who will help me - bake a cake?

In our version of the Little Red Hen story, the long-suffering overworked chicken was watched - but not helped one bit - by a lazy bull, an idle cat and a decidedly unhelpful rat as she grew the corn with which to bake some bread.  But take a look at this.  It’s the same story - only it’s a little bit different.  It’s written in rhyme for a start.

It begins with a hen who has found some seeds that she decides to plant.

She asks her friends, in this case a dog and a cat and a mouse, rather than a bull, a cat and a rat, for help.

The dog said, “Not I!”

The cat said, “Not I!”

The mouse said, “Not I!”

“My, my,” said the hen with a sigh.  “I shall have to do it myself.”

As in our version, she had to do the watering herself as well.  And then it was time for the harvest. 

 

“Who will help me grind this wheat?” she asked.

The dog said, “Not I!”

The cat said, “Not I!”

The mouse said, “Not I!”

“My my,” said the hen with a sigh. “I shall have to do it myself.”

And all by herself, she dragged the corn to the mill…..

where it was ground into flour.

Back at home once again, she decided to make a cake.  And in spite of asking her ‘friends’ to help…..

she ended up having to do all the work on her own.  Soon though, the kitchen was filled with the delicious smell of warm chocolate…..

    

as well as three uninvited ‘friends’ eager to taste the cake she had made all by herself.

Well, this little red hen, unlike the one in our version of the story, felt she should explain exactly why she was unwilling to share this time.

“I planted the seeds and pulled out the weeds,” she began.

 

She went on,

“I’ll share my cake with those of you

who help when there is work to do.

For after all is said and done,

working together makes working fun.”

And so the next time she baked a cake, she had three willing friends to help her.  Together they planted and watered the seeds…..

(and each other!) and together they pulled out the weeds.

Together they took the corn to the mill……

and together they baked - and then cut…..

and finally ate…..

the cake.

And now.  If you were going to tell your very own version of the Little Red Hen story, would your hen make a cake or would she bake some bread?  Which animal ‘friends’ would be in your story?  And I wonder; what kind of ending would you choose?