I can still remember listening to this story at my grandmother's little lake-side cottage in Massachusetts when I was a kid. It's always been one of my favorites and my kids have enjoyed this version as well as the English/Spanish version, which you can find here. An American fable, The Little Red Hen tells the story of a mama hen and how she goes through the process of making bread.
First, she finds a wheat kernel and asks the other farmyard animals if they will help her plant it but they quickly respond with a "Not I" and go back to their leisurely play. Along every step of the way---cutting the wheat, threshing it, grinding it into flour, and lastly making the bread loaf, the Little Red Hen asks the farmyard animals if they will help. "Not I" they all respond, and go back to their leisurely play. On the final page the Little Red Hen asks, "Who will eat the bread?" and the animals all come running excitedly saying "I will! I will! I will!" but the Little Red Hen, on her blanket with her chicks and her warm, fresh loaf of bread says "No, you won't" and she and her chicks eat every last crumb.
With vintage-looking illustrations that are reminiscent of the 1950's version, The Little Red Hen is story that has always stuck with me and one sparks a lot of questions for kids. I think the first time I read it to my then three-year-old he reminded me that if someone makes bread as a gift for someone then they that person doesn't have to help make it. Very true, very true.
Enjoy!
Also, I had to post a photo of the book that my grandmother used to read from.
