Mary Had a Little Lamb: How a 9-Year-Old Accidentally Invented Audio Recording

Stop. I know what you’re doing.

You just read the headline and now you’re humming it. “Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb…”

Great. Now that we have that earworm stuck in our heads for the rest of the day, let’s get serious for a second. (Okay, not too serious). Most of us think this is just a silly nursery rhyme we sing to toddlers to distract them while we try to drink our coffee in peace. But did you know Mary was real? The lamb was real? And the trouble they got into was absolutely real?

I went down a rabbit hole of research on this (because that’s what I do), and the true story is actually a profound lesson on compassionate leadership, innovation, and the butterfly effect of kindness. Here is the true story of Mary Sawyer, the original “Leader of the Lamb”.

The Failed Project No One Wanted

It’s March 1815 in Sterling, Massachusetts. It’s freezing. Mary Sawyer, age 9, is in the barn with her dad. They find twin lambs born overnight. One is healthy. The other? It’s a “write-off”. It was rejected by the mother, freezing, and too weak to stand. And it was literally about to die, as it struggled to breathe. Without its mother's care and milk, the tiny creature would surely die of cold and hunger. Now, here is the "Corporate Executive" moment. Mary’s dad looks at the data.

• Asset status: Depreciating rapidly.
• ROI: Zero.
• Verdict: “Let it go, Mary. It won't survive.”

But Mary? She had that stubborn, "I see potential where you see failure" spirit. She begged her dad to let her try and take care of the lamb. Her father shook his head. "No, Mary. It's almost dead anyway. Even if we try, it probably won't survive." But Mary couldn't bear to watch the lamb die. She pleaded with her father until he finally relented—though he made it clear he thought it was hopeless. She brought the lamb inside, wrapped it in old clothes, and sat by the fireplace all night, feeding it warmth and care when it couldn't even swallow.

The result? The "failed project" stood up the next morning. Over the next few days, with Mary's constant care—feeding it milk, keeping it warm, nursing it back to strength—the little creature recovered completely.

Because Mary saved its life, that lamb didn’t just like her; it imprinted on her. It was obsessed. It followed her everywhere and was sure to go. It followed her voice and came running whenever she called. It was the ultimate loyal follower because the leader had sacrificed for it.

Related: Leadership Lessons from the Life of Jane Goodall

The Original Take Your Pet to Work Day

Now for the funny part.

Mary had a brother named Nat. I like Nat. Nat sounds like a troublemaker (like me). One morning, the lamb follows Mary to the gate. Nat looks at Mary and convinces her, "Let’s take it to school." Mary hesitated and was a bit worried. (This is 1815. There are no "support animal" policies.) But Mary smuggles the lamb into the Redstone Schoolhouse and hides it in a basket under her desk.

It works perfectly... until Mary has to stand up to recite. The lamb pops out, bleats loudly, and chases her to the front of the class.

Chaos. Laughter. The teacher, Polly Kimball, is trying to be stern but is laughing her head off. She kicks the lamb out.

A young man named John Roulstone was visiting the school that day. He saw the hilarity, saw the devotion of the lamb, and wrote the first three stanzas of the poem we know today.

The Connect The Dots Moment

You might think the story ends there. Just a cute viral moment from the 19th century.

But here is the crazy part.

Fast forward 60 years to 1877. A guy you might have heard of, Thomas Edison, is inventing a machine that can record and play back sound. The Phonograph. He’s about to make history. He turns the handle. He needs something to say into the mouthpiece to test if it works. He doesn't quote Shakespeare. He doesn't quote the Constitution or a Bible verse.

He recites, "Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow..."

The first sound ever recorded in human history was a tribute to Mary Sawyer’s act of kindness.

The Leadership Lesson

I love this story because it aligns so perfectly with what I see in great organisations (especially in those that take somewhat "weak" things and transform them into greatness). Most leaders look for the “strong lambs”. We generally look for the high-potentials, the ones who are already standing, strong, the ones that generate immediate ROI.

But true leadership—transformational leadership—is what Mary did.

1. She Ignored the Status Quo: Her father (the authority) said it was hopeless. She disagreed.
2. She Invested in the Rejected: She took the one that was cast aside and poured life into it.
3. She Created Loyalty: That lamb didn't follow her because she had a title. It followed her because she served it.

The poem (later expanded by Sarah Josepha Hale to include moral lessons) ends with the children asking, "Why does the lamb love Mary so?"

And the teacher replies, "Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know."

It’s that simple.

My Question to You

In your team, your family, or your community, who is the "rejected lamb"?

Who is the person everyone else has written off as "too weak" or "not worth the effort"?

Maybe, just maybe, if you wrap them up, bring them in from the cold, and show them a little irrational kindness, they won't just survive. They might just help you make history. I know from my own experience, building leadership development programmes like the GE's famous FMP programme all over Asia, that the best leaders, were not the strongest and brightest (most of those left), but the ones who we nurtured in love and care, who remained loyal and helped transform numerous businesses they were in.

Be like Mary. Love, care and focus on your people.

(And try not to smuggle farm animals into the office today. HR might not be as cool as Polly Kimball).

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