A Green Mouse – Une Souris Verte

Classic French nursery rhyme for children about a green mouse being caught by its tail –  Easy, repetitive version of the song recorded for pre-school + primary children learning French.

Friendly French listening practice with English translations.
What a strange little nursery rhyme, as many of them can be, in any language.

Video

The Words:

Une souris verte qui courait dans l’herbe
A green mouse which ran in the grass …

Je l’attrape par la queue
I catch her by the tail

Je la montre à ces messieurs
I show her to those gentlemen

Ces messieurs me disent
Those gentlemen tell me:

Trempez-la dans l’huile
Drench her in oil,

Trempez-la dans l’eau
Soak her in water,

Ça fera un escargot tout chaud!
That will make a really hot snail!

For more French songs go to:
A Green Mouse French Songs

Il était un petit Navire

Gentle French nursery rhyme with actions and lots of repetition about a little boat that sets sail for the first time.  
Learn the lyrics and join in with the first verse of this 16th Century French song.

Video

Actions

Verse:  Sit facing a partner, feet touching and holding hands, rocking back and forth in time with the music.
Chorus:  Stop and raise a hand to your forehead to look out to sea.

Verse:
Il était un petit navire
Il était un petit navire
Qui n’avait ja- ja- jamais navigué
Qui n’avait ja- ja- jamais navigué
Ohé, Ohé!

Chorus:
Ohé Ohé matelot,
matelot navigue sur les flots
Ohé, Ohé matelot,
matelot navigue sur les flots.

English Translation

There was a little boat
There was a little boat
Which had never sailed
Which had never sailed.

Ahoy, Ahoy sailor,
sailor sails upon the waves.
Ahoy, ahoy sailor,
sailor sails upon the waves.

For more free French song recordings go to:
A Green Mouse French Songs

Il court le Furet

This French nursery rhyme is sung during games such as ‘Pass the Parcel’, and other games explained below.
More games that use this song are explained below.

Video

French Game 1.

–  Tell the children to make a circle and put their hands behind their back.
–   Choose one of them to be the ferret and stand in the middle of the circle.
–   Ask those in the circle to hold onto a piece of string behind their backs.
Threaded onto the string is a ring which the children must pass from one to the other while they walk around in a circle singing  ‘Il court le Furet’.
The child who is the ferret has to guess who is holding the ring and if he/she gets it right, she swaps places with the child holding the ring who then becomes the ferret.

French Game 2.

A child is chosen to be the ferret and all the other children hold hands and walk around him/her in a circle singing:

Il court il court le furet
le furet du bois, Mesdames.
Il court, il court le furet,
le furet du bois joli.

Then, still holding hands, the children lift up their arms to make space for ‘the ferret’ to pass underneath, zigzaging in and out of the circle.   During this time the following refrain is sung several times:

Il est passé par ici,
il repassera par là!

Finally the children cry  ‘il dort!‘  (he is sleeping), and the ferret curls up in the middle of the circle.
Children take it in turns to be the ferret.

The Words:
Il court, il court le furet,
Le furet du bois, Mesdames.
Il court, il court, le furet,
Le furet du bois joli.

Refrain:
Il est passé par ici.
Il repassera par là.

– – – –

English Translation:

The ferret runs, it runs,
The ferret of the wood, Ladies and Gentlemen.
The ferret runs, it runs,
The ferret from the pretty wood.

Refrain:
He has passed by here
He will pass by again over there.

For more French songs go to:
A Green Mouse French Songs for Children