A Different Perspective

Here is a ‘new twist’ on the old classic children’s story, “The Little Red Hen”.

‘Who will help me plant the wheat?’ asked the Little Red Hen

‘Not I,’ said the cow, the duck, the pig, and the goose.

‘Then I will do it myself,’ said the hen, and she did.  The wheat grew very tall and ripened into golden grain.

‘Who will help me reap the grain?’ she asked. 

‘Not I’, said the cow.

‘Out of my classification’, said the pig.

‘I’d lose my seniority’, said the cow.

‘I’d lose my unemployment compensation’, said the goose.  So, the hen reaped the grain.  Now it was time to bake the bread.

‘Who will help me bake the bread?’

‘That would be overtime for me’, said the cow.

‘I’d lose my welfare benefits’, said the duck

‘I’m a dropout and never learned how’, said the pig.

‘If I’m to be the only helper, that’s discrimination’, said the goose.

‘Then I will do it by myself’, said the hen.  She baked five loaves and everyone wanted some, but she said ‘No’.

‘Excess profits!’, cried the cow.

‘Capitalist leech!’, screamed the duck.

‘I demand equal rights!, yelled the goose.

The pig just grunted in disdain, and they all painted ‘unfair’ picket signs and marched around the barnyard.

The farmer came and told the hen she must not be so greedy and needed to share her good fortune.  She replied that she had done all the work by herself and earned the right to keep it.  The farmer told her that that was what was so good, but that she needed to divide the fruits of her labor with everyone else, so she did.  Her neighbors became disappointed in her and she never baked bread again, because now she could get her bread for free from others!