The Little Red Hen
Enjoy the tale of the hard-working hen and her three unhelpful friends. Bring the magic of good storytelling into your classroom with Classic Tales, and they’ll love their English lessons too. This new edition of the award-winning series uses traditional tales to bring English to life through more than 30 beautifully illustrated stories...
Story Summary
Finding the Seeds
The little red hen lives with her three friends: Cat, Duck, and Goose. One day, she finds wheat seeds and gets excited. She asks her friends, "Who can help me plant these seeds?" But Cat wants to sleep, Duck wants to play in water, and Goose wants to sit in the sun. None of them want to help. The little red hen says "All right" and plants all the seeds by herself. She works hard while her friends rest. This shows the beginning of the story where the hen tries to get help but must do everything alone.
Growing the Wheat
After planting, the seeds need water. The little red hen asks her friends again for help. Cat says "I can't, I don't like water." Duck says "I can't, I want my lunch." Goose says "I can't, I want a walk." Again, the little red hen does all the work alone. The wheat grows big and green under the warm sun, then turns yellow when ready. When it's time to cut the wheat, she asks for help once more. But Cat wants to play, Duck wants lunch, and Goose wants to play. The little red hen cuts all the wheat by herself.
Making the Flour
Next, the little red hen wants to grind the wheat into flour. She asks, "Who can help me grind this wheat?" Cat says "I can't, I want some milk." Duck says "I can't, I want to sleep." Goose says "I can't, I want a drink." The little red hen works alone again to grind all the wheat into flour. This part shows how much work goes into making flour from wheat. The hen does every step by herself while her friends make excuses. The story teaches that making food requires many steps and hard work.
Baking the Bread
With the flour ready, the little red hen wants to make bread. She asks her friends for help again. Cat says "I can't, I want to sleep." Duck says "I can't, I want to go in the garden." Goose says "I can't, I want to sit and wash." The little red hen makes all the bread alone. The bread looks delicious when it's ready. This part shows the final step in making food from wheat. The hen does everything from planting to baking without any help. The smell of fresh bread makes her friends interested, but they didn't help before.
Eating the Bread
When the bread is ready to eat, the little red hen asks, "Who can help me eat the bread?" Now all her friends quickly say "I can!" But the little red hen thinks and says "No! You can't! Off you go!" She eats all the bread herself because they didn't help with any work. This teaches an important lesson: if you don't help with the work, you don't get to enjoy the results. The story ends with the little red hen enjoying her bread alone after doing all the hard work from start to finish without any help from her friends.
Story Vocabulary Quiz
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Story Quiz
Sue Arengo
A Storyteller for Young Learners of English
Sue Arengo is a British author who writes wonderful stories for children learning English. She has worked with Oxford University Press for over 20 years, creating books that are fun and easy to read. Many of her books are part of graded reader series like Classic Tales, Dominoes, and Oxford Bookworms.
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