The Cock, the Mouse and the Little Red Hen

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The cock, the mouse and the little red hen. An
old tale retold by Felicicy tae Lefevre, illustrations by Tony sarg.
Once upon a time there was a hill, and on
the hill there was a pretty little house. It had
one little green door and four little windows with green shutters,

(00:26):
and in it there lived a cock and a mouse,
and a little red hen. On another hill, close by
there was another little house. It was very ugly. It
had a door that wooden shut, and two broken windows,

(00:48):
and all the paint was off the shutters. And in
this house there lived a bold bad fox and four
bad little foxes. One morning, these four bad little foxes
came to the big bad fox and said, oh father,

(01:09):
we're so hungry. We had nothing to eat yesterday, said one,
and scarcely anything the day before, said another, And only
half a chicken the day before that, said the third,
and only two little ducks the day before that, said
the fourth. The big bad fox shook his head for

(01:32):
a long time, for he was thinking. At last, he said,
in a big, gruff voice, on that hill over there,
I see a house, And in that house there lives
a cock and a mouse. Screamed two of the little foxes,

(01:53):
and a little red hen, screamed the other two. And
they are nice and fat, went on the big bad fox.
This very day, I'll take my great sack, and I
will go up that hill and in that door, and
into my sack I will put the cock and the

(02:15):
mouse and the little red hen. I'll make a fire
to roast the cock, said one little fox. I'll put
on the saucepan to boil the hen, said the second.
And I'll get the frying pan to fry the mouse,
said the third. And I'll have the biggest helping when

(02:36):
they are all cooked, said the fourth, who was the
greediest of all. So the four little foxes jumped for joy,
and the big bad fox went to get his sack,
ready to start upon his journey. But what was happening
to the cock and the mouse and the little red

(02:58):
hen all this time? Well, sad to say, the cock
and the mouse had both got out of bed on
the wrong side that morning. The cock said the day
was too hot, and the mouse grumbled because it was
too cold. They came grumbling down to the kitchen, where

(03:21):
the good little red hen, looking as bright as a sunbeam,
was bustling about who'll get some sticks to light the
fire with, she asked. I shan't said the cock. I
shan't said the mouse. Then I'll do it myself, said
the little red hen. So off she ran to get

(03:44):
the sticks. And now who'll fill the kettle from the spring?
I shan't said the cock. I shan't said the mouse.
Then I'll do it myself, said the little red hen,
And off she ran to fill the kettle. And who'll

(04:05):
get the breakfast ready? She asked, as she put the
kettle on to boil. I shan't said the cock. I
shan't said the mouse. I'll do it myself, said the
little red hen. All breakfast time, the cock and the
mouse quarreled and grumbled. The cock upset the milk jug,

(04:27):
and the mouse scattered crumbs upon the floor. Who'll clear
away the breakfast, asked the poor little red hen, hoping
they would soon leave off being cross. I shan't said
the cock. I shan't said the mouse. Then I'll do

(04:49):
it myself, said the little red hen. So she cleared
everything away, swept up the crumbs, and brushed up the fireplace. Now,
who will help me to make the beds? I shan't
said the cock. I shan't, said the mouse. Then I'll

(05:10):
do it myself, said the little red hen, and she
tripped away upstairs. But the lazy cock and mouse each
sat down in a comfortable arm chair by the fire,
and soon fell fast asleep. Now the bad fox had

(05:31):
crept up the hill and into the garden, and if
the cock and mouse hadn't been asleep, they would have
seen his sharp eyes peeping in at the window. Recitet, recitet.
The fox knocked at the door. Who can that be,

(05:52):
said the mouse, half opening his eyes. Go and look
for yourself if you want to know, said the roof
food cock. It's the postman, perhaps, thought the mouse to himself,
and he may have a letter for me. So, without
waiting to see who it was, he lifted the latch

(06:13):
and opened the door. As soon as he opened it,
in jumped the big fox with a cruel smile in
his face. Oh oh, oh, squeaked the mouse as he
tried to run up the chimney. Doodle doodle doo, screamed
the cock as he jumped on the back of the
biggest armchair. But the fox only laughed, and without more ado,

(06:40):
he took the little mouse by the tail and popped
him into the sack, and seized the cock by the
neck and popped him in too. Then the poor little
red hen came running downstairs to see what all the
noise was about, and the fox caught her and put
her into the sack with the others. Then he took

(07:03):
a long piece of string out of his pocket, wound
it round and round and round the mouth of the sack,
and tied it very tight. Indeed, after that he threw
the sack over his back and set off down the hill.
Oh I wish I hadn't been so cross, said the cock,

(07:26):
as they went bumping about. Oh I wish I hadn't
been so lazy, said the mouse, wiping his eyes with
the tip of his tail. It's never too late to mend,
said the little red hen, And don't be too sad.
See here I have my little work bag, and in

(07:46):
it there is a pair of scissors, and a little thimble,
and a needle and thread. Very soon you will see
what I am going to do. Now the sun was
very hot, and soon mister fox began to feel his
sack was heavy, and at last he thought he would
lie down under a tree and go to sleep for

(08:10):
a little while. So he threw the sack down with
a big bump, and very soon fell fast asleep. Snore, snore, snore,
went the fox. As soon as the little red hen
heard this, she took out her scissors and began to

(08:30):
snip a hole in the sack just large enough for
the mouse to creep through. Quick, she whispered to the mouse,
run as fast as you can and bring a stone
just as large as yourself. Out scampered the mouse, and
soon came back, dragging the stone after him. Push it

(08:54):
in here, said the little red hen, and he pushed
it in in a twinkling. Then the little red hen
snipped away the hole till it was large enough for
the cock to get through. Quick she said, run and
get a stone as big as yourself. Out flew the cock,

(09:15):
and soon came back, quite out of breath with a
big stone, which he pushed into the sack too. Then
the little red hen popped out and got a stone
as big as herself and pushed it in. Next, she
put on her thimble, took out her needle and thread,
and sewed up the hole as quickly as ever she could.

(09:41):
When it was done, the cock and the mouse and
the little red hen ran home very fast, shut the
door after them, drew the bolts, shut the shutters, and
drew down the blinds, and felt quite safe. The bad
fox lay as under the tree for some time, but

(10:03):
at last he woke up. Dear, dear, he said, rubbing
his eyes, and then looking at the long shadows on
the grass, how late it is getting. I must hurry home.
So the bad fox went, grumbling and groaning down the
hill till he came to the stream. Splash in went

(10:28):
one foot, splash in went the other. But the stones
and the sack were so heavy that at the very
next step down tumbled mister Fox into a deep pool.
And then the fishes carried him off to their fairy

(10:48):
caves and kept him a prisoner there. So he was
never seen again, and the four greedy little foxes had
to go to bed without any supper. But the cock
and the mouse never grumbled again. They lit the fire,
filled the kettle, laid the breakfast, and did all the work,

(11:11):
while the good little red hen had a holiday and
sat resting in the big armchair. No foxes ever troubled
them again, and for all I know, they are still
living happily in the little house with the green door
and green shutters, which stands on the hill, the end

(11:40):
end of the cock, the mouse, and the little red
hen