The Little Red Hen
(Marxist version)
(Marxist version)
Once upon a time there was a Little Red Hen. She lived on a farm with a Pretty Cat named Barry, Joseph, a Wise Old Duck, and a Big Dog named Nancy.
One day The Little Red Hen decided she wanted to make some bread. She asked the cat, the dog and the duck if they would like to help her, in each step of the process and they all said: "No, thank you" and were very nice. So the Little Red Hen made the bread all by herself.
When The Little Red Hen was finished, The Pretty Cat said: "Hey, Little Red Hen, you should be neighborly and give us all some bread. It is the neighborly thing to do."
The Little Red Hen said: "No, Pretty Cat, you had your chance, and didn't help to make it, so I won't share it with you. Neighborly-ness has to go both ways or it doesn't work for everyone in the neighborhood. Maybe next time you will help."
The Wise Old Duck puffed up his feathers and said: "Where I come from we call it fairness. Share the bread, Little Red Hen."
The Little Red Hen said: "I'm sorry Wise Old Duck, but you didn't help either. Next time you can help me too, and then I will be happy to share it. That's how it is where I come from."
The Big Dog growled and said: "I want some bread."
The Little Red Hen said : "No - You had a chance to help too."
The Pretty Cat had an idea: "We don't have to argue, we can all come together and agree. If we all share the bread, ¾ or 75% of all of us will have more bread, while only ¼ or 25% will have less bread. Lets all vote to see if we should share the bread. It is the fair and neighborly way. Voting is a good way to decide what's right for everyone."
After the vote, The Little Red Hen still didn't want to share her bread.
The Big Dog snarled, showed her teeth and said: "We all voted fairly. It is not your bread now. If you don't share your bread, I will bite you and we will take all of it and leave you none."
The Little Red Hen said: "O.K., Big Dog, you do have very big, scary teeth." And so The Little Red Hen shared her bread with Pretty Cat, Wise Old Duck, and Big Dog.
They didn't live happily ever after because later that night, The Little Red Hen sneaked out of the house, ran away and was never seen or heard from again. The next day the Big Dog, The Pretty Cat and the Wise Old Duck were hungry again, and so voted 2 to 1 to have duck for dinner.
The day after that, the Big Dog ate the Pretty Cat while he was sleeping. She knew that the Pretty Cat was much too clever and quick for her to catch while he was awake.
The Big Dog soon starved to death because although she was very good at voting, she never learned how make bread.
Robert P. Hatcher
Virginia Beach, VA
