第1章 Lesson 1: The Fox and the Little Red Hen

Once upon a time there was a little, red hen. She lived in a little white house and she had a little green garden. Every day she worked in the house and garden.

Near her home lived a family of foxes. One day Mamma Fox said to Papa Fox, "I want a fat hen to eat." There was nothing in the pantry for the baby foxes, so Papa Fox went to find something for them.

He ran down the road until he came to the woods. "Surely I will find something here," he said, but he found nothing to eat in the woods. As he came near the little, green garden he said, "Oh, I smell fresh cake! Oh, I smell a little red hen!"

Sure enough, there was a little, red hen eating her cake.

Papa Fox snuck up quietly behind her, grabbed her, and put her into the bag on his back. Then he quickly ran down the hill toward his home.

The Little Red Hen was so frightened that she could only whisper, "Oh dear, oh dear."

Then she remembered her scissors. She took them out of her pocket and cut a little hole in the bag. Looking out, she saw a big hill ahead all covered with stones. As Papa Fox stopped to rest on his way up the hill, with his back turned toward her, she cut a big hole in the bag and jumped out. Then she quickly put a big stone in the bag in her place.

As Papa Fox kept on going up the hill, he thought the bag was pretty heavy, but he said, "Never mind, she is a fat, little hen."

Mamma Fox met him at the front door with all the baby foxes.

"The water is boiling," she said. "What have you got in your bag?" asked the baby foxes.

"A fat, little, red hen." said Papa Fox.

As he held the bag over the pot, he said to Mamma Fox, "When I drop her in, you put the lid on." So he opened the bag. Splash! The boiling water went all over Papa Fox, Mama Fox, and all the baby foxes. Never again did they try to catch the Little, Red Hen.

I. Word List

once upon a time: a long time ago

pantry: a place for storing food

scissors: a tool for cutting

boiling: very hot

II. Answer the following questions.

1. Where did the Little Red Hen live?

___________________________________________________________.

2. Who caught the Little Red Hen?

___________________________________________________________.

3. How did the Little Red Hen get out of the bag?

___________________________________________________________.

4. What happened when Papa Fox opened the bag?

___________________________________________________________.

5. Why do you think the foxes didn't try to catch the Little Red Hen again?

___________________________________________________________.

III. What's the word? Find the correct words in the reading.

1. a kind of wild dog: f _ _

2. a kind of bird: h _ _

3. another name for a forest: w _ _ _ _

4. a large rock: s _ _ _ _

5. a container for cooking: p _ _

IV. Circle the sentences that are true.

1. The Little Red Hen lived in the forest.

2. The Little Red Hen had a garden.

3. Papa Fox ate Little Red Hen's cake.

4. The foxes ate Little Red Hen.

5. Water splashed on Little Red Hen.

6. Mamma Fox ate a stone.