Five Little Monkeys facts for kids

"Five Little Monkeys" is a popular English language folk song and fingerplay from America. It's often sung with special hand movements that act out the words. Each part of the song counts down, starting with a certain number of monkeys and going down to zero.

The song is very old, but Eileen Christelow wrote a series of famous books called "Five Little Monkeys...". She has said that she didn't create the original song lyrics. Instead, she heard the song from her daughter. The tune and words of "Five Little Monkeys" are quite similar to the first part of an older folk song from the 1890s called "Shortnin' Bread."

Lyrics

Here is one common version of the song's lyrics. It was published in a collection called No More Monkeys in 2015.

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped her head,
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Four little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped his head,
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Three little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped her head,
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped his head,
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

One little monkey jumping on the bed,
He fell off and bumped his head,
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
"Put those monkeys to bed!"

Different Versions

Sometimes, the song changes a little. For example, the last monkey might be called "she" or "one" instead of "he." There can also be an extra verse after the last monkey has fallen off. This verse might sound like this:

No little monkeys jumping on the bed,
None fell off and bumped their head,
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
"Put those monkeys back in bed!"

How to Play: Gestures

Since "Five Little Monkeys" is a fingerplay, it has special actions that go along with the words. Here are some common gestures you can use:

• Hold up a number of fingers that matches the number of monkeys in the verse. Then, bounce them onto the palm of your other hand to show them jumping.
• When a monkey bumps its head, hold your hand to your head.
• When Mama calls the doctor, put your pinky finger to your cheek and your thumb to your ear, like you're holding a phone.
• When the doctor says "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!", wag your index finger to show "no."