The Little Red Hen

One day the Little Red Hen found some grains of wheat. "Look look!" she clucked. "Who will help me plant this wheat?"

"Not I", quacked the duck, and he waddled away.

"Not I", oinked the pig, and he trotted away.

"Not I, meowed the cat, and he padded away.

"Then I will plant it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

When the wheat was tall and golden, the Little Red Hen knew it was ready to be cut. "Who will help me cut the wheat?" she asked.

"Not I," said the duck.

"Not I," said the pig.

"Not I," said the cat

"Then I will cut this wheat myself". And she did.

"Now", said the Little Red Hen, "it is time to take the wheat to the miller so he can grind it into flour. Who will help me?"

"Not I," said the duck.

"Not I," said the pig.

"Not I," said the cat.

"Then I will take the wheat to the miller myself," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

The miller ground the wheat into fine white flour and put it into a sack for the Little Red Hen.

When she returned to the barnyard, the Little Red Hen asked, "Who will help me make this flour into dough?"

"Not I," said the duck, the pig and the cat all at once.

"Then I will make the dough myself," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

When the dough was ready to go into the oven, the Little Red Hen asked, "Who will help me bake the bread?"

"Not I," said the duck.

"Not I," said the pig.

"Not I," said the cat.

"Then I wll bake it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

Soon the bread was ready. As she took it from the oven, the Little Red Hen asked, "Well who will help me eat this warm, fresh bread?"

"I will," said the duck.

"I will," said the pig.

"I will," said the cat.

"No you won't," said the Little Red Hen. "You wouldn't help me plant the seeds, cut the wheat, go to the miller, make the dough or bake the bread. Now, my three chicks and I will eat this bread ourselves!"

And that's just what they did.

(A Golden Book, New York) Western Publishing Company, Inc, Racine, WI 53404

"Can we pay for the bread?" said the pig.

"Oh, that you can do," said the Little Red Hen.

And Pig had bread and cheese that evening.

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"Can we pay for the bread?" said the pig.

"I do not understand what those strange metal discs in your hands are," said the Little Red Hen.

"They're coins," said the goat. "You can trade them for things."

"What if I give you the bread," said the Little Red Hen, "and then try to trade the coins for someone else's stuff and they say no? So I'm saying no to the coins."

And Pig and Goat went hungry that evening.

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"Can we pay for the bread?" said the Pig.

"With what?" said the Little Red Hen.

"Credit," said the Goat. "We promise we will make something nice and give it to you if you let us eat the bread."

"And I am to believe," said the Little Red Hen, "that you would be any less lazy than you have been all through the growing season? Ha! Not a chance."

And Pig and Goat went hungry that evening.

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"Can we pay for the bread?" said the Pig.

"No we can't," said the Goat. "We've got nothing."

"We're going to go awful hungry this evening," said the Pig.

"Tell you what," said the Little Red Hen. "I give you some of the bread, you help me sow the winter wheat, we'll call it even."

"Deal," said Pig and Goat.

And Pig and Goat and Hen had bread and cheese that evening.

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"Can we pay for the bread?" said the Pig.

"No we can't," said Goat. "We have neither coin nor reputation."

"Tell you what," said the Little Red Hen. "I give you the bread, and you work for me in whatever capacity I see fit, for as long as I like."

Pig and Goat looked at each other skeptically. But then their stomachs both growled.

And Pig and Goat and Hen had bread that evening, though Pig and Goat ate a bit less of it, because they were eyeing the Little Red Hen, wary of what she would make them do.

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"Can we pay for the bread?" said the Pig.

"You two must be newcomers to this Kibbutz," said the Little Red Hen. "You work for your bread, you don't pay for it. If you're new I don't mind going easy on you. Just get your ass in gear from now on, alright?"

And Pig and Goat had bread and cheese that evening.

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"Can we have some of that bread?" said the Pig.

"I get to pick the toppings," said the Little Red Hen.

"Never mind," said Goat.