Once there was a little red hen. She lived in a pretty little house. She had a pretty little garden. She had a little bed and a little chair. She had a little cupboard, too. There was a pretty picture on the wall.

Up on the hill lived a fox. His mother lived with him. His mother said to him, "You must catch the little red hen. She will be good to eat. I will make soup of her." So the fox tried to catch the little red hen. But he could not catch her.

He could not catch her outside the house. She could fly up into a tree. He could not catch her inside the house. She shut her little door and he could not get in.

One day the fox said to Mother Fox, "Put the big pot on the fire. Fill it up with water. Get the water hot. I am going to catch the little red hen to-day. I will not come back till I do."

Then the fox took a big bag. He threw it over his back. He went down the hill to the little red hen's house. He hid in her little garden. By and by the little red hen came outside. She came to get some sticks to make a fire.

She was going right back with the sticks. So she did not shut her door. She did not see the fox. He ran inside the house. He hid back of the cupboard. The little red hen picked up her sticks. She went back into her house. She shut her door. Then the fox jumped out at her. Down fell her sticks. Up flew the little red hen. She flew on top of the cupboard. The fox could not get her there.

But he had a way to get her down. He began to turn around and around. He ran around after his tail. He ran around and around. The red hen's head began to turn. Down she fell off the cupboard. The fox picked her up and put her into his bag. He picked up his bag and put it over his back. Then he went up on the hill to his home.

It was a hot day. It was hot in the bag. It was dark in the bag, too.

The little red hen had some little scissors. So she took her scissors. She made a little hole in the bag. She put her head outside. Now she could see. Now she was not so hot.

But the fox was hot. By and by he came to a tree. "I will sit down here," he said. So he took the bag off his back. He put it down under the tree. He sat down under the tree. Then he lay down under the tree. By and by he went to sleep.

The little red hen took her little scissors again. She made a big hole in the bag and got out. Then she took a big stone. She put the stone inside the bag. She sewed up the hole in the bag. Then away she ran back home.

By and by the fox woke up. It was dark. He picked up the bag and threw it over his back. Then he went on up the hill.

By and by he came to his own house. Mother Fox looked out of the door. "The water is hot," she said. "Did you get the red hen?" "She is in the bag," said the fox. "Then put her right into the pot," said Mother Fox. So the fox took the bag over to the big pot. He turned the bag upside down.

He shook it over the hot water. Out fell the big stone. It fell into the hot water. The hot water flew out of the pot. It flew all over Mr. Fox. It flew all over Mother Fox. They fell down dead. And that was the end of Mr. Fox and Mother Fox.