you been? (pronounce like "bean")
I've been to London
To visit the Queen.
Pussycat, pussycat,
What did you there?
I frightened a little mouse
Under her chair.
*You can find various tunes to this traditional nursery rhyme, but my personal favorite is the one by J.W. Elliott though I sing it about a half step faster.
If you like to throw in a little fun for the parents and granparents in storytime, sing "Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty" made famous by The Big Bang Theory on ABC. As an aside, writers at TBBT did not write the popular cat song. It's an old Australian poem by Edith Newlin (though still under copyright) and sung to the tune of an old Polish folk song.
*As it's still under copyright, the lyrics cannot be legally posted. Find a link below to a video of Patsy Biscoe singing the song in it's traditional form.
Please share your favorite cat storytime songs below.
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Comments
Aw, I started to read the Pussycat one and immediately Tom Jone's rendition popped into my mind.
Love the "Big Bang" "Soft Kitty" song!