The little Red Hen

Once upon a time, 
an Italian mouse, a Spanish cat, a Greek pig, and a little red German Langshan hen lived 
on an old farm on a flowery hill surrounded by fields of golden wheat. One day, the Little Red Hen found some grains of wheat scattered in the barnyard. "Look, look at what I've found!" she said to the other animals. "Who would like a hot fresh loaf of bread?”

“Oh, I would!” said the mouse.
“Oh, I would!” said el Gato.

“Oh, I would!” said the pig.

And then, they all laid down to take a short siesta only to be awokened by the little red hen who was still very excited about the thought of a hot baked fresh loaf of bread.

“Great!” said the Little Red Hen "Who will help me plant these grains of wheat?"

"Oh no, Not I!" said the mouse, "this is a Saint’s day, Saint Irving, I can’t work on a Saint’s day".

"Oh no, Not I!" said the cat, "Mayor Vitoria in Valencia has declared 2 to 5 p.m. as the official time for the city’s residents to take their afternoon siestas".

"Oh no, Not I!" said the pig, "I’m 52. I’ve retired. Please pass the Ouzo".

"Fine, then I'll do it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And so she did. She dug some holes and carefully planted each seed. She also placed a wooden stake in the ground with a picture of a loaf of bread attached to each one. The Little Red Hen also knew that the seeds would need water to grow tall and strong and once again ran to the barn yard and asked for help. "Who will help me water these seeds?" asked the Little Red Hen.

"Not I!" said the mouse, "Today is the Feist of Saint Shirley of Padua".

"Not I!" said the cat, "Manaña".

"Not I!" said the pig, "the seeds don't need water, besides, it isn’t environmentally responsible. Global warming or cooling or whatever it is this time. You can't deny that!"

"Then I'll do it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And so she did. The Little Red Hen watered the soil and waited patiently for the wheat to grow. When the wheat was tall and golden, she knew it was ready to be cut. "Who will help me harvest the wheat?" asked the Little Red Hen.

 "Not I!" said the mouse, "the drivers are on strike and I have to observe their protest".

"Not I!" said the cat, " who simply rolled over and went back to his siesta".
"Not I!" said the pig, “please pass me another Ouzo”.

"Then I'll do it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And so she did. The Little Red Hen's basket was soon filled with wheat. "Who will help me take the wheat to the mill to be ground into flour?" asked the Little Red Hen.

"Not I!" said the mouse, "I put all my money in the collection plate at Mass".

"Not I!" said the cat, "You are just too bossy".
At this point, The Little Red Hen couldn't even find the pig to ask him.

"Alrighty then, I'll do it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And so she did. The kind miller had seen all the work she had done so far and gladly ground the wheat into powdery, velvety flour, and didn't even charge her. The Little Red Hen thanked the miller and then carried it home in a rough brown sack. "Who will help me make this flour into bread?" timidly asked the Little Red Hen.

"Not I!" said the mouse, "I must go to the parade honoring the feast of the Immaculate Contraption ".

"Not I!" said the cat, "Es muy caliente".

"Not I!" said the pig, "the banker will probably bring me some more food, he has plenty, I'll just wait".

"Then I'll do it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And so she did. The Little Red Hen mixed the flour into sticky dough and kneaded it into a smooth loaf. "Who will help me chop some wood, start a fire, and put this bread into the oven to bake?" asked the Little Red Hen.

This time, not the mouse, not the cat, nor the pig even responded. The Little Red Hen saw them huddled together on the other side of the barn yard laughing and pointing in her direction. She thought that yes, maybe they were right. Maybe this whole idea was a bad idea. Perhaps, she should just forget about making a loaf of bread and just go join them and laugh at her idea too.

But, she didn't.

"Then I'll do it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And so she did. Soon the kitchen was filled with the delicious scent of baking bread and the smell drifted across the barn yard. The other animals came to see what was happening and watched as The Little Red Hen took the warm, crusty loaf out of the oven, and set it on the table. She saw the mouse, the cat, and the pig with eyes wide open staring in through the window. "Who will help me eat this fresh, tasty bread?" asked the Little Red Hen.

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"I will!" said the mouse as he jumped through the window and sat down at the table.

"I will!" said the cat as she jumped through the window and sat down at the table.

"I will!" said the pig as he jumped through the window and sat down at the table.

"Oh no you will NOT!," said the Little Red Hen. "You didn't help me plant it, or water it, or harvest it, or mill it, or bake it. I have invited the miller to come over and help me eat it" And so she and the miller did just that.

At this point. the pig  threw a tantrum and stomped around the barnyard destroying things and overturning the farmer's car.

But here is where the story turns to Fiction

The very next time the Little Red Hen found some grains of wheat, she didn't even have to ask for help. The mouse planted it in the rich, brown soil, the cat watered it carefully every day, and the pig harvested the wheat when it had grown tall and strong. When the dough was baked, together the animals sat down and ate the fresh, warm bread. It was delicious! While they were eating the bread, the other animals listened intently to The Little Red Hen's new idea and looked carefully at her plan. Later that day, they all visited the miller who also became excited about selling their wonderful loaves of bread.

The truth is that next time they did the very same thing but used the power of the press to make the starvation the fault of the little red state hen.