# Un elefante se balanceaba

"Un elefante se balanceaba" is a Spanish-language cumulative counting song in which elephants balance one by one on a spider's web, adding a new elephant — and a new number — with every verse.

## At a glance

| | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Mexico |
| Sung in | Spanish |
| Words by | Traditional |
| First known | early 20th century |
| Best for ages | 2–6 |
| Mood | counting, playful |
| Page | https://littlesongbook.com/songs/un-elefante-se-balanceaba/ |

## Lyrics

### Verse 1 (es)

Un elefante se balanceaba
sobre la tela de una araña.
Como veía que resistía,
fue a llamar a otro elefante.

### Verse 2 (es)

Dos elefantes se balanceaban
sobre la tela de una araña.
Como veían que resistía,
fueron a llamar a otro elefante.

### English translation (en)

One elephant was balancing
on the thread of a spider's web.
And since it held his weight just fine,
he went and called another elephant.

## How to sing it

1. Hold up one finger for the first elephant and add a finger each verse.
2. Sway slowly side to side on "se balanceaba" — the whole song is a balancing act.
3. Let a different child call out the new number at the start of each verse.
4. Keep adding elephants until somebody loses count, which is the traditional way for it to end.

## Common questions

**What does "Un elefante se balanceaba" mean in English?**

"One elephant was balancing" — on a spider's web. Seeing that the web held his weight, he calls another elephant to join him, and each verse adds one more.

**How many verses does the elephant song have?**

As many as the singers can manage. It is a cumulative song with no fixed ending: the count rises by one each time, and families usually stop somewhere between five and ten, or whenever the counting collapses.

**What does "Un elefante se balanceaba" teach children?**

Counting upward one at a time, and the idea that each number is the previous one plus one. Because the number changes but the tune does not, children can concentrate on the count while the melody carries them.

**Which countries sing "Un elefante se balanceaba"?**

It is sung across the Spanish-speaking world — Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Colombia and beyond — with small regional differences in wording. Some versions have the elephants swinging on a rope or a thread rather than a web.

## Sources

- Traditional; widely documented in Spanish and Latin American children's song collections