誰來幫小紅母雞播種、磨麵、烤麵包？她的鄰居們都嫌麻煩。「別找我」,每一個請求他們都這麼回答。可熱騰騰、香噴噴的蓬鬆麵包從烤箱裡取出來時，誰來幫忙吃呢？
如果你在給孩子或學生找一本關於責任和信任的書，這本書就是！
經典就是經典，之所以恆久，因為講出了好故事。不付出努力，怎麼會有回報或者成績呢？
圖/文：Barbara McClintock
The Little Red Hen found a tiny sack of wheat.
小紅母雞發現了一小袋麥子。
"Who will plant this wheat?" she asked.
「誰來種這麥子呀？」她問道。
"Not I," said the dog.
「我才不，」狗說。
"Not I," said the cat.
「我才不，」貓說。
"Not I," said the pig.
「我才不，」豬說。
"Then I will do it myself," said the Little Red Hen.
「那麼，我自己來種吧，」小紅母雞說。
So she raked the soil and scattered the grains.
於是她把土地耙松，把麥粒播種下去。
After some time, the wheat was ripe and ready to harvest.
一段時間後，麥子已經熟了，可以收割了。
"Who will help me cut and thrash the wheat?" asked the Little Red Hen.
「誰來幫我收割麥子、給麥粒脫粒呀？」小紅母雞問道。
"Not I," said the dog.
「我才不，」狗說。
"Not I," said the cat.
「我才不，」貓說。
"Not I," said the pig.
「我才不，」豬說。
"Then I will do it myself," said the Little Red Hen.
「那麼，我自己來吧，」小紅母雞說。
So she cut the wheat and she shocked the wheat...
於是她將麥子收割下來，將麥子整理成堆……
and she threshed it by herself.
還獨自拍打麥子，給麥子脫粒。
"Who will take this wheat to be ground into flour?" asked the Little Red Hen.
「誰來把這些麥子磨成麵粉呀？」小紅母雞問道。
"Not I," said the dog.
「我才不，」狗說。
"Not I," said the cat.
「我才不，」貓說。
"Not I," said the pig.
「我才不，」豬說。
"Then I will do it myself," said the Little Red Hen.
「那麼我自己來吧，」小紅母雞說。
So she took the wheat to the miller.
於是她將麥子帶到磨坊。
The miller ground the wheat.
磨坊主把她的麥子磨成麵粉。
And the Little Red Hen carried it home again.
接著小紅母雞將麵粉帶回家了。
"Now who will bake this flour into bread?" she asked.
「現在誰來把這麵粉做成麵包啊？」她問。
"Not I," said the dog.
「我才不，」狗說。
"Not I," said the cat.
「我才不，」貓說。
"Not I," said the pig.
「我才不，」豬說。
"Then I will do it myself," said the Little Red Hen.
「那我自己來吧，」小紅母雞說。
So she mixed the flour and the milk and the soda and the salt and kneaded the dough...
於是，她把麵粉與牛奶、蘇打粉、鹽一起攪拌成麵團，把麵團揉啊揉啊……
and baked it all into bread.
把麵團烤成麵包。
"Who will eat this bread?" asked the Little Red Hen.
「誰來吃這個麵包啊？」小紅母雞問道。
"I will!" said the dog.
「我來！」狗說。
"I will!" said the cat.
「我來！」貓說。
"I will!" said the pig.
「我來！」豬說。
"No, you won't!" said the Little Red Hen.
「不，你們誰都不能吃！」小紅母雞說道。
"I raked the soil and planted the grain.
「是我把土地耙松，把麥粒播種下去。
I cut the grain, and shocked it and threshed it.
是我把麥子收割下來，將麥子整理成堆，拍打麥子，給麥子脫粒的。
I took it to the miller and brought it back.
是我把麥子帶去磨坊磨成麵粉並帶回來的。
I made the dough and baked the bread.
是我揉的麵團，把麵包烤好的。
I did it by myself."
都是我自己做的。」
"So I am going to eat every last crumb of this bread myself."
「所以我要自己一個人把這麵包全部都吃光！」
And that's just what she did!
於是，她就這樣做了！
打賞碼在此：
開媽簡介
開媽——Julia，美籍華人，Kyle's Family的女主人，也是一個7歲小男孩的媽媽。Julia初中即移民美國，直至獲工商碩士學位後，回國居住。