The Little Red Hen
Once upon a time, there was a little red hen who lived on a farm. She had three friends: a lazy dog, a sleepy cat, and a noisy duck.
One day, the little red hen found some grains of wheat on the ground. She thought, “I can plant these grains and grow some wheat.”
The little red hen asked her friends, “Who will help me plant the wheat?”
“Not I,” said the dog.
“Not I,” said the cat.
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Then I will do it myself,” said the little red hen. And she did.
The wheat started to grow. It needed water to grow tall and strong. The little red hen asked her friends, “Who will help me water the wheat?”
“Not I,” said the dog.
“Not I,” said the cat.
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Then I will do it myself,” said the little red hen. And she did.
The wheat grew tall and was ready to be harvested. The little red hen asked her friends, “Who will help me cut the wheat?”
“Not I,” said the dog.
“Not I,” said the cat.
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Then I will do it myself,” said the little red hen. And she did.
After cutting the wheat, the little red hen needed to separate the grains from the stalks. This is called threshing. She asked her friends, “Who will help me thresh the wheat?”
“Not I,” said the dog.
“Not I,” said the cat.
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Then I will do it myself,” said the little red hen. And she did.
Next, the little red hen needed to take the wheat to the mill to be ground into flour. She asked her friends, “Who will help me take the wheat to the mill?”
“Not I,” said the dog.
“Not I,” said the cat.
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Then I will do it myself,” said the little red hen. And she did.
Finally, the little red hen had flour. She decided to bake a loaf of bread. She asked her friends, “Who will help me bake the bread?”
“Not I,” said the dog.
“Not I,” said the cat.
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Then I will do it myself,” said the little red hen. And she did.
The bread smelled so good! It was ready to eat. The little red hen asked her friends, “Who will help me eat the bread?”
“I will,” said the dog.
“I will,” said the cat.
“I will,” said the duck.
But the little red hen shook her head and said, “No, you did not help me plant the wheat. You did not help me water it, or cut it, or thresh it, or take it to the mill, or bake the bread. So, I will eat it myself.”
And she did. She enjoyed the delicious bread all by herself.
From that day on, the dog, the cat, and the duck realized they should help their friend. The little red hen had taught them an important lesson about working together.
Moral
If you don’t help with the work, you won’t share in the rewards.
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