Folktle: The Little red hen

In a barnyard, there was a Little Red Hen. She spent practically all of her time picking and pecking around the farm, looking for worms everywhere.

She believed that the health of her children depended entirely on the fat, tasty worms she so adored. She would yell "Chuck-chuck-chuck!" to her chicks each time she discovered a worm.

She would share flavorful bits of her snack with those who had gathered around her. She was one active little girl!

A cat would comfortably lie in the barn entrance, not even attempting to frighten the rat that ran around as he liked. The pig that resided in the sty, on the other hand, didn't care what occurred as long as he could eat and gain weight.

The Little Red Hen came across a Seed one day. Although it was a wheat seed, the Little Red Hen assumed it was some strange and possibly delicious form of meat because she was so used to eating bugs and worms. A Little Red Hen would easily be misled by it because it was long and slender, but she delicately bit it and discovered that it tasted nothing like a worm.

She carried it around and asked a lot of questions about it. She discovered it was a wheat seed and that, if planted, it would grow into a plant that could be harvested at its time for flour and bread-making.

When she realized it, she realized that it needed to be planted. Naturally, she believed she should not have taken the time to plant it because she was so busy gathering food for herself and her family.

She then thought about the Pig, who spends his time growing fat, the Cat, who was idle, and the large, fat Rat, who spent his useless hours, and she yelled aloud:

Who is going to plant the Seed?

But the Pig said, "Not I," and the Cat said, "Not I," and the Rat said, "Not I."

"Well, then," said the Little Red Hen, "I will."

And she did.

She continued to carry out her daily responsibilities throughout the long summer days, feeding her chicks and digging for worms as the Rat, Cat, and Pig all gained weight and the Wheat grew tall and ready for harvest.

One day, the Little Red Hen just so happened to observe how big the wheat was and how the grain was ripe, so she hurried around yelling. "Who will cut the Wheat?"

The Pig said, "Not I," the Cat said, "Not I," and the Rat said, "Not I."

"Well, then," said the Little Red Hen, "I will."

And she did.

She took the sickle from the farmer's tools in the barn and proceeded to cut off the entire large plant of Wheat.

Mrs. Hen's chicks set up a "peep-peep-peeping" in their most vigorous fashion, proclaiming to the world at large, but especially to their mother, that she was neglecting them.

Little Red Hen! She was completely perplexed and didn't know where to turn.

Her attention was torn between her responsibilities to her children and her responsibilities to the Wheat, for which she felt responsible.

So, again, in a very hopeful tone, she called out, "Who will thresh the Wheat?"

But the Pig, with a grunt, said, "Not I," and the Cat, with a meow, said, "Not I," and the Rat, with a squeak, said, "Not I."

So the Little Red Hen looked discouraged but she still said, "Well, I will, then."

And she did.

She had to first find works for her babies Before threshing the wheat. Then she called out: "Who will carry the Wheat to the mill to be ground?"

Turning their backs with snippy glee, that Pig said, "Not I," and that Cat said, "Not I," and that Rat said, "Not I."

So the good Little Red Hen could do nothing but say, "I will then." And she did.

And off she went to the distant mill where the wheat was grounded into fine powder. On her way back from the mill, she still managed to catch some juicy worms for herself and her babies.

After the stressful day, she went to bed on time so she could get much needed rest, but the quacking of her chick did not let her sleep. They were simply too demanding. She felt sleepy and tired through the day. She still knew that he wheat must be made into bread. So after she had taken care of her babies, she went to seek help from the pig, cat and rat

Still confident that they would surely help her some day she sang out, "Who will make the bread?"

But once more, her hopes were dashed! For the Pig said, "Not I," the Cat said, "Not I," and the Rat said, "Not I."

So the Little Red Hen said once more, "I will then," and she did.

And she set to work in kneading the dough. Soon enough, she has placed the bread in an oven to bake. The pig still lay in his pen dozing and snoring. The rat just sat by the mirror admiring himself and the cat who was too lazy to chase the cat just sat by the door post.

At last the great moment arrived. A delicious odor was wafted upon the autumn breeze. Everywhere the barnyard citizens sniffed the air with delight.

The red hen ruched to the source of this delicious smell and opened the oven. The bread was well baked and even though she did not know if it was for to be eaten, she was still very happy.

The Red Hen out of habit called: "Who will eat the Bread?"

All the animals in the barnyard were watching hungrily and smacking their lips in anticipation, and the Pig said, "I will," the Cat said, "I will," the Rat said, "I will."

But the Little Red Hen said,

"No, you won't. I will."

And she did.

The end😍

Lead image from shutterstock