After feeding her chicks, Little Red Hen retired to her slumbers earlier than usual—for this had been a strenuous day. She awoke the next morning to find her chicks already up and calling for her from the barnyard.
Even as she sleepily half opened one eye, the thought came to her that to-day the freshly ground flour must, somehow, be made into bread. She was not in the habit of making bread, so after her chicks were fed and made sweet and fresh for the day, she hunted up the Pig, the Cat and the Rat. Still confident that they would surely help her she sang out, “Who will help to make the bread?”
Alas for Little Red Hen! Once more her hopes were dashed:
For the Pig said, “Not I.”
The Cat said, “Not I.”
And the Rat said, “Not I.”
So Little Red Hen said once more, “Then I will make the bread myself.” And she did.
She went and put on a fresh apron and spotless cook’s cap. First of all she set the dough. When it was time she brought out the moulding board and the baking tins, moulded the bread, divided it into loaves, and put them into the oven to bake. All the while the Pig, the Cat, and the Rat looked on with amusement.
