THE RED HEN
Good for Children, too.
Once upon a time in the country, there lived a Red Hen.
She lived in a tiny wooden shack with fencing all around.
One day, she decided to bake a very large corn cake to share with all of
the animals on the farm. You see,
Red Hen realized that winter was coming. She
knew that food would be scarce. So,
she decided to gather all the animals together to see who would help her with
the preparation for the "winter" cake.
Red Hen said, ”I have a wonderful idea.
Winter is coming and food will be hard to find. Wouldn’t it be nice if
we all worked together to plant corn, grind it and bake a large corn cake for
all of us to eat all winter?“
All the animals applauded her idea.
They thought she had found a way to keep them all from starving during
the cold months ahead.
Red Hen said, ”Who will help me prepare the field and
plant the corn seed?“
Mr. Pig said, ”I won’t.
I have too much to do. You
will have to find someone else. Besides, this farm stuff is not for me.“
Mrs. Duck said, ”I won’t.
I don’t see any reason for all of this concern.“
Mr. Goose said, ”I won’t.
I work. I don’t have time
for such things.“
So, Red Hen decided that she would do it herself.
She went to the feed store and bought the corn.
When she returned home, she prepared the field and planted the corn.
Soon the field was full of tall corn stalks.
There were so many ears that Red Hen knew she would be able to bake a lot
of corn cakes. She decided to tell
the others to see if anyone would help her harvest and grind the corn.
Red Hen said, ”The Lord has been very good.
We have corn in abundance. There
is enough to make a lot of corn cakes. Who
will be willing to help me harvest and grind the corn?“
Mr. Pig said, ” I won’t.
I have too much to do. You
will have to find someone else. Besides,
this farm stuff is not for me.“
Mrs. Duck said, ”I won’t.
I don’t see any reason for all of this concern.“
Mr. Goose said, ”I won’t.
I work. I don’t have time
for such things.“
So, Red Hen put on her old work clothes and harvested the
corn. Then, she went into the barn
and ground the corn into meal. Knowing
how hard she had worked already, she decided to see if perhaps one of the farm
animals would help her bake the cakes.
Red Hen said, ”The Lord has been very good to us.
We have cornmeal in abundance. We
have enough to make many cakes for all to survive the coming winter.
Who will help me make these cakes?“
Mr. Pig said, ” I won’t.
I have too much to do. You
will have to find someone else. Besides,
this kind of stuff is not what I like to do.“
Mrs. duck said, ”I won’t.
I don’t see any reason for all of this concern.“
Mr. Goose said, ”I won’t.
I work. I don’t have time
for such things.“
So, Red Hen put on her apron and went to the kitchen.
She pulled down all the large bowls, wooden spoons, milked the cows and
goats, collected the eggs, gathered honey from the hives, mixed the batter,
started the oven, poured the batter into the pans and baked over 100 corn cakes.
Whew! Red Hen was tired.
Knowing what to expect from the others on the farm, she decided to ask
them one last question.
Red Hen said, ”Who will help me eat these delicious corn
cakes?“
Mr. Pig said, ”I will.
I will.“
Mrs. Duck said, ”I will.
I will.“
Mr. Goose said, ”I will.
I will.“
But Red Hen knew better.
She said in a very stern voice, ”None of you could be bothered helping
me till the field, plant the corn, harvest the corn, grind the corn, or mix the
batter or bake the corn cakes. And
not one of you helped me clean up after the cakes were baked.
You will NOT eat these cakes!
They will be given to those more deserving.
The Lord will show me who that will be.
And, I will eat some myself. ”
And that is just what she did.
Kathie Palladino
www.kitchen2.com
January 2012