The Little Red Hen

The Little Red Hen

Retold by Pikabuk Studio · A traditional folk tale, retold for this demo.

On a small farm lived a little red hen, a lazy cat, a sleepy dog and a duck who liked to float on the pond all day.

One morning, scratching in the yard, the little red hen found a few grains of wheat. "Who will help me plant this wheat?" she asked.

"Not I," yawned the cat. "Not I," mumbled the dog. "Not I," quacked the duck. "Then I will plant it myself," said the little red hen. And she did.

The rain fell and the sun shone, and the wheat grew tall and golden. "Who will help me cut the wheat?" asked the little red hen. "Not I," said the cat. "Not I," said the dog. "Not I," said the duck. "Then I will cut it myself," said the little red hen. And she did.

"Who will help me carry the wheat to the mill, to be ground into flour?" she asked. "Not I," said the cat, stretching in the sun. "Not I," said the dog, closing his eyes. "Not I," said the duck, paddling away. So the little red hen carried the heavy sack to the mill herself, and she came home with a bag of soft white flour.

"Who will help me bake the bread?" she asked. "Not I," said the cat. "Not I," said the dog. "Not I," said the duck. "Then I will bake it myself," said the little red hen. And she did.

Soon a wonderful smell drifted out of the kitchen window and across the farmyard. The cat opened one eye. The dog lifted his nose. The duck climbed out of the pond.

"Who will help me eat the bread?" asked the little red hen, holding up the warm golden loaf.

"I will!" said the cat. "I will!" said the dog. "I will!" said the duck.

"No," said the little red hen. "I planted the wheat. I cut it, I carried it to the mill, and I baked the bread, all by myself. Now my chicks and I will eat it." And they did, every last crumb.

The next spring, when the little red hen found more grains of wheat and asked who would help her plant them, three voices answered at once: "I will!"