The Little Red Hen
- 2 minute read
- Ages 4-8
- Moral Stories
A little red hen lived in a farmyard with a cat, a rat and a dog.
One day, scratching about, she found some grains of wheat.
Who will help me?
"Who will help me plant this wheat?" said the little red hen.
"Not I," said the cat, who was asleep.
"Not I," said the rat.
"Not I," said the dog.
"Then I will plant it myself," said the little red hen.
And she did.
The wheat came up and grew all summer, and when it was tall and golden she asked again.
"Who will help me cut the wheat?"
"Not I," said the cat.
"Not I," said the rat.
"Not I," said the dog.
"Then I will cut it myself."
And she did.
Every step
"Who will help me carry it to the mill?"
Not I. Not I. Not I.
"Who will help me grind it into flour?"
Not I. Not I. Not I.
"Who will help me make the dough?"
Not I.
"Who will help me bake the bread?"
Not I.
And every single time, the little red hen said she would do it herself, and every single time she did.
The loaf
The smell of baking bread went right across the farmyard.
The cat woke up. The rat came out. The dog stood up and stretched.
The little red hen took a golden loaf out of the oven and put it on the table, and all three of them arrived at the door at the same moment.
"Who will help me eat this bread?" said the little red hen.
"I will!" said the cat.
"I will!" said the rat.
"I will!" said the dog.
The little red hen looked at the three of them.
"No," she said. "You would not plant it and you would not cut it and you would not carry it or grind it or knead it or bake it. I did all of that myself, and I shall eat it myself."
And she did, every crumb.
Moral of the story
Help with the work and you share the result. The hen never refused anybody anything except the part they had already refused to earn.
Questions and answers
- What did the little red hen find?
Some grains of wheat while scratching about the farmyard.
- Who did she ask for help?
The cat, the rat and the dog, at every single stage.
- What did they say each time?
'Not I.'
- What brought them to the door at the end?
The smell of the bread baking.
- Why did the hen refuse to share?
Because none of them had helped with any part of the work, from planting to baking.
Word meanings
- farmyard
- The open area around farm buildings.
- mill
- A place where grain is ground into flour.
- grind
- To crush something into powder.
- knead
- To press and fold dough with your hands.
Questions about The Little Red Hen
What is the moral of The Little Red Hen?
That those who do not share the work do not share the reward. It is one of the clearest lessons in children's folklore.
Is the hen being unkind?
Children often argue about this, which is the story's real value. She asked four or five times and was refused every time before she refused anything herself.
Why is the repetition important?
Young children join in with 'Not I' after the second or third round, which is exactly what the structure is designed for.
Where does this story come from?
It is a Russian folk tale that became widely known in English in the nineteenth century.