As the nation celebrates Children’s Day today, honouring childhood, innocence and imagination, it’s fitting to revisit the extraordinary true story behind one of the most beloved nursery rhymes ever sung: "Mary had a little lamb…" A rhyme crores of children have learned for over a century was, in fact, inspired by a real girl, a real lamb, and a moment of compassion that made history.
In March 1815, in the quiet town of Sterling, Massachusetts, Mary Sawyer discovered a dying new-born lamb in her family’s barn.
Rejected by its mother and too weak to stand, the tiny creature was close to death.
Though her father doubted it could be saved, Mary insisted on trying.
She carried the freezing lamb inside, wrapped it in warm cloth, and nursed it by the fireplace through the night.
By morning, the lamb stood on its feet.
With Mary’s constant care over the next few days, it recovered fully and formed an unbreakable bond with the little girl who had saved its life.
Soon, the lamb began following Mary everywhere. And one day, coaxed by her mischievous brother, she took it to school.
Hidden in a basket beneath her desk, the lamb stayed quiet — until Mary was called to recite her lesson.
Hearing her voice, it leapt out, bleating loudly and trotting after her to the front of the classroom.
Laughter erupted, even from the usually stern teacher.
Among the amused onlookers was a young visitor, John Roulstone. Touched by the scene, he returned the next day with a slip of paper containing three stanzas of verse the earliest version of what would become "Mary Had a Little Lamb."
Years later, in 1830, the poem appeared in writer Sarah Josepha Hale’s Poems for Children, expanded with additional lines that emphasized kindness to animals.
It quickly spread across America, became a staple of schoolbooks, and found its way into homes and classrooms for generations.
Then, in 1877, the nursery rhyme made history once again — this time in the world of technology. When Thomas Edison tested his new invention, the phonograph, the first machine capable of recording sound, he chose to recite a simple, familiar verse:
“Mary had a little lamb…”
Those words became the first audio recording ever made.
Mary Sawyer lived a quiet life and rarely spoke of her childhood lamb until late in her years.
In 1876, she publicly shared her story, donating stockings knitted from her lamb’s wool to raise funds for the preservation of Boston’s Old South Meeting House.
Each pair came with a note signed by her: “I am Mary. This is my lamb’s wool.”
Mary died in 1889 at age 83. Today, a statue of her loyal lamb stands in Sterling, a tribute to the little girl whose compassion created an enduring piece of children’s literature.
Today on Children’s Day, as millions of young voices sing the rhyme in classrooms across the world, the story behind it serves as a reminder: small acts of kindness can echo across centuries.
Mary saved her lamb and in doing so, gave generations of children a song, a story, and a lesson in empathy that never grows old.