Once upon a time, on a sunny little farm, there lived a Little Red Hen. She lived with three friends: a sleepy Dog, a lazy Cat and a chatty Duck. The Little Red Hen was always busy, scratching and pecking and humming a happy song. Cluck, cluck, cluck!
One morning, while she was scratching in the yard, she found some golden grains of wheat. "Look what I found!" she said. "Who will help me plant this wheat?" "Not I," said the Dog, and he yawned. "Not I," said the Cat, and she stretched. "Not I," said the Duck, and she waddled off to the pond. "Then I will plant it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And she did. Dig, dig, drop, pat, pat.
The sun shone and the rain fell, and the wheat grew tall and golden. "Who will help me cut the wheat?" asked the Little Red Hen. "Not I," said the Dog. "Not I," said the Cat. "Not I," said the Duck. "Then I will cut it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And she did. Snip, snip, snip.
"Who will help me carry the wheat to the mill, to grind it into flour?" "Not I," said the Dog. "Too far." "Not I," said the Cat. "Too heavy." "Not I," said the Duck. "Too hot." "Then I will carry it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And she did. Step, step, step, all the way to the mill, and step, step, step, all the way home with a bag of soft white flour.
"Who will help me make the bread?" "Not I," said the Dog. "Not I," said the Cat. "Not I," said the Duck. "Then I will make it myself," said the Little Red Hen. She mixed and she stirred, stir, stir, stir. She kneaded the dough, squish, squash, squish. And she popped it into the oven.
Soon a wonderful smell floated across the farm. Warm, sweet, toasty bread! The Dog's nose went sniff, sniff. The Cat's ears popped up. The Duck came running from the pond, flap, flap, flap. The Little Red Hen took out a round golden loaf. "Who will help me eat this bread?" she asked. "I will!" said the Dog. "I will!" said the Cat. "I will, I will!" said the Duck.
The Little Red Hen looked at her friends. She was not angry, but she was a little bit tired. "I planted the wheat by myself," she said softly. "I cut it by myself. I carried it and baked it by myself. It would have been so much more fun with friends."
The Dog looked down at his paws. The Cat twitched her tail. The Duck stopped quacking. "We're sorry, Little Red Hen," they said together. "We said 'Not I' every single time. We didn't think about how hard you were working." "Can we help now?" asked the Dog. "Yes," smiled the Little Red Hen. "You can." So the Dog set the table. The Cat fetched the butter. The Duck poured the water. Then they all sat down together, and the Little Red Hen broke the warm bread and shared it with everyone. Mmm, yum!
The next spring, the Little Red Hen found more grains of wheat. "Who will help me plant this wheat?" she asked. "I will!" said the Dog. "I will!" said the Cat. "I will!" said the Duck. And they planted it together, and cut it together, and carried it to the mill together, singing all the way. The Dog carried the heavy bag, the Cat stirred the flour, and the Duck kept everyone laughing with her funny stories.
And when the new loaf came out of the oven, round and golden and warm, it tasted even better than the first one, because everybody had helped to make it. Cluck, woof, meow, quack! said four happy friends with full tummies.
Parent tip: Let your child say every 'Not I!' in a sleepy Dog, lazy Cat and chatty Duck voice, then switch to a cheerful 'I will!' at the end.
Ask your child: After the story, you can ask: “Who was kind in this story, and what did they do?”
This gentle retelling has no scolding or shaming; the friends say sorry and everyone shares the bread.