Wynken, Blynken and Nod is a beloved bedtime poem about sailing in the sky in a wooden shoe and fishing for the stars.  The names "Wynken", "Blynken" and "Nod" represent a child’s sleepy eyes and head.  The wooden shoe symbolizes his bed.  He dreams of the stars while his mother sings him to sleep.  This lovely poem deserves a place in every child’s nighttime routine. 

The famous children poet Eugene Field wrote this poem in 1889.  Read more of Eugene Field’s poems here.

Click on the MP3 recording below to hear the poem while reading along with the text…

MP3 Recording of Wynken, Blynken and Nod

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
By Eugene Field

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe —
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!"
Said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea —
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish —
Never afeard are we";
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam —
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
‘Twas all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought ’twas a dream they’d dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea —
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one’s trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

Night-night! –Mama Lisa

Read by Sweet Pea

Image from Eugene Field Reader