The Little Red Hen
Traditional | Russia
A little red hen makes bread alone after her friends refuse to help, then eats it without them.
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A sow refuses a wolf's offer to watch her piglets, seeing through the wolf's true intentions and protecting her young.
A woman had a special Hen that laid one egg daily, so she tried feeding it more to get two eggs, but it stopped laying altogether.
Once upon a time, in a sunny farmyard, there lived a little red hen. She was very active and always busy. One sunny morning, she found some wheat seeds on the ground. She thought it would be a great idea to plant them. She went to her friends, the cat, the rat, and the goose, and asked, "Who will help me plant these seeds?"
"Not I!" said the cat.
"Not I!" said the rat.
"Not I!" said the goose.
"Then I will do it myself!" said the little red hen, and she planted the seeds on her own.
As the days went by, the wheat grew tall and golden. The little red hen needed help again. She went to her friends and asked, "Who will help me cut the wheat?"
"Not I!" said the rat, playing in the dirt.
"Not I!" said the cat, relaxing in the shade.
"Not I!" said the goose, swimming in the pond.
"Then I will!" she said. She cut the wheat and separated the grains with her wings.
When it was time to turn the wheat into flour, the little red hen asked her friends again, "Who will help me take the wheat to the mill?"
"Not I!" they all said.
The little red hen took the wheat to the mill herself. She had it ground into flour and carried the heavy bag back home.
Now it was time to bake the bread. She asked her friends, "Who will help me bake the bread?"
"Not I!" they all replied.
So, she baked the bread herself. When the wonderful smell of warm bread filled the air, she asked one last time, "Who will help me eat this bread?"
"I will!" said the cat.
"I will!" said the rat.
"I will!" said the goose.
But the little red hen shook her head and said, "You did not help me plant the seeds, cut the wheat, take the flour to the mill, or bake the bread. You were all too busy to help, so now you shall be too busy to eat."
So, the little red hen enjoyed the fresh, delicious bread with her chicks. Her lazy friends looked on sadly as she and her chicks enjoyed their meal in the warm afternoon sun.
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