×
Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
See below for more information.
© by Olive Beaupre Miller
Translation © by Lynn Steele (1951 - 2002)
The Little Rooster and the Little Hen
Language: English  after the English
This is the story of the Little Rooster and the Little Hen. Once upon a time, a Little Rooster and a Little Hen went out to the wood to look for strawberries. They agreed to divide with each other all the fruit they found. First the Little Hen found a strawberry. "Cluck cluck cluck!" she cried, and when the Rooster came she divided the berry with him. By and by, the Little Rooster found a strawberry. But he didn't call "Cluck cluck!" He gobbled the berry whole, to get it all for himself. And the berry was so big it got stuck in his throat! Try as he might, he could not swallow it. He flapped his wings. He shook his head. He hopped about on his two little legs. Then he fell flat on his back, choking and choking and choking. The Little Hen came running to see how she could help him. Water was what he needed. So the Little Hen ran to the Brook, and she cried "O Brook, good Brook, please give me a drop of water for my little partner the Rooster! He is lying flat on his back and choking and choking and choking!" But the Brook said, "I will give you a drop of water when you bring me a leaf from the Linden Tree." So the Little Hen ran to the Linden Tree and cried "O Linden Tree, good Linden Tree, please give me one of your leaves, that I may give it to the Brook that the Brook may give me some water for my little partner the Rooster, who is lying flat on his back and choking and choking and choking!" But the Linden Tree said "I will give you a leaf when you bring me the kerchief the Peasant Woman is making." So the Little Hen ran off to the Peasant Woman, and she cried "O Woman, good Woman, please give me a kerchief, that I may give it to the Linden Tree that the Linden Tree may give me a leaf, that I may give it to the Brook that the Brook may give me some water for my little partner the Rooster, who is lying flat on his back and choking and choking and choking!" But the Peasant Woman said "I will give you a kerchief when you bring me some silk from the Queen of Saba." So the Little Hen ran to the Queen. "O Queen, please give me a bit of silk, that I may give it to the Woman, that she may give me a kerchief, that I may give it to the Linden Tree that the Linden Tree may give me a leaf, that I may give it to the Brook that the Brook may give me some water for my little partner the Rooster, who is lying flat on his back and choking and choking and choking!" But the Queen of Saba said "I'll give you a bit of silk when you bring me a pair of shoes from the Shoemaker." "O Shoemaker, please give me a pair of shoes, that I may give them to the Queen that she may give me a bit of silk, that I may give it to the Woman that she may give me a kerchief, that I may give it to the Linden Tree that the Linden Tree may give me a leaf, that I may give it to the Brook that the Brook may give me some water for my little partner the Rooster, who is lying flat on his back and choking and choking and choking!" But the Shoemaker said "I'll give you a pair of shoes when you bring me some cream from the Farmer's Wife." "O Farmer's Wife, please give me some cream, that I may give it to the Shoemaker that he may give me a pair of shoes, that I may give them to the Queen that she may give me a bit of silk, that I may give it to the Woman that she may give me a kerchief, that I may give it to the Linden Tree that the Linden Tree may give me a leaf, that I may give it to the Brook that the Brook may give me some water for my little partner the Rooster, who is lying flat on his back and choking and choking and choking!" But the Farmer's Wife said "I will give you some cream when you bring me a bag full of grass." Well, the Little Hen was all tired out. But still she ran out to the meadow and began to pluck the grass. She filled a whole bag full. Then she dragged the bag of grass to the Farmer's Wife, and the Farmer's Wife gave her some cream. So the Little Hen took the cream to the shoemaker, who gave her a pair of shoes. And she took the shoes to the Queen of Saba, who gave her a bit of silk. And she took the silk to the Peasant Woman, who gave her a kerchief. And she took the kerchief to the Linden Tree, who gave her a leaf. And she took the leaf to the Brook, and then and there the Brook gave her that drop of water! The Little Hen hurried back to the place where she had left the Little Rooster. He was choking so at that moment he could hardly get his breath. But the Little Hen dropped the water into his beak, and the water ran down his throat and washed that big strawberry down! Then the Little Rooster jumped up and flapped his wings for joy. "Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock- a-doodle-doo!" he cried. But after that, when the Little Rooster found something good to eat, he divided with the Little Hen.
Authorship:
- by Lynn Steele (1951 - 2002), copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [an adaptation] [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Olive Beaupre Miller , appears in My Book House, copyright © [text unavailable]
Based on:
- a text in Czech (Čeština) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , no title [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Lynn Steele (1951 - 2002), "The Little Rooster and the Little Hen" [soprano, flute, clarinet, cello, piano] [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-01-20
Line count: 74
Word count: 969