The Little Red Hen story is a classic tale, retold here in calm, simple words for children to enjoy with a grown-up. A little red hen plants wheat and bakes bread all by herself because her friends will not help, and then they learn to help next time.
Before you start: No loud or scary parts. It has a smell part (warm bread) — you could smell some bread or toast together.
Listen together Read aloud by Amy · 2 min 38 s
Read the Little Red Hen story
Once there was a little red hen. She lived on a farm with her friends.
Her friends were a dog, a cat and a duck. The dog liked to sleep. The cat liked to sit in the sun. The duck liked to swim.
One day, the little red hen found some seeds of wheat. “Who will help me plant these seeds?” she asked.
“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. Dig, dig, dig.
The rain came. The sun came. 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 do it myself,” said the little red hen. And she did. Snip, snip, snip.
“Who will help me take the wheat to the mill, to make flour?” asked the little red hen.
“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 miller turned the wheat into soft white flour.
“Who will help me bake the flour into bread?” asked the little red hen.
“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. Mix, mix, mix. Into the oven went the bread.
Soon the farm smelled warm and good. The bread was ready.
“Who will help me eat the bread?” asked the little red hen.
“I will!” said the dog. “I will!” said the cat. “I will!” said the duck.
The little red hen felt tired. She felt cross. “You did not help me plant,” she said. “You did not help me cut. You did not help me bake. So my chicks and I will eat this bread.”
The dog, the cat and the duck felt sorry. “We should have helped,” they said.
The next spring, the little red hen found more seeds. “Who will help me plant these seeds?” she asked.
“I will!” said the dog. “I will!” said the cat. “I will!” said the duck. They all worked together. And when the bread was baked, they all shared it. Everyone felt happy. The end.
On this page
Picture cards to talk about
- Little red hen finds seeds
- Hen plants the seeds
- Hen cuts the tall wheat
- Hen bakes bread
- Friends say sorry
- Everyone shares the bread
Talk about the Little Red Hen story together
- What did the dog, the cat and the duck say?
- How did the little red hen feel when nobody helped?
- What happened the next spring?
- How do you help at home?
Feelings in the Little Red Hen story
Tired, Cross, Sorry, Happy.
What the Little Red Hen story teaches: When we help with the work, we can all share the good things at the end.
This version is our own gentle retelling of a public-domain tale. You can read about the history of the original Little Red Hen story on Wikipedia.
Find more calm stories on our Stories page, or play together in the Playground.