Old Mother Hubbard The Story Rhyme, With Lyrics and a Free Printable

🎵 Old Mother Hubbard Lyrics

These are the classic opening verses of Old Mother Hubbard — the first three errands. The traditional rhyme goes on for many more errands after these; this page and the printable sheet carry the opening three, word for word the same in both places.

Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard,
To fetch her poor dog a bone;
When she came there,
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.

She went to the baker’s
To buy him some bread;
When she came back
The dog was dead.

She went to the undertaker’s
To buy him a coffin;
When she came back
The dog was laughing.

🐶 About This Rhyme

Every errand ends with the dog surprising her. She goes for bread and comes back to a dog playing dead; she goes for a coffin for the “dead” dog and comes back to find him laughing. Children who spot the joke early love it — the dog is not sad or hurt, he is tricking her, verse after verse, and the last laugh of these opening verses is his.

The rhyme was first printed in 1805 as the comic adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and her dog, and the full traditional version runs through many more shops and surprises than the three verses printed here. Those opening verses are the part everyone knows — the empty cupboard is one of the most quoted moments in any nursery rhyme — and they are also the part young children can hold in memory and act out.

🖨️ How to Use This Rhyme

1. Read the three errands. Pause before each “when she came back” line and let your child guess what the dog will be doing this time.
2. Act the surprises. One of you is Mother Hubbard fetching and returning; the other is the dog — very still, then suddenly laughing.
3. Print the lyrics sheet. It carries the same opening three verses as this page, in big, well-spaced type.
4. Let your child “read” it back. Following the verses on the sheet while retelling the dog’s tricks is real story-sequencing practice.