✦ A Nursery Rhyme ✦
Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town in his nightgown, making sure every child is tucked into bed. Watch the read-aloud and say the rhyme together.
Read aloud by Storyland Classics ✦ 29 seconds ✦ Watch on YouTube
✦ The Rhyme ✦
Adapted from the Scottish poem by William Miller (1841). Public domain.
Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town, Upstairs and downstairs in his nightgown, Rapping at the window, crying through the lock, “Are the children all in bed? For now it’s eight o’clock!”
✦ About the Rhyme ✦
Although it is usually printed with the Mother Goose rhymes, “Wee Willie Winkie” has a known author. The Scottish poet William Miller (1810–1872) wrote it in Scots dialect and published it in 1841, and the short English version above soon spread far beyond Scotland.
Wee Willie Winkie became a kind of bedtime character, like the Sandman, checking that every child is asleep. For generations, parents have used the rhyme as a gentle signal that the day is done and it is time for bed.
✦ Talk About It ✦