Reader’s Corner: Joseph and ‘The Little Red Hen’

It’s likely no surprise to Globe readers that one of my favorite things to do with my adorable grandkids is reading books with them. Stashed within the kids’ easy reach are favorites from my own kids’ younger years, plus some classic children’s stories handed down from my own and my husband’s childhood. 

During one recent visit, 4-year-old Joseph pulled out an old copy of “The Little Red Hen.” First compiled by Mary Mapes Dodge in St. Nicholas Magazine in 1874, this classic American fable has been used over the decades to teach children the importance of hard work, personal initiative and taking responsibility. 

In the unlikely event you missed out on this story as a child, it involves a hen who finds some grains of wheat in the farmyard and decides to make some bread. She asks other farmyard animals to help her cultivate the ground and plant the wheat, but they refuse. Through the tending, harvesting and milling of the wheat, and then baking it into bread, they still refuse to help; but as the hen finishes the task and asks who will help eat the fresh bread, they all respond, “I will!” The hen, however, informs them that since nobody wanted to help with the work, she and her chicks will enjoy eating the bread themselves. 

The story has been reprinted numerous times, with slight revisions in the types and numbers of farm animals involved; my copy features a duck, a pig and a cat. My grandson listened attentively as I began reading the story, but as the animals headed off to have fun while the hen worked, he began to frown. By the third round of “’Not I,’ said the cat,” Joseph had had enough. 

“Nana! This is TERRIBLE! Why aren’t they helping?” 

My first thought was to be thankful that my son and daughter-in-law are doing an admirable job training their kids, even at young ages, to take responsibility and pitch in on jobs such as cleaning up toys or collecting the laundry. Finishing the story, though, where the disappointed creatures watch the hen proudly serving the fresh bread to her family, I couldn’t help asking Joseph if he thought the hen should have shared her bread. “NO!” he replied firmly. “She did the work!” 

Smart boy, Joseph! 

Politically-themed revisions of the book include a version inspired by President Ronald Reagan, in which the farmer accuses the hen of being unfair, forces her to share the bread, and sends the farm into ruin by removing the incentive to work. Sadly, that possibility is real: The book has actually been removed from some elementary classroom settings because it “promotes selfishness!” 

I’ll just leave this right here, with my conclusion that some political viewpoints lack the common sense of a 4-year-old. If you don’t want to go there, though, just know that reading to grandkids is a fun and insightful way to spend winter evenings!