Stanzas 1 and 3 were written for children, by Wilhelm Hey (1789–1854), the court preacher at Gotha, Germany. His much-loved volumes Fabeln für Kinder (Tales for Children), 1833 and 1837, each containing 50 stories, were translated into English several times. The SDAH translation was made by H. W. Dulcken, especially for Percy Dearmer’s Songs of Praise, 1933.

Johann Wilhelm Hey was born at Leina, Germany, and studied theology at the Universities of Jena and Göttingen. In 1818, he became pastor at Tottelstadt, and in 1827, court preacher at Gotha, attracting large audiences. Because of his Pietist leanings, he was transferred in 1832 to be superintendent of Ichtershausen, 12 miles distant.

The original song of three stanzas in the 1837 edition began “Weisst du, wieviel Sternlein stehen?” (“Do you know how many little stars there are?”).

The delightful tune is derived from an anonymous German folk song. Dr. Henry John William Dulcken (1832–1894), a Londoner, was born in Marylebone and died in Hampstead. He translated several German hymns and songs, which appear in his Book of German Songs, 1856, and in Golden Harp,