The cock, the mouse, and the little red hen : an old tale retold by Lefèvre

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The cock, the mouse, and the little red hen : an old tale retold by Lefèvre

(2 User reviews) 791

By Mason Scott Posted on Mar 30, 2026

In Category - Environment

Authors: Lefèvre, Félicité, 1869- Published By : Lefèvre, Félicité, 1869-

Book Language: English

Hey! Have you ever read a story that feels like a warm hug from childhood? I just finished 'The Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen,' and it's exactly that. It's an old tale retold by Félicité Lefèvre, and it's about three very different friends who live together. The Little Red Hen is the busy, responsible one—always baking bread, cleaning the house, and planting seeds. The Cock and the Mouse? Well, they'd rather sleep in the sun and dream about feasts than lift a paw or a wing to help. You can probably guess where this is going. The real question isn't just about who does the work, but what happens when the bread finally comes out of the oven, smelling delicious, and the two lazy friends suddenly wake up and want a share. It's a simple, sharp little fable about fairness, effort, and consequences that somehow feels just as relevant now as it must have a hundred years ago. It's short, the illustrations (in my edition, at least) are charming, and it delivers its lesson with a wink rather than a hammer. Perfect for a cozy half-hour read.

File: The cock, the mouse, and the little red hen : an old tale retold by Lefèvre

I picked up this slim volume mostly out of curiosity about old children's tales, and I'm so glad I did. Félicité Lefèvre's retelling of this classic fable is a delightful, no-fuss gem.

The Story

The plot is beautifully straightforward. A Little Red Hen finds a grain of wheat and decides to plant it. At every single step—planting, tending, harvesting, milling the wheat into flour, and finally baking the bread—she asks her housemates, the Cock and the Mouse, for help. And at every single step, they give her the same answer: 'Not I!' They are too comfortable, too sleepy, too uninterested in the hard work. So, the Little Red Hen does it all herself, from start to finish. When the bread is finally baked, warm and fragrant, the Cock and the Mouse immediately perk up and ask, 'Who will eat this bread?' The Hen's famous reply, and what she does next, is the satisfying core of the whole tale.

Why You Should Read It

Don't let the simple story fool you. There's a quiet power here. What I love is that the Hen isn't a nag or a martyr; she's just steadfast. She doesn't complain or give long lectures. She simply asks a question, gets her answer, and gets on with the job. Her final action isn't presented as mean, but as perfectly logical and fair. The story trusts the reader, whether they're eight or eighty, to understand the justice of it. It's a lesson in natural consequences without any moralizing fluff. In a world that often feels complicated, there's something refreshing about a story where the rule is so clear: if you don't help make it, you don't get to share it.

Final Verdict

This book is a little treasure. It's perfect for parents reading aloud to young kids—the repetition is fun and the lesson is clear. It's also a wonderful, nostalgic bite-size read for adults who appreciate classic fables. If you enjoy Aesop or the straightforward wisdom of old folk tales, you'll feel right at home here. It's not a sweeping epic; it's a perfect, polished little story that does exactly what it sets out to do, and does it brilliantly.