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Here Be Dragons co-curated by Cressida Cowell and Toothless - opens 13 July. Admission included with ticket to the Galleries

1001 Stories Collection

The Little Red Hen

Audio
1001 littleredhen
Added on 01st July 2020

Oral tradition European folktale

Russia Animals Fables
1001 , Audio , Text

Little Red Hen shows us that hard work and determination pays off in the end in this story from Europe.

Story

Little Red Hen asks for help to grow and harvest the corn and bake the bread but the other animals refuse. When they want to help eat the bread it is Little Red Hen who says no.

Why we chose it

The Little Red Hen was one of the stories in our original audio story collection. It is still a favourite today and particularly popular in Early Years classrooms or at Harvest Festival.

Where it came from

The story is thought to have its origins in Russian folklore but is also attributed to England and to America. It is usually used to teach the value of hard work and co-operation.

Where it went next

Many picture book versions exist.

In 1934 Disney made a Silly Symphony cartoon called The Little Wise Hen based on The Little Red Hen. Donald Duck makes his first appearance in The Little Wise Hen, dancing a Sailor’s Hornpipe and, along with Peter Pig, pretending to have a stomach ache to avoid helping with the work.

Associated stories

Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell and Helen Oxenbury tells the story of a hard working duck who does all the work around the farmer while the lazy farmer stays in bed.

Added on 01st July 2020

Oral tradition European folktale

Russia Animals Fables
1001 , Audio , Text

Story Resources

  • The Little Red Hen story map PDF (381.126 KB)
    Download