The North
Wind
The North
Wind doth blow
And we shall have snow,
And what will poor robin do then, poor thing?
He’ll sit in the barn
To keep himself warm
And hide his head under his wing, poor thing!
This little rhyme originated in 16th century Britain and was first published two centuries later in collections of nursery rhymes. It has three additional verses, not regularly taught, which build on feelings of sympathy and compassion for those less fortunate.
The second
verse is about the swallow.
The North
Wind doth blow
And we shall have snow,
And what will the swallow do then, poor thing?
Oh, do you not know
That he’s off long ago
To a country where he will find spring, poor thing?
Swallows migrate to warmer countries for the winter. Any that attempt to remain usually do not survive. This is made clear in Oscar Wilde’s heartbreaking tale of the Happy Prince, a story I can never read aloud to children.
In the third
verse, the children learn about the tiny dormouse.
The North
Wind doth blow
And we shall have snow,
And what will the dormouse to then, poor thing?
Rolled up like a ball
In his nest snug and small,
He'll sleep till warm weather comes in, poor thing!
Verse four
tells of the honey bee.
The North
Wind doth blow
And we shall have snow,
And what will the honey bee do then, poor thing?
In his hive he will stay
Till the cold is away
And then he’ll come out in the spring, poor thing!
Referred to as ‘he’ in the rhyme, it is only the females, who are the Queen and the worker bees, who survive the winter. The workers cluster round the Queen to keep her warm and alive. The drones are only of use for mating and as there is no mating in the cold months they are pushed out of the hive and either starve or freeze to death.
A fifth verse
was added later.
The North
Wind doth blow
And we shall have snow,
And what will the children do then, poor things?
When lessons are done
They’ll jump, skip, and run,
And that’s how they’ll keep themselves warm, poor things.
We woke up to snow this morning, which settled briefly on the roofs and trees. At present, we have a north wind blowing. The forecast tonight is -3˚Celsius (26.6˚ Fahrenheit)
I find it easy to identify with the drones.
ReplyDelete🤣😂
DeleteWe get our cold from the South winds, but no snow for us. I have never heard those rhymes, probably because they aren't relevant here.
ReplyDeleteNo, they wouldn't be relevant for you at all.
DeleteI was just thinking that it might be colder there than here tonight, but no, it will be -6 here.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a bit cheeky or unnecessary to draw attention to our relatively mild climate, but I'm British, and the British do love to talk about the weather . . . apparently.😉😃
DeleteI too feel sympathy and compassion for those humans, animals and birds who suffer from the cold in winter. I too would transfer to warmer climes for the worst 3 months of winter.
ReplyDeleteWealthier Brits do relocate to warmer climes for the colder months. I have known one or two, though not in recent years.
DeleteI never realised there was more than one verse to that rhyme. Thanks for enlightening me.
ReplyDelete😁
DeleteHow good to know there are more verses to the rhyme - I've only ever seen the first in Nursery Rhyme books both those from the 50's and my children's in the 80's.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me wonder how many other verses have been truncated.
DeleteI didn't know about the other verses. We had 'snow', it fell in damp clods and melted into wetness.
ReplyDeleteYou;ve taken all the mystery and magic out of snowfalls - 'damp clods' indeed!
DeleteYes, that's the first time I have heard those other verses too.
ReplyDeleteIt's set to remain freezing here until Saturday apparently.
We shall be accustomed to it just in time for it to change, for those of us remaining on these damp isles, that is. 😉😃
DeleteAll clear here further south, we did have a bit of snow in the rain yesterday, I have not heard the final verse before.
ReplyDeleteI thought we might have more today, but so far nothing.
DeleteBut it is good you introduced us to the other verses. Winter has indeed arrived with cold and snow. Up on the North York Moors the snow is quite thick.
ReplyDeleteI saw a video of the North York moors this morning - they look wonderful, but oh, so cold. Who'd be a livestock farmer?
Delete26 C is about 50 degrees below my comfort level.. brrrr I have been in Florida to long.. it took great talent to write these words, but they are a bit depressing.. winter is my favorite time of the year but only here, not where the north wind blows... It might be old age thing about not liking cold anymore..
ReplyDeleteI don't like excessive heat or cold. I'm a real wimp!
DeleteI've never heard this one before. It's cute. We've already had our first snow here.
ReplyDeleteI bet there are many nursery rhymes from US that we don't know, too.
DeleteThat's a lovely little poem. New to me too
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to know what rhymes you told your children on Poros.
DeleteI am like the little animals, I would like to sleep in my warm nest until spring and sunshine comes out ! I talked to the man who takes care of our castle cats. 3 have baskets and cushions in the former priest house, there is a broken little window and everybody doesn't "see" it so the cats are nice and dry and the other 3 live in the cat's house, the eldest is 19 (!!!) was born here and he has gotten a heated cushion for the winter ! They have a good life here !
ReplyDeleteIt's so good to hear that the castle cats are well looked after. The oldest one is the same age as your Rosie.
DeleteI don't think I ever even heard the first verse before. Good reflections on how we all have to find our own ways to survive winter, though! :)
ReplyDeleteIt was a good way to teach little children, if not always strictly accurate.
DeleteBrrrr. Too early for snow. The temperature at 7:50 AM, according to my computer, is 27 oF (-2.77) Brrr, but no snow.
ReplyDeleteCold enough! Time for layers.
DeleteWe had been cool and cold the last week or so and yesterday was nearly 80-degrees!
ReplyDeleteThank you for including all of the verses.
ReplyDeleteGoodness, that's warm!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. I'd never heard all of them. It's getting colder here too. I have started filling my bird house. Hopefully, that helps some of them stay chubby and well over the winter.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine having to survive out of doors, but then I'm not a bird or a deer.
ReplyDeleteThe critters are much tougher than we think. They have built in characteristics for their survival.
ReplyDeleteThey are tougher, of course, but as my husband constantly reminds me, we can adapt, too. Even so, I think I'll pass on extreme weather training.
DeleteWe have a bumblebee overwintering in our garden wall, which is made of rock. I only know because I've seen it coming and going on warmer days. It's been in hiding recently!
ReplyDeleteAww, it's chosen a home where it knows it will be safe and cared for.
ReplyDeleteWoke up to 32 and ground had light covering of frost.
ReplyDeleteBrrr . . . chilly!
DeleteAnd here near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, our daytime high temperature today is expected to be 84 degrees F. and the low 68. So no frost for us! We usually get our first frost around the first of December. Snow is very rare but occasionally happens in early January.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised you get snow at all.
DeleteI was shocked to see Gulf of Mexico with Gulf of America in brackets after it . . .
Lovely rhyme
ReplyDeleteIt is rather sweet, one of my favourites.
DeleteAs the north wind sharpens its song and the world folds into winter’s hush, your reflections remind me how every creature, winged, furred, or simply human, finds its own small, steadfast way to endure the cold.
ReplyDeleteWhen it's bitterly cold, small birds often huddle together in bird boxes.
DeleteThank you for sharing all the verses and the lovely robin mages.
ReplyDeleteThey have always been my favourite bird and I do enjoy seeing them in the garden.
Brrr no snow here at the moment but it is very cold and I woke up to a very frosty world this morning.
All the best Jan
I am always cheered up when I see robins. That lovely flash of red is so warming.
DeleteThe wind direction has to be reversed for here. A north wind will bring in dry heat from inland Australia, usually carrying bush flies with the wind.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds most unpleasant. I try (though fail) to appreciate all little creatures, but cannot stand flies.
DeleteI do love the rhyme, which I wasn't familiar with.
ReplyDeleteNo snow here so far, at least not in my part of Belgium ... xxx
No snow here now - just grey skies and aa sharp wind!
ReplyDeleteInteresting to read the other verses of the poem and how other creatures deal with the Winter weather.
ReplyDeleteWe only had snow once this fall. Our robins are gone for the most part although some don't migrate. I think they deal quite well with the north wind. And they aren't related to your robin, as you probably know. Brrr, I'm already sick of winter weather and it's only just begun.
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