The Little Red Hen

Quick Answer

Why This Story Works for Bedtime

It’s practical, rhythmic, and ends with fairness. Great for bedtime discussions about teamwork at home: ‘We all pitch in,’ in a calm, non-shaming way.

Story Synopsis

A little red hen finds a few grains of wheat and decides to make bread. But bread takes many steps, so she asks the other animals for help. “Who will help me plant the wheat?” she asks. A dog, a cat, and a duck (or similar farmyard friends) answer, “Not I.” So the hen plants it herself. When the wheat grows tall, she asks, “Who will help me cut the wheat?” Again: “Not I.” She cuts it. Then she asks who will help carry it to the mill and grind it into flour. “Not I.” She does it alone. Next she asks who will help knead the dough and bake the bread. Each time the animals refuse. At last, the warm smell of fresh bread fills the air. The animals suddenly appear, eager and smiling. “Who will help me eat the bread?” the hen asks. “I will!” they all cry. But the hen remembers every “Not I.” She explains, calmly but firmly, that the bread belongs to the one who did the work. She eats it herself (and sometimes shares with her chicks), while the others learn an important lesson: rewards don’t appear by magic; someone has to do the steps. The Little Red Hen is a practical, rhythmic story that many children enjoy because it repeats in a predictable pattern. At bedtime it can be a gentle way to talk about teamwork, fairness, and helping at home—without shaming, just with clear cause and effect.

Story Excerpt

In a sunny barnyard, a Little Red Hen lived with her fluffy chickies. She was a busy little mother. All day long she walked about in her picketty - pecketty way, scratching in the dirt and straw. When she found a plump, wiggly worm, she would call, “ Chuck - chuck - chuck! ” Her chickies came running on quick little feet. The Little Red Hen shared the best bits, because she wanted them to grow strong and healthy. Not everyone in the barnyard worked the way she did. A Cat often stretched out in the barn door and took long, cozy naps. A Rat wandered about, sniffing and squeaking, doing only what pleased him. And a Pig in the sty liked to eat and rest and grow round and comfortable. One day, as the Little Red Hen scratched near a patch of earth, she found something small and pale and smooth. “ A seed! ” she clucked, tipping it in her beak. At first she thought it might be a strange new kind of worm — after all, it was long and slender. She gave it a careful nibble. “ Oh, ” she said, blinking. “ This doesn’t taste like a worm at all. ” So she carried it around the barnyard, asking questions in her brisk, hopeful voice. The Cat opened one sleepy eye. The Rat twitched his whiskers. The Pig lifted his snout. At last, the Little Red Hen learned what it was. “ It’s a wheat seed, ” someone told her. “ If you plant it, it will grow tall. When it’s ripe, the wheat can be made into flour, and the flour can be made into bread. ” “ Bread, ” the Little Red Hen repeated softly. She imagined warm, brown loaves and the smell of something good baking. She looked at her chickies. She looked at the seed. “ I ought to plant it, ” she said. “ But I’m so busy finding food and…

In One Glance