Guide to little red hen by Swift Creek Mill Theatre

Introduction: The play Little Red Hen is based on a classic folktale, or a story passed down from person to person over a long time, about a hen whose fellow barnyard animals are too lazy to do the work required to help her bake bread. In the end of the original folktale, the other animals do not help and it is unknown if the animals are friends. Below is a book version of The Little Red Hen, written and illustrated by Florence White Williams and released in 1918. It can be found online with illustrations at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/18735/18735-h/18735h.htm Little Red Hen lived in a barnyard. She spent almost all of her time walking about the barnyard in her picketty-pecketty fashion, scratching everywhere for worms. She dearly loved fat, delicious worms and felt they were absolutely necessary to the health of her children. As often as she found a worm she would call “Chuck-chuckchuck!” to her chickies. When they were gathered about her, she would distribute choice morsels of her tid-bit. A busy little body was she! A cat usually napped lazily in the barn door, not even bothering herself to scare the rat who ran here and there as he pleased. And as for the pig who lived in the sty—he did not care what happened so long as he could eat and grow fat. One day the Little Red Hen found a Seed. It was a wheat Seed, but the Little Red Hen was so accustomed to bugs and worms that she supposed this to be some new and

perhaps very delicious kind of meat. She bit it gently and found that it resembled a worm in no way whatsoever as to taste although because it was long and slender, a Little Red Hen might easily be fooled by its appearance. Carrying it about, she made many inquiries as to what it might be. She found it was a wheat Seed and that, if planted, it would grow up and when ripe it could be made into flour and then into bread. When she discovered that, she knew it ought to be planted. She was so busy hunting food for herself and her family that, naturally, she thought she ought not to take time to plant it. So she thought of the Pig—upon whom time must hang heavily and of the Cat who had nothing to do, and of the great fat Rat with his idle hours, and she called loudly: “Who will plant the seed?”

But the Pig said, “Not I,” and the Cat said, “Not I,” and the Rat said, “Not I.” “Well, then,” said the Little Red Hen, “I will.” And she did. Then she went on with her daily duties through the long summer days, scratching for worms and feeding her chicks, while the Pig grew fat, and the Cat grew fat, and the Rat grew fat, and the wheat grew tall and ready for harvest. So one day the Little Red Hen chanced to notice how large the wheat was and that the grain was ripe, so she ran about calling briskly: “Who will cut the wheat?” The Pig said, “Not I,” the Cat said, “Not I,” and the Rat said, “Not I.” “Well, then,” said the Little Red Hen, “I will.” And she did. She got the sickle from among the farmer's tools in the barn and proceeded to cut off all of the big plant of wheat. On the ground lay the nicely cut wheat, ready to be gathered and threshed, but the newest and yellowest and downiest of Mrs. Hen's chicks set up a “peep-peep-peeping” in their most vigorous fashion, proclaiming to the world at large, but most particularly to their mother, that she was neglecting them. Poor Little Red Hen! She felt quite bewildered and hardly knew where to turn. Her attention was sorely divided between her duty to her children and her duty to the wheat, for which she felt responsible. So, again, in a very hopeful tone, she called out, “Who will thresh the wheat?” But the Pig, with a grunt, said, “Not I,” and the Cat, with a meow, said, “Not I,” and the Rat, with a squeak, said, “Not I.”

So the Little Red Hen, looking, it must be admitted, rather discouraged, said, “Well, I will, then.” And she did. Of course, she had to feed her babies first, though, and when she had gotten them all to sleep for their afternoon nap, she went out and threshed the wheat. Then she called out: “Who will carry the wheat to the mill to be ground?” Turning their backs with snippy glee, that Pig said, “Not I,” and that Cat said, “Not I,” and that Rat said, “Not I.” So the good Little Red Hen could do nothing but say, “I will then.” And she did. Carrying the sack of wheat, she trudged off to the distant mill. There she ordered the wheat ground into beautiful white flour. When the miller brought her the flour she walked slowly back all the way to her own barnyard in her own picketty-pecketty fashion. She even managed, in spite of her load, to catch a nice juicy worm now and then and had one left for the babies when she reached them. Those cunning little fluffballs were so glad to see their mother. For the first time, they really appreciated her. After this really strenuous day Mrs. Hen retired to her slumbers earlier than usual— indeed, before the colors came into the sky to herald the setting of the sun, her usual bedtime hour. She would have liked to sleep late in the morning, but her chicks, joining in the morning chorus of the hen yard, drove away all hopes of such a luxury. Even as she sleepily half opened one eye, the thought came to her that to-day that wheat must, somehow, be made into bread.

She was not in the habit of making bread, although, of course, anyone can make it if he or she follows the recipe with care, and she knew perfectly well that she could do it if necessary. So after her children 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 some day she sang out, “Who will make the bread?” Alas for the 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 the Little Red Hen said once more, “I will then,” and she did. Feeling that she might have known all the time that she would have to do it all herself, she went and put on a fresh apron and spotless cook's cap. First of all she set the dough, as was proper. 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 Cat sat lazily by, giggling and chuckling. And close at hand the vain Rat powdered his nose and admired himself in a mirror. In the distance could be

heard the long-drawn snores of the dozing Pig. At last the great moment arrived. A delicious odor was wafted upon the autumn breeze. Everywhere the barnyard citizens sniffed the air with delight. The Red Hen ambled in her picketty-pecketty way toward the source of all this excitement. Although she appeared to be perfectly calm, in reality she could only with difficulty restrain an impulse to dance and sing, for had she not done all the work on this wonderful bread? Small wonder that she was the most excited person in the barnyard! She did not know whether the bread would be fit to eat, but—joy of joys!—when the lovely brown loaves came out of the oven, they were done to perfection. Then, probably because she had acquired the habit, the Red Hen called: “Who will eat the Bread?” All the animals in the barnyard were watching hungrily and smacking their lips in anticipation, and the Pig said, “I will,” the Cat said, “I will,” the Rat said, “I will.” But the Little Red Hen said, “No, you won't. I will.” And she did.

Reflection after the performance: In the book there are no songs. A play that has songs is called a musical. Characters in the play sometimes sing to express their thoughts and emotions. Do you like to sing? When do you sing? There is a different animal in the play than in the book. Which is it? There is no mention of the farmer in the original story. In the play, Farmer Jeff acts as narrator, or the person who tells parts of the story, and he is also a character who helps the story have a different ending. The actions of the animals after the first bread is baked change. How so? What do the animals learn?

A Farmer’s Guide to Nutrition A farm is a place food is grown for people to eat. Foods belonging to the food groups of vegetables, fruits, grain, dairy, and protein can all be grown on farms. Farmer Jeff sings about his farm and the things he eats to be healthy. Here is what he sings in his country-style song “This Farm of Mine”: I GOT CORN, I GOT WHEAT I GOT MILK AND EGGS AND MEAT I GOT EV’RY FOOD A FARM COULD OFFER SO IF MY CUPBOARD’S BARE THERE’S NO NEED TO DESPAIR I SIMPLY WALK OUTSIDE ONTO THE FARM AND EAT WHAT’S THERE I EAT CORN, I EAT WHEAT I EAT MILK AND EGGS AND MEAT VEG’TABLES AND FRUIT FRESH FROM THE VINE THAT WORKS FOR ME THAT’S MY OWN RECIPE FOR LOOKIN’ GOOD AND FEELIN’ FINE I EAT WHAT’S ON THIS FARM OF MINE I GOT CATS, I GOT DOGS I GOT COWS THAT EAT LIKE HOGS I FILL BOWLS AND TROUGHS WITH MEAL AND WATER I FILL THEM TO THE TOP THEY EAT MOST EV’RY DROP IT GETS SO MESSY YOU CAN SEE JUST WHY THEY CALL IT SLOP I LIKE CATS, I LIKE DOGS BUT I DON’T EAT MY FOOD LIKE HOGS I PREFER A TABLE WHEN I DINE THAT WORKS FOR ME THAT KEEPS MY DIGNITY I LIKE MY SILVERWARE TO SHINE WHEN I EAT ON THIS FARM OF MINE I GOT TO EAT MY BREAKFAST BEFORE I START THE DAY SOME CEREAL TO FILL ME UP

AND APPLE JUICE IN MY JUICE CUP AND FOR MY LUNCH AND SUPPER I BALANCE MY BUFFET I DON’T JUST GOBBLE EV’RY PIECE OF FOOD THAT COMES MY WAY VITAMINS HELP MY SIGHT FIBER KEEPS MY STOMACH RIGHT MIN’RALS MAKE MY TEETH LIKE BRIGHT MOONSHINE THAT WORKS FOR ME NUTRITION IS THE KEY TO LOOKIN’ GOOD AND FEELIN’ FINE SO I EAT FROM THIS FARM OF MINE I GOT TO GET MY PROTEIN BY EATING NUTS AND BEANS ‘CAUSE PROTEIN WORKS LIKE BUILDING BLOCKS AND MAKES MY MUSCLES STRONG LIKE ROCKS AND THEN TO GET MY WATER, I USE MOST ANY MEANS ‘CAUSE WATER MAKES MY ORGANS WORK LIKE FINELY TUNED MACHINES I EAT CORN, I EAT WHEAT I EAT MILK AND EGGS AND MEAT VEG’TABLES AND FRUIT FRESH FROM THE VINE THAT WORKS FOR ME THAT’S MY OWN RECIPE FOR LOOKIN’ GOOD AND FEELIN’ FINE I EAT WHAT’S ON THIS FARM OF MINE I EAT WHAT’S ON THIS FARM OF MINE

What are some foods you like to eat to stay healthy? You may have noticed that Farmer Jeff does not grow ice cream and chocolate candy on his farm. Why? It is important to eat a balanced diet. That means we all need to eat foods from the five food groups every day, especially vegetables and fruits. Is that easy or difficult? How do you think we can remember to eat a balanced diet?

Little Red Hen Worksheet 1. Little Red Hen wants to raise ________ for the Little Sisters of Our Chicken Coop Orphanage. 2. Little Red says, “All I’ve got to do is till-up the _______, plant some _______, water the ________, pull the ________, wait all summer, harvest the wheat, and grind it into _______. And bake the bread. I think I might need help.” 3. She asks __________, ___________ and ____________ for their help, but they don’t want to help. 4. Little Red asks several times for help, and her friends refuse. Who finally gets them to understand they should help by saying, “What if you had to grow your own wheat and bake your own bread... wouldn’t you want somebody to help?” _________________ 5. By the time Little Red’s friends ask if they can help with the bread, what is the only thing left to do? ______________________ 6. Buster, Calico Cat and Pig wanted to make up for what they had done. The next spring they planted __________ to share with Little Red. 7. The friends all play ring-around-the-rosy. Farmer Jeff shows them how to make a ___________ instead of a “clump.” 8. There are other kinds of “circles,” or things that keep going around and around, or repeating. These can also be called cycles. What is something the animals thought is like a circle? 9. Little Red looks at the friends’ crop of wheat. Instead of wheat, what did they actually grow? ________________ 10. What are plants that grow where we don’t want them to grow? __________ 11. The animals help bake bread with Little Red Hen, but they all get upset. Farmer Jeff tells them, “Well, if you want to be friends, you’re going to have to __________ very hard at it.” 12. In the end the friends learn to _______ one another in order to stay friends.

ANSWER KEY: 1.

Little Red Hen wants to raise ________ for the Little Sisters of Our Chicken Coop Orphanage.

Little Red says, “All I’ve got to do is till-up the _______, plant some _______, water the ________, pull the ________, wait all summer, harvest the wheat, and grind it into _______. And bake the bread. I think I might need help.”

She asks __________, ___________ and ____________ for their help, but they don’t want to help.

Little Red asks several times for help, and her friends refuse. Who finally gets them to understand they should help by saying, “What if you had to grow your own wheat and bake your own bread... wouldn’t you want somebody to help?”

By the time Little Red’s friends ask if they can help with the bread, what is the only thing left to do?

Buster, Calico Cat and Pig wanted to make up for what they had done. The next spring they planted __________ to share with Little Red.

The friends all play ring-around-the-rosy. Farmer Jeff shows them how to make a ________ instead of a “clump.”

There are other kinds of “circles,” or things that keep going around and around, or repeating. These can also be called cycles. What is something the animals thought is like a circle?

Little Red looks at the friends’ crop of wheat. Instead of wheat, what did they actually grow?

10. What do we call plants that grow where we don’t want them to grow? 11. The animals help bake bread with Little Red Hen, but they all get upset. Farmer Jeff tells them, “Well, if you want to be friends, you’re going to have to ________ very hard at it.” 12. In the end the friends learn to _______ one another in order to stay friends. Answers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Money Soil, seeds, plants, weeds, flour Buster, Calico Cat, Pig Farmer Jeff Eat the bread Wheat Circle

Days of the week, time on a clock, the water cycle, chickens and eggs, plants and seeds 9. Dandelions 10. Weeds 11. Work 12. Help