Murray Has a Little Lamb



Murray Has a Little Lamb is a recurring Sesame Street segment that debuted in Season 39. The six and a half minute sketch stars Murray Monster and a pink lamb named Ovejita who only speaks Spanish. It features a Carribean-esque theme song which is a rap variation on the classic nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb", sung by Tony winner Lin-Manuel Miranda. Sometime during that season, the theme song was shortened. While the sketch appeared in every episode in Season 39, beginning in the following season, it is not played on every episode, and alternates with Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures. Also during Season 40, the guessing game portion of the segment is cut, and a new intro is added that leads them straight to the school.

Each sketch begins with Ovejita providing clues to help Murray guess (adivina) what kind of school they will visit. The clues are hidden all over the city; they can be seen inside a hot dog cart, in a pizza box, at a newspaper stand, in a tree with a magic button, in a garden with a watering can, on the slide at a playground, and on moving statues. When Ovejita uses an animal as a clue, a Muppet animal can be included. After each "clue" is revealed, Ovejita presents the word in Spanish several times, and Murray translates. Then he makes a guess about the type of school and/or asks for more clues. After the third clue, he starts to guess when Ovejita says "¡Adivina!" and then he and Ovejita arrive at the school in time to yell out the name with a bunch of children. Usually, Murray would stop Ovejita from saying that because the answer is on the tip of his tongue. The rest of the segment involves Murray asking questions and learning about what happens at the school, interacting with the children and teachers, and trying out the activities. Ovejita is seen participating as well.

The segments were directed by Joey Mazzarino and Matt Vogel (who directed the "Art School", "Soccer School", "Ice Skating School" and "Baseball School" segments ). The segment's theme song was written by Judy Freudberg, Joey Mazzarino, Bill Sherman and Belinda Ward.

Though the segment stopped airing after season 41, the format was incorporated into the tune in segments such as "Murray's Science Experiments" in season 42 and "The People in Your Neighborhood" in season 43. In season 44, the segment was brought back through the tune-in segments, featuring new school visitations and repurposed versions of archived editions.

The format has been replicated internationally as "Tuktuki's Journey" (in Bangladesh) and "The Misadventures of Grover and Toto" (in India).