Lyrics
See the little bunnies sleeping till it’s nearly noon. Shall we go and wake them with a merry tune? They’re so still, are they ill? Wake up, little bunnies! Hop, little bunnies, hop, hop, hop! Hop, little bunnies, hop, hop, hop! Hop, little bunnies, hop, hop, hop! Hop, hop, hop, and stop!
#Sleeping Bunnies at a glance
- Country of origin
- 🌐 Unknown
- Sung in
- English
- Words by
- Traditional
- First known
- Exact date and author not established
- Best for ages
- 1–5
- Mood
- playful, dancing, calming
- Last updated
- 24 August 2026
How to sing it
- Begin slowly so everyone can hear the repeated words and the action cue.
- Curl up like sleeping bunnies, rise only on “Wake up,” hop in a clear space, and freeze on “stop.”
- Repeat the song once and invite a different child to lead the cues.
Meaning and origin
The action begins with an unusual demand for a movement song: everyone becomes still. Children curl up as sleeping rabbits and wait through the quiet opening until the wake-up cue releases the hopping section. A final stop gathers the movement back into silence. The contrast makes listening part of the game, because moving at the right moment matters more than performing complicated steps.
Current UK early-years materials retrieved for this page document “Sleeping Bunnies” as a nursery action song and show how it is used with young children. They do not establish an author, an early printed edition, an exact first date or a definite country of origin. Rather than infer a history from its present popularity, the page records those limits explicitly and credits the song as traditional only in the sense that no named author was established.
The activity needs a clear, safe space but no props. Children crouch or lie comfortably, rise only when the song wakes the bunnies, hop without colliding and freeze when the leader says stop. A slower repeat can help very young singers hear the change; older children can take turns giving the wake-up and stop cues.
Common questions
- Who wrote Sleeping Bunnies?
- No author or early publication was established by the sources retrieved for this page. Current UK early-years materials document the action song, but they do not prove where or when it began.
- Why does Sleeping Bunnies switch from quiet to energetic?
- The first section asks the children to lie still like sleeping rabbits. The wake-up cue then changes the same game into hopping before a final stop, making the contrast part of the activity.
