The Little Red Hen: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|American fable, first published in 1874}} |
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[[File:Little red Hen.jpg|thumb|The Little Red Hen, 1918 title page]] |
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[[File:Little red Hen.jpg|thumb|alt= A simple line drawing with a hen surrounded by chicks on the left and a laughing cat with a frilly collar on the right. The text "The Little Red Hen" is in the center in red.|The Little Red Hen, 1918 title page]] |
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[[File:TheLittleRedHen.png|thumb|Golden Book version book cover]] |
[[File:TheLittleRedHen.png|thumb|alt=An illustrated hen wearing a shirt and hat uses a shovel to dig a hole. Golden Book version book cover]] |
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[[File:The Little Red Hen cover.jpg|thumb|''The Little Red Hen'', illustrated by [[Florence White Williams]]]] |
[[File:The Little Red Hen cover.jpg|thumb|alt=An illustrated red hen stands in front of a fence, holds an umbrella, and leans to the left. |''The Little Red Hen'', illustrated by [[Florence White Williams]]]] |
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'''''The Little Red Hen''''' is an old [[Folklore|folk tale]] of the [[fable]] type, most likely of [[Russia|Russian]] origin.{{source needed|date=May 2017}} The story is applied in teaching children the virtues of [[work ethic]] and personal initiative. |
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'''''The Little Red Hen''''' is an American [[fable]] first collected by [[Mary Mapes Dodge]] in ''[[St. Nicholas Magazine]]'' in 1874.<ref name="Dodge1874">{{cite book|author=Mary Mapes Dodge|title=St. Nicholas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_KRNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA680|year=1874|publisher=Scribner|pages=680–}}</ref> The story is meant to teach children the importance of [[Work ethic|hard work]] and [[personal initiative]]. |
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==Role in reading instruction== |
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During the 1880s, reading instruction in the [[United States]] continued to evolve to include primers that became known as literature readers. Prior to this time highly moralistic and [[religious texts]] were used to teach literacy. ''The Little Red Hen'' offers a moralistic tale of the importance of hard work and the shame, as well as consequences of laziness. During this time, consideration of the interest of the young reader became more central to the teaching of reading. In considering the young reader, the authors of this genre made their texts appealing visually both through illustrations and text formatting. "Margaret Free and Harriette Taylor Treadwell were the first authors to prepare beginning readers with a content consisting wholly of adaptations from the old folktales." (Smith, 1965/2002, p. 141). The genre of the folktale lent itself to repetitive vocabulary – an early reading strategy still in use today.{{citation needed|date=March 2009}} |
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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A [[Chicken|hen]] living on a farm finds some wheat and decides to make bread with it. She asks the other farmyard animals to help her plant it, but they refuse. The hen then harvests and mills the wheat into flour before baking it into bread; at each stage she again asks the animals for help, but they still refuse. Finally, with her task complete, the hen asks who will help her eat the bread. This time the animals eagerly accept, but the hen refuses, stating that no one helped her with her work and decides to eat the bread herself. |
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In the tale, the little red [[Chicken|hen]] finds a grain of [[wheat]] and asks for help from the other farmyard animals (most adaptations feature three animals, a [[pig]], a [[cat]], and a [[rat]], [[duck]], [[goose]], [[dog]], or [[goat]]<ref>(Versions by Frederick Richardson, Golden Book, Jerry Pinckney, Margot Zemach, Florence White Williams)</ref>) to plant it, but they all refuse. |
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In some books, the Little Red Hen (though she did eat the bread all by herself) decides to give her friends another chance. (That is, in the end.) The Little Red Hen says that next time she will be happy to make enough bread for herself, her chicks, and all her farmyard animal friends if they help her. (Her friends ask, "If we help you?".) The little red hen says, "Yes. If you help me do the work". The friends happily promise to help her next time. From then on, her farmyard animal friends become eager helpers. |
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In some variations, the hen has chicks who help her out with the entire process, and the hen and her brood then proceed to eat the bread as a family. They cut some sandwiches to have during the day, then have a bit of toast the following morning before feeding the stale leftovers to the ducks. |
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==Background and adaptations== |
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The tale is based on a story Dodge's mother often told her. Originally the other animals besides the hen consist of a rat, a cat, a dog, a duck, and a pig.<ref name="Dodge1874" /> Later adaptations often reduce the number of other animals to three. |
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The story was likely intended as a literature primer for young readers, but departed from highly moralistic, often religious stories written for the same purpose. Adaptations throughout the 1880s incorporated appealing illustrations in order to hold the reader's attention as interest became more relevant to reading lessons. Repetitive vocabulary is still used in adaptations in order to encourage learning for very early readers.{{citation needed|date=March 2009}} A 2006 [[The Little Red Hen (Pinkney book)|picture book adaptation]] by [[Jerry Pinkney]] was well-received for similar reasons. |
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At each later stage (harvest, threshing, milling the wheat into flour, and baking the flour into [[bread]]), the hen again asks for help from the other animals, but again she doesn't receive any help. |
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An animated adaptation of the story titled ''[[The Wise Little Hen]]'' was produced by [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Walt Disney Productions]] in 1934. It is notable for the first appearance of [[Donald Duck]] as one of the lazy animals who refuses to help the hen. |
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Finally, the hen has completed her task and asks who will help her eat the bread. This time, all the previous non-participants eagerly volunteer, but she disagrees with them, stating that no one helped her with her work. Thus, the hen eats it with her chicks, leaving none for anyone else. |
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===Revisions=== |
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The moral of this story is that those who make no contribution to producing a product do not deserve to enjoy the product: "if any would not work, neither should he or she eat."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bible.cc/2_thessalonians/3-10.htm|title=2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat."|work=bible.cc}}</ref> |
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Politically themed revisions of the story include a conservative version based on a 1976 monologue from [[Ronald Reagan]]. This version features a farmer who claims that the hen is being unfair by refusing to share the bread and forcing her to do so, removing the hen's incentive to work and causing poverty to befall the farm.<ref>{{cite web |title=Little Red Hen ~ The Political Spin ~ Quite Amusing!!! |url=http://www.sodahead.com/blog/16103/little-red-hen-the-political-spin-quite-amusing/ |accessdate=2011-12-31 |publisher=Sodahead.com}} {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606145726/http://www.sodahead.com/fun/little-red-hen-the-political-spin-quite-amusing/blog-16103/|date=6 June 2012}}</ref> Another version satirizes capitalism by depicting the hen promising the animals slices of bread if they make it, but keeping the largest slice for herself despite not doing any work. A version by [[Malvina Reynolds]] adapts the story into a pro-work [[Socialism|socialist]] anthem as the hen retains the fruits of her labor, saying "And that's why they called her Red".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Little Red Hen |url=http://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/MALVINA/mr099.htm}}</ref> In some versions it's her children who help her and after she refuses to share with the other animals they promise to help from now on. |
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An episode of the animated series ''[[Super Why!]]'' features a revision of the story. In the episode, the Super Readers change the ending so that the hen tells the animals why she needs their help and they listen, enabling them to help her finish the cornbread so that she shares it with them. |
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==In popular culture== |
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* A [[Disney]]-produced [[Silly Symphony]] called ''[[The Wise Little Hen]]'' uses this tale as its basis. This version features Peter Pig and [[Donald Duck]] (in his debut), instead of the cat and the frog from the folk version, as the ones who decline to participate in the preparation of the bread. |
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* Politically-themed revisions of the story include a conservative version, based on a [[Ronald Reagan]] monologue from 1976.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reaganreview.com/214/ronald-reagan-humor-jokes-and-moral.htm |title=Reaganreview.com |work=reaganreview.com |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211045931/http://www.reaganreview.com/214/ronald-reagan-humor-jokes-and-moral.htm |archivedate=February 11, 2011 }}</ref> The farmer claims that the hen is being unfair if she does not share her bread with the other animals and forces her to share her bread with those who would not work for it. This in turn removes the hen's incentive to work resulting in poverty for the entire barnyard.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sodahead.com/blog/16103/little-red-hen-the-political-spin-quite-amusing/ |title=Little Red Hen ~ The Political Spin ~ Quite Amusing!!! |publisher=Sodahead.com |accessdate=2011-12-31}}</ref> An alternate version reimagines the tale as a satire on capitalism, with the hen promising slices of bread in return for work, but keeping the largest share for herself despite doing none of the work.<ref>[http://kingwatch.co.nz/Christian_Political_Economy/little_red_hen.htm "Little Red Hen",] ''Kingdom Watcher''</ref> [[Malvina Reynolds]] gave a twist to the story by making it a pro-work, anti-shirk socialist anthem, with the worker hen retaining all the fruits of her labor: "And that's why they called her Red."<ref>{{cite web |title=The Little Red Hen |url=http://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/MALVINA/mr099.htm}}</ref> |
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* The Little Red Hen was featured in episode 14 of the animated series ''[[Super Why!]]'' In the book, the animals who decline to help the Little Red Hen make corn bread are a dog, a cat, and a duck. ''Super Why'' changes the ending by having the three animals help the Little Red Hen bake the corn bread for her chicks and later joining her in eating the corn bread. |
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* [[Jerry Pinkney]]'s retelling in picture-book form ''[[The Little Red Hen (Pinkney book)|The Little Red Hen]]'' was published in 2006. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[The Ant and the Grasshopper]], Aesop |
* [[The Ant and the Grasshopper]], an Aesop fable with a similar moral |
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* [[The Gigantic Turnip]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{commons category}} |
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[[Category:Works of unknown authorship]] |
[[Category:Works of unknown authorship]] |
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[[Category:Fictional chickens]] |
[[Category:Fictional chickens]] |
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[[Category:Anthropomorphic chickens]] |
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[[Category:Short stories about talking animals]] |
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[[Category:Little Golden Books]] |
[[Category:Little Golden Books]] |
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[[Category:American picture books]] |
[[Category:American picture books]] |
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[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1874]] |
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Latest revision as of 16:00, 9 December 2024
The Little Red Hen is an American fable first collected by Mary Mapes Dodge in St. Nicholas Magazine in 1874.[1] The story is meant to teach children the importance of hard work and personal initiative.
Plot
[edit]A hen living on a farm finds some wheat and decides to make bread with it. She asks the other farmyard animals to help her plant it, but they refuse. The hen then harvests and mills the wheat into flour before baking it into bread; at each stage she again asks the animals for help, but they still refuse. Finally, with her task complete, the hen asks who will help her eat the bread. This time the animals eagerly accept, but the hen refuses, stating that no one helped her with her work and decides to eat the bread herself.
In some books, the Little Red Hen (though she did eat the bread all by herself) decides to give her friends another chance. (That is, in the end.) The Little Red Hen says that next time she will be happy to make enough bread for herself, her chicks, and all her farmyard animal friends if they help her. (Her friends ask, "If we help you?".) The little red hen says, "Yes. If you help me do the work". The friends happily promise to help her next time. From then on, her farmyard animal friends become eager helpers.
In some variations, the hen has chicks who help her out with the entire process, and the hen and her brood then proceed to eat the bread as a family. They cut some sandwiches to have during the day, then have a bit of toast the following morning before feeding the stale leftovers to the ducks.
Background and adaptations
[edit]The tale is based on a story Dodge's mother often told her. Originally the other animals besides the hen consist of a rat, a cat, a dog, a duck, and a pig.[1] Later adaptations often reduce the number of other animals to three.
The story was likely intended as a literature primer for young readers, but departed from highly moralistic, often religious stories written for the same purpose. Adaptations throughout the 1880s incorporated appealing illustrations in order to hold the reader's attention as interest became more relevant to reading lessons. Repetitive vocabulary is still used in adaptations in order to encourage learning for very early readers.[citation needed] A 2006 picture book adaptation by Jerry Pinkney was well-received for similar reasons.
An animated adaptation of the story titled The Wise Little Hen was produced by Walt Disney Productions in 1934. It is notable for the first appearance of Donald Duck as one of the lazy animals who refuses to help the hen.
Revisions
[edit]Politically themed revisions of the story include a conservative version based on a 1976 monologue from Ronald Reagan. This version features a farmer who claims that the hen is being unfair by refusing to share the bread and forcing her to do so, removing the hen's incentive to work and causing poverty to befall the farm.[2] Another version satirizes capitalism by depicting the hen promising the animals slices of bread if they make it, but keeping the largest slice for herself despite not doing any work. A version by Malvina Reynolds adapts the story into a pro-work socialist anthem as the hen retains the fruits of her labor, saying "And that's why they called her Red".[3] In some versions it's her children who help her and after she refuses to share with the other animals they promise to help from now on.
An episode of the animated series Super Why! features a revision of the story. In the episode, the Super Readers change the ending so that the hen tells the animals why she needs their help and they listen, enabling them to help her finish the cornbread so that she shares it with them.
See also
[edit]- The Ant and the Grasshopper, an Aesop fable with a similar moral
- The Gigantic Turnip
References
[edit]- ^ a b Mary Mapes Dodge (1874). St. Nicholas. Scribner. pp. 680–.
- ^ "Little Red Hen ~ The Political Spin ~ Quite Amusing!!!". Sodahead.com. Retrieved 2011-12-31. Archived 6 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The Little Red Hen".
External links
[edit]
- The Little Red Hen: An Old English Folk Tale (HTML version), Retold and Illustrated by Florence White Williams, Saalfield Publishing Company, 1918, available from Project Gutenberg
