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The Little Red Hen

“A Little Red Hen lived in a barnyard.”

An old English folk tale retold by Florence White Williams

This is an old English folk tale retold by Florence White Williams, first published in 1918. The story teaches children about work, responsibility, and fairness. The Little Red Hen's repeated question — 'Who will help?' — and the animals' repeated answer — 'Not I' — make the tale's lesson memorable: those who do not share the work should not expect to share the reward. It is a story that has been told to children for generations because it shows, in a way even the youngest reader can understand, that effort and care bring their own rewards.

Band
Yellow · Emerging readersTypical starting range: ages 6–8
Length
medium · about 549 words in 6 sections · 4 pictures
Source
The Little Red Hen, Florence White Williams
First published
see the About page in the reader
Regions
Canada · United States

Included formats

  • · Web reader and PDF
  • · EPUB for e-readers
  • · Home-print sheet
  • · Folded booklet
  • · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
  • · Worksheet
  • · Quick Check (8 questions) with answer key
  • · Read-aloud script
  • · Colouring page
  • · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Lesson at a glance

Reading
about 10 minutes at this band
Pause questions
2
Words to Know
5
Quick Check
8 questions, with the answer key
Let’s Talk
3 questions for afterwards
Worksheet
questions, an activity and a drawing prompt

About 35 minutes with one story, all of it.

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.

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The same story

The Little Red Hen at other bands

Purple bandFree Shelf

The Little Red Hen

Florence White Williams

short · 360 words · also in Yellow

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