The Little Red Hen story was one of my Mom’s favorites. Evidently. She told the story Scott and me at least a bajillion times as we were growing up, and she embellished it somewhat to fit whatever need she had at the time. Sometimes, the little red hen wasn’t baking bread, she was cleaning her room or doing other various chores, and the reward was always something besides bread… dangling before us. More like a subtle threat that if you’re too lazy, sleepy or noisy to do work yourself, you weren’t going to accomplish the task or reap an amazing reward.
It was a pretty good story, Mom. I guess I appreciate it now, although at 10 years-old it always provided a layer of agitation that compounded with the whole bossy Mom thing all kids believe at some point or another. It’s all about taking responsibility, isn’t it?
Sitting on the deck at dusk with the pesky neighbors yesterday, we were reminiscing about what Scott and I got into when we were kids. Like… the stupid things we did that made her crazy and the brilliant things we did that made her proud. And then, we started talking about my favorite cousin, Jerilyn. How she was afraid of bugs and dogs and worms — and how she cried ALL THE TIME. And we talked about the time she got her foot stuck in a post hole in the backyard. And how they found her… leg totally in the hole, me with a spoon trying to dig her out so she wouldn’t get in trouble. Funny stuff… Thing is, after all these years, I would still try to dig Jerilyn out of a hole with a spoon. 😉
Once upon a time, there was a little red hen who lived on a farm . She was friends with a lazy dog , a sleepy cat , and a noisy yellow duck .
One day the little red hen found some seeds on the ground. The little red hen had an idea. She would plant the seeds .
The little red hen asked her friends, “Who will help me plant the seeds ?”“Not I,” barked the lazy dog .
“Not I,” purred the sleepy cat .
“Not I,” quacked the noisy yellow duck .“Then I will,” said the little red hen . So the little red hen planted the seeds all by herself.
When the seeds had grown, the little red hen asked her friends, “Who will help me cut the wheat ?”
“Not I,” barked the lazy dog .
“Not I,” purred the sleepy cat .
“Not I,” quacked the noisy yellow duck .“Then I will,” said the little red hen . So the little red hen cut the wheat all by herself.
When all the wheat was cut, the little red hen asked her friends, “Who will help me take the wheat to the mill to be ground into flour ?”
“Not I,” barked the lazy dog .
“Not I,” purred the sleepy cat .
“Not I,” quacked the noisy yellow duck .“Then I will,” said the little red hen . So the little red hen brought the wheat to the mill all by herself, ground the wheat into flour , and carried the heavy sack of flour back to the farm .
The tired little red hen asked her friends, “Who will help me bake the bread ?”
“Not I,” barked the lazy dog .
“Not I,” purred the sleepy cat .
“Not I,” quacked the noisy yellow duck .“Then I will,” said the little red hen . So the little red hen baked the bread all by herself.
When the bread was finished, the tired little red hen asked her friends, “Who will help me eat the bread ?”
“I will,” barked the lazy dog .
“I will,” purred the sleepy cat .
“I will,” quacked the noisy yellow duck .“No!” said the little red hen . “I will.” And the little red hen ate the bread all by herself.