The Little Red Hen

LYRIC

Cluck, cluck, cluck! said the hen so red,
“Who will help me bake my bread?”

“Not I,” said the cat.
“Not I,” said the dog.
“Not I,” said the pig on the log.

Then I will, said the hen so red,
Cluck, cluck, cluck — I’ll bake my bread!
Work, work, work, then we’ll be fed,
Cluck, cluck, cluck — bake that bread!

Cluck, cluck, cluck! said the hen so red,
“Who will help me bake my bread?”

“Not I,” said the cat.
“Not I,” said the dog.
“Not I,” said the pig on the log.

Then I will, said the hen so red,
Cluck, cluck, cluck — I’ll bake my bread!
Work, work, work, then we’ll be fed,
Cluck, cluck, cluck — bake that bread!

She mixed the flour, she baked the dough,
Smells so good, it started to glow!

Then I will, said the hen so red,
Cluck, cluck, cluck — I’ll bake my bread!

When it’s done, she said with a grin,
“Who will help me eat it in?”

(Final Chorus x2)
Me! Me! Me! said all instead,
Cluck, cluck, cluck — we’ll eat that bread!

Me! Me! Me! said all instead,
Cluck, cluck, cluck — we’ll eat that bread!

THE STORY

Once upon a time, a Little Red Hen found a grain of wheat. “Who will help me plant this wheat?” she asked her friends, a sleepy Cat, a noisy Duck, and a sleek Rat. “Not I,” purred the Cat. “Not I,” quacked the Duck. “Not I,” squeaked the Rat. “Then I will plant it myself,” said the Little Red Hen, and so she did.

The wheat grew tall and ripened into golden grain. “Who will help me cut the wheat?” asked the Little Red Hen. “Not I,” said the Cat. “Not I,” said the Duck. “Not I,” said the Rat. “Then I will cut it myself,” said the Little Red Hen. She threshed it, took it to the mill to be ground into flour, and then asked, “Who will help me bake the bread?” Again, her three friends refused, each from their comfortable corner. “Then I will bake it myself,” said the determined little hen.

Soon, a wonderful smell filled the house. The Little Red Hen pulled a perfectly baked, crusty loaf of bread from her oven. “Who will help me eat this bread?” she asked. Suddenly, the Cat, the Duck, and the Rat all perked up. “I will!” “I will!” “I will!” they each cried eagerly. But the Little Red Hen shook her head. “No, you will not. I planted the wheat, I cut it, I threshed it, I baked the bread. I will eat it myself.” And so she did, sharing not a single crumb with her idle friends.