SPEED READING The Little Red Hen 60 words per minute

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, and in it there lived a rooster, 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 wouldn’t shut, and two broken windows, and all the paint was off the shutters.

In this house lived a very 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, we’re so hungry!”

“We had nothing to eat yesterday,” said one little fox. “And scarcely anything the day before,” said another. “And only half a chicken the day before that,” said the third.

“And only two ducks the day before that” said the fourth. The big bad fox shook his head for a long time, for he was thinking.

“On the hill over there I see a house. And in that house there lives a rooster.” “And a hen and a mouse,” screamed the little foxes. “And they are nice and fat,” said the big bad fox.

“This very day I will take my sack, and I will go up that hill and walk into that house and I will put each of them into my sack. You will no longer be hungry my little ones,” said the big bad fox.

“Go quickly father. We will get the fire ready to cook supper,” said the little foxes. So the four little foxes prepared the fire and the big bad fox grabbed his sack and headed to the little house on the hill.

Now in the little house on the hill everyone was waking up. The rooster complained it was too hot. The mouse grumbled that it was too cold. They came down to the kitchen, where the good little red hen was bustling about.

“Who will get some sticks to light the fire?” asked the little red hen. “Not me,” said the rooster. “Not me,” said the mouse. “Then I shall do it myself,” said the little red hen.

So off she ran to get the sticks and start the fire for breakfast. “So who will fill the kettle to make the tea?” she asked. “Not me,” said the rooster. “Not me,” said the mouse. “Then I shall do it myself.”

Off she ran to fill the kettle to make the tea. “Who will help to make the breakfast?” she asked. “Not me,” said the rooster. “Not me,” said the mouse. “Then I shall do it myself.”

The rooster and the mouse did not help make breakfast. They did not do the dishes or make the beds. They did not sweep the floor or weed the garden. The little red hen had to do it all by herself.

As the little red hen worked away to keep the little house clean and pretty the rooster and the mouse took a nap. Neither the rooster nor the mouse got up to answer the door when the fox came calling.

Now the bad fox had crept up the hill and into the garden. If the rooster and the mouse had been awake they might have seen him peeping in their window. “Rat tat tat, rat tat tat,” the fox knocked at the little green door.

“Who could that be?” asked the little mouse. “Could it be the mailman?” “Go find out for yourself,” replied the rude rooster. Without hesitation the mouse lifted the latch and opened the door.

The fox sprang into the room. “Oh, no!” squealed the mouse. “Doodle doodle do,” screeched the rooster. But the fox only laughed as he grabbed them and threw them into the big sack.

The little red hen came running when she heard all the noise. The fox grabbed her by the neck and crammed her into the sack with the others. The fox threw the sack over his shoulder and headed down the hill toward home.

Stuffed together in the bag the rooster apologized for being so lazy. The little mouse cried with fear and said he would try to be a better friend if given another chance.

“It is never too late to make things right,” said the little red hen. “I have my little sewing bag here. You will soon see what I am planning to do to the fox.”

The sun was hot and soon the fox was tired of carrying the heavy sack. He decided to take a little rest. Before long he was sound asleep. The little red hen got out her sewing bag and got right to work.

Out came the scissors and the little hen cut a hole in the sack. Out scampered the mouse. “Go get a rock the same size as you,” said the little red hen. “Bring it back here.”

Out crawled the rooster. “Go get a rock the same size as you are and bring it back here,” said the little red hen. The mouse and the rooster returned with their rocks. The little red hen got a rock, too.

They each pushed their stone into the sack then the little red hen sewed the hole closed. When she was done they ran home as quickly as they could. They bolted the doors and windows and felt safe at last.

“Oh, dear,” yawned the fox as he woke up and rubbed his eyes. I have been asleep too long. I must hurry home.” The fox had to cross the river on his way home. The sack was very heavy and sank.

The fox tried to retrieve the sack but the current was strong and he was swept down river. He was never seen again. And the three friends? They decided to work together to get their jobs done.