A free printable fairy tale and folktale reading passage, written at a grade 1 reading level (Peabody level 4; 96 words) with 5 comprehension questions and an answer key. No sign-up.
A little red hen finds a seed and asks Dog, Cat and Pig who will help her plant it, cut it and bake it. Each time they answer “Not I,” so she does every job herself. When the bread is ready, all three want a share, but the hen says no and gives it to her chicks.
Quick facts
First collected in print by Mary Mapes Dodge, an American author and editor, in St. Nicholas magazine in 1874.
Dodge based it on a story her mother often told her.
In this telling the helpers who refuse are Dog, Cat and Pig. Dodge's printing had more animals than three.
Who wrote The Little Red Hen?
No one knows who first told it. The first printing we found is by Mary Mapes Dodge, an American author and magazine editor, who collected it in St. Nicholas magazine in 1874. She based it on a story her mother often told her. This page is a retelling in Peabody's own words for the youngest readers.
What is the moral of The Little Red Hen?
The hen asks for help at every step, and when nobody will give it, she does the work herself. At the end, the animals who did nothing do not get to share the bread. The story is usually read as a lesson about hard work and taking the first step yourself.
Which animals won't help the Little Red Hen?
In this telling they are Dog, Cat and Pig, and each says “Not I” when the hen asks who will plant, cut and bake. Other tellings use other animals, and Dodge's printing in 1874 had more than three.
For the teacher: how this passage is levelled
“The Little Red Hen” is a reading level 4 story. Every Peabody story at this level is written and checked to keep sentences to 8 words or fewer, to aim at an average of 5 words a sentence, and to show 1 to 8 words on a screen. At most 6% of its words may be off the familiar-word list. Readers reach this level by climbing, not by grade.
This passage
96 words, 24 screens, 5 multiple-choice questions with an answer key, and 5 vocabulary words with kid-sized meanings
Longest sentence at this level
8 words
Words on a screen
1 to 8
Skills practised at this level
phonics (sounding words out), first sounds, sight words
