{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_29980/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_29980","id":"gutenberg_29980","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29980","summary":null,"tags":["Animals -- Juvenile fiction","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Children's stories","Folklore"],"text":"Produced by Louise Hope, David Edwards and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This\nfile was produced from images generously made available\nby The Internet Archive)\n\n\n\n\n\n[This e-text comes in two forms: Latin-1 and ASCII. Use the one that\nworks best on your text reader. In the Latin-1 version, the author's\nname is written with French accents. There are no other significant\ndifferences.\n\nThe story is given twice: first with line breaks, punctuation and\nparagraph indentation as in the original, and then as an unformatted\nnarrative.]\n\n\n\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  THE COCK, THE MOUSE\n\n  AND THE LITTLE RED HEN\n\n\n\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                 [Illustration]\n\n            _The_ COCK, _The_ MOUSE\n                   _and the_\n                 LITTLE RED HEN\n\n               An Old Tale Retold\n                      _by_\n               FELICITE LEFEVRE\n\n\n                 [Illustration]\n\n             With 24 Illustrations\n                      _by_\n                   TONY SARG\n\n            MACRAE . SMITH . COMPANY\n                  Philadelphia\n\n\n\n\n                  To My Nieces\n        CECILIA GARRY and NELLY MELVILLE\n                      and\n              to my little friend\n                  HARFORD LURY\n             this book is dedicated\n                  with my love\n\n\n                      4511\n              Nineteenth Printing\n _Manufactured in the United States of America_\n\n\n\n\n  THE COCK, THE MOUSE\n\n  AND THE LITTLE RED HEN\n\n\n\n\n  Once upon a time there was\n  a hill, and on the hill there\n  was a pretty little house.\n\n    It had one little green\n  door, and four little windows\n  with green shutters,\n  and in it there lived\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  A Cock\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  and A Mouse\n\n    and\n      A Little\n        Red\n          Hen\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  On another hill close by\n  there was another little\n  house. It was very ugly.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    It had a door\n  that wouldn't shut,\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  and two broken windows,\n  and all the paint\n  was off the shutters\n\n  And in this house\n  there lived\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  A BOLD BAD FOX\n    and FOUR BAD\n    LITTLE FOXES\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    One morning these\n  four bad little foxes\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    came to the\n      big bad Fox\n        and said:\n\n    \"Oh, Father, we're so\n  hungry!\"\n\n    \"We had nothing to eat\n  yesterday,\" said one.\n\n    \"And scarcely anything\n  the day before,\" said another.\n\n    \"And only half a chicken\n  the day before that,\" said\n  the third.\n\n    \"And only two little\n  ducks the day before that,\"\n  said the fourth.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    The big bad Fox shook\n  his head for a long time,\n  for he was thinking.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    At last he said in a\n      big gruff voice:\n\n    \"On that hill over there\n  I see a house. And in that\n  house there lives a Cock.\"\n\n    \"And a Mouse,\" screamed\n  two of the little foxes.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    \"And a little Red Hen,\"\n  screamed the other two.\n\n    \"And they are nice and fat,\"\n  went on the big bad Fox.\n  \"This very day, I'll take my\n  great sack, and I will go up\n  that hill, and in at that door,\n  and into my sack I will put\n  the Cock, and the Mouse,\n  and the little Red Hen.\"\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    \"I'll make a fire\n      to roast the Cock,\"\n        said one little fox.\n\n  \"I'll put on the saucepan\n  to boil the Hen,\"\n  said the second.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  \"And I'll get the frying\n  pan to fry the Mouse,\"\n  said the third.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  \"And I'll have the biggest\n  helping when\n  they are all cooked,\"\n  said the fourth, who\n  was the greediest of all.\n\n  So the four little foxes\n  jumped for joy, and the\n  big bad Fox went to get\n  his sack ready to start\n  upon his journey.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  But what was happening\n  to the Cock and the Mouse,\n  and the little Red Hen, all\n  this time?\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    Well, sad to say, the Cock and\n  the Mouse had both got out of\n  bed on the wrong side that\n  morning.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    The Cock said the day was\n  too hot, and the Mouse grumbled\n  because it was too cold.\n\n    They came grumbling down\n  to the kitchen, where the good\n  little Red Hen, looking as bright\n  as a sunbeam, was bustling about.\n\n    \"Who'll get some sticks to\n  light the fire with?\" she asked.\n\n    \"_I_ shan't,\" said the Cock.\n\n    \"_I_ shan't,\" said the Mouse.\n\n    \"Then I'll do it myself,\" said\n  the little Red Hen.\n\n    So off she ran to get the sticks.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  \"And now, who'll fill\n  the kettle from the\n  spring?\" she asked.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  \"_I_ shan't,\"\n  said the Cock.\n\n  \"_I_ shan't,\" said\n  the Mouse.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  \"Then I'll do it myself,\"\n  said the little Red Hen.\n  And off she ran to\n  fill the kettle.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  \"And who'll get the\n  breakfast ready?\" she\n  asked, as she put the\n  kettle on to boil.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  \"_I_ shan't,\"\n  said the Cock.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  \"_I_ shan't,\"\n  said the Mouse.\n\n  \"I'll do it myself,\"\n  said the little Red Hen.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    All breakfast time the\n  Cock and the Mouse quarrelled\n  and grumbled. The\n  Cock upset the milk jug,\n  and the Mouse scattered\n  crumbs upon the floor\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    \"Who'll clear away the\n  breakfast?\" asked the poor\n  little Red Hen, hoping\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  they would soon leave\n  off being cross.\n\n    \"_I_ shan't,\" said the Cock.\n\n    \"_I_ shan't,\" said the Mouse.\n\n    \"Then I'll do it myself,\"\n  said the little Red Hen.\n\n    So she cleared everything\n  away, swept up the crumbs,\n  and brushed up the fireplace.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    \"And now, who'll help\n  me to make the beds?\"\n\n  \"_I_ shan't,\" said the Cock.\n\n  \"_I_ shan't,\" said the Mouse.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    \"Then I'll do it myself,\"\n  said the little Red Hen.\n\n    And she tripped away\n  upstairs.\n\n    But the lazy Cock and\n  Mouse each sat down in a\n  comfortable arm-chair by\n  the fire\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  and soon fell\n  fast asleep.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    Now the bad Fox had\n  crept up the hill, and into\n  the garden, and if the Cock\n  and Mouse hadn't been\n  asleep, they would have seen\n  his sharp eyes peeping in\n  at the window.\n\n  \"Rat tat tat, Rat tat tat\",\n  the Fox knocked at the door.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    \"Who can that be?\" said the\n  Mouse, half opening his eyes.\n\n    \"Go and look for yourself, if\n  you want to know,\" said the\n  rude Cock\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    \"It's the postman perhaps,\"\n  thought the Mouse to himself,\n  \"and he may have a letter\n  for me.\" So without waiting to\n  see who it was, he lifted the\n  latch and opened the door.\n\n  As soon as he opened it\n  in jumped the big Fox, with\n  a cruel smile upon his face!\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  \"Oh! oh! oh!\" squeaked the\n  Mouse as he tried to run up\n  the chimney.\n\n  \"Doodle doodle do!\" screamed\n  the Cock, as he jumped on the\n  back of the biggest\n  arm-chair\n\n  But the Fox only laughed,\n  and without more ado he\n  took the little Mouse by the\n  tail, and popped him into\n  the sack, and seized the\n  Cock by the neck and popped\n  him in too.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  Then the poor little Red\n  Hen came running down-stairs\n  to see what all the\n  noise was about,\n  and the Fox caught her\n  and put her into the sack\n  with the others.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  Then he took a long piece of\n  string out of his pocket, wound\n  it round and round and\n  round the mouth of\n  the sack, and tied it very\n  tight indeed.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  After that he threw the sack\n  over his back and set off down\n  the hill.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    \"Oh! I wish I hadn't been\n  so cross,\" said the Cock, as\n  they went bumping about.\n\n    \"Oh! I wish I hadn't been\n  so lazy,\" said the Mouse, wiping\n  his eyes with the tip of his tail.\n\n    \"It's never too late to mend,\"\n  said the little Red Hen. \"And\n  don't be too sad.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    See, here I have my little\n  work-bag, and in it there is\n  a pair of scissors, and a\n  little thimble, and a needle\n  and thread. Very soon you\n  will see what I am going\n  to do.\"\n\n  Now the sun was very hot,\n  and soon Mr. Fox began to\n  feel his sack was heavy,\n  and at last he thought he\n  would lie down under a\n  tree and go to sleep for\n  a little while.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  So he threw the sack down\n  with a big bump, and very\n  soon fell fast asleep.\n\n    Snore, snore, snore, went\n  the Fox.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  As soon as the little Red\n  Hen heard this, she took\n  out her scissors, and began\n  to snip a hole in the sack,\n  just large enough for the\n  Mouse to creep through.\n\n  \"Quick,\" she whispered to\n  the Mouse, \"run as fast as you\n  can and bring back a stone\n  just as large as yourself.\"\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  Out scampered the Mouse,\n  and soon came back, dragging\n  the stone after him.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    \"Push it in here,\" said\n  the little Red Hen, and he\n  pushed it in in a twinkling.\n\n    Then the little Red Hen\n  snipped away the hole, till\n  it was large enough for the\n  Cock to get through.\n\n    \"Quick,\" she said, \"run\n  and get a stone as big as\n  yourself.\"\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    Out flew the Cock, and\n  soon came back quite out\n  of breath, with a big stone,\n  which he pushed into the\n  sack too.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  Then the little Red Hen\n  popped out,\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    got a stone as big as\n  herself, and pushed it in.\n\n  Next she put on her thimble,\n  took out her needle and thread,\n  and sewed up the hole as\n  quickly as ever she could.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  When it was done, the\n  Cock and the Mouse and\n  the little Red Hen ran home\n  very fast, shut the door\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  after them, drew the bolts,\n  shut the shutters, and drew\n  down the blinds and felt\n  quite safe.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    The bad Fox lay fast asleep\n  under the tree for some time,\n  but at last he woke up.\n\n    \"Dear, dear,\" he said, rubbing\n  his eyes and then looking at\n  the long shadows on the grass,\n  \"how late it is getting. I must\n  hurry home.\"\n\n  So the bad Fox went\n  grumbling and groaning\n  down the hill\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  till he came to the\n  stream.\n\n  Splash! In went one foot.\n  Splash! In went the other,\n  but the stones in the sack\n  were so heavy that at the\n  very next step down tumbled\n  Mr. Fox into a deep pool.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    And then the fishes carried\n  him off to their fairy caves\n  and kept him a prisoner there,\n  so he was never seen again.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    And the four greedy\n  little foxes had to go\n  to bed without any\n  supper.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n    But the Cock and the\n  Mouse never grumbled\n  again. They lit the fire,\n  filled the kettle, laid the\n  breakfast, and did all the\n  work, while the good little\n  Red Hen had a holiday, and\n  sat resting in the big arm-chair.\n\n    No foxes ever troubled\n  them again, and for all I\n  know they are still living\n  happily in the little house\n  with the green door and\n  green shutters, which stands\n  on the hill.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  The End\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n           *       *       *       *\n\n\nThe Cock, the Mouse and the little Red Hen\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a hill, and on the hill there was a\npretty little house. It had one little green door, and four little\nwindows with green shutters, and in it there lived a Cock and a\nMouse and a Little Red Hen[.]\n\nOn another hill close by there was another little house. It was very\nugly. It had a door that wouldn't shut, and two broken windows, and\nall the paint was off the shutters[.] And in this house there lived\na Bold Bad Fox and Four Bad Little Foxes[.]\n\nOne morning these four bad little foxes came to the big bad Fox and\nsaid:\n\n\"Oh, Father, we're so hungry!\"\n\n\"We had nothing to eat yesterday,\" said one.\n\n\"And scarcely anything the day before,\" said another.\n\n\"And only half a chicken the day before that,\" said the third.\n\n\"And only two little ducks the day before that,\" said the fourth.\n\nThe big bad Fox shook his head for a long time, for he was thinking.\nAt last he said in a big gruff voice: \"On that hill over there I see\na house. And in that house there lives a Cock.\"\n\n\"And a Mouse,\" screamed two of the little foxes.\n\n\"And a little Red Hen,\" screamed the other two.\n\n\"And they are nice and fat,\" went on the big bad Fox. \"This very\nday, I'll take my great sack, and I will go up that hill, and in at\nthat door, and into my sack I will put the Cock, and the Mouse, and\nthe little Red Hen.\"\n\n\"I'll make a fire to roast the Cock,\" said one little fox.\n\n\"I'll put on the saucepan to boil the Hen,\" said the second.\n\n\"And I'll get the frying pan to fry the Mouse,\" said the third.\n\n\"And I'll have the biggest helping when they are all cooked,\" said\nthe fourth, who was the greediest of all. So the four little foxes\njumped for joy, and the big bad Fox went to get his sack ready to\nstart upon his journey.\n\nBut what was happening to the Cock and the Mouse, and the little Red\nHen, all this time? Well, sad to say, the Cock and the Mouse had\nboth got out of bed on the wrong side that morning. The Cock said\nthe day was too hot, and the Mouse grumbled because it was too cold.\nThey came grumbling down to the kitchen, where the good little Red\nHen, looking as bright as a sunbeam, was bustling about.\n\n\"Who'll get some sticks to light the fire with?\" she asked.\n\n\"_I_ shan't,\" said the Cock.\n\n\"_I_ shan't,\" said the Mouse.\n\n\"Then I'll do it myself,\" said the little Red Hen. So off she ran to\nget the sticks. \"And now, who'll fill the kettle from the spring?\"\nshe asked.\n\n\"_I_ shan't,\" said the Cock.\n\n\"_I_ shan't,\" said the Mouse.\n\n\"Then I'll do it myself,\" said the little Red Hen. And off she ran\nto fill the kettle. \"And who'll get the breakfast ready?\" she asked,\nas she put the kettle on to boil.\n\n\"_I_ shan't,\" said the Cock.\n\n\"_I_ shan't,\" said the Mouse.\n\n\"I'll do it myself,\" said the little Red Hen. All breakfast time the\nCock and the Mouse quarrelled and grumbled. The Cock upset the milk\njug, and the Mouse scattered crumbs upon the floor[.] \"Who'll clear\naway the breakfast?\" asked the poor little Red Hen, hoping they\nwould soon leave off being cross.\n\n\"_I_ shan't,\" said the Cock.\n\n\"_I_ shan't,\" said the Mouse.\n\n\"Then I'll do it myself,\" said the little Red Hen. So she cleared\neverything away, swept up the crumbs, and brushed up the fireplace.\n\"And now, who'll help me to make the beds?\"\n\n\"_I_ shan't,\" said the Cock.\n\n\"_I_ shan't,\" said the Mouse.\n\n\"Then I'll do it myself,\" said the little Red Hen. And she tripped\naway upstairs. But the lazy Cock and Mouse each sat down in a\ncomfortable arm-chair by the fire and soon fell fast asleep.\n\nNow the bad Fox had crept up the hill, and into the garden, and if\nthe Cock and Mouse hadn't been asleep, they would have seen his\nsharp eyes peeping in at the window. \"Rat tat tat, Rat tat tat\", the\nFox knocked at the door.\n\n\"Who can that be?\" said the Mouse, half opening his eyes.\n\n\"Go and look for yourself, if you want to know,\" said the rude\nCock[.]\n\n\"It's the postman perhaps,\" thought the Mouse to himself, \"and he\nmay have a letter for me.\" So without waiting to see who it was, he\nlifted the latch and opened the door. As soon as he opened it in\njumped the big Fox, with a cruel smile upon his face! \"Oh! oh! oh!\"\nsqueaked the Mouse as he tried to run up the chimney.\n\n\"Doodle doodle do!\" screamed the Cock, as he jumped on the back of\nthe biggest arm-chair[.] But the Fox only laughed, and without more\nado he took the little Mouse by the tail, and popped him into the\nsack, and seized the Cock by the neck and popped him in too. Then\nthe poor little Red Hen came running down-stairs to see what all the\nnoise was about, and the Fox caught her and put her into the sack\nwith the others. Then he took a long piece of string out of his\npocket, wound it round and round and round the mouth of the sack,\nand tied it very tight indeed. After that he threw the sack over his\nback and set off down the hill.\n\n\"Oh! I wish I hadn't been so cross,\" said the Cock, as they went\nbumping about.\n\n\"Oh! I wish I hadn't been so lazy,\" said the Mouse, wiping his eyes\nwith the tip of his tail.\n\n\"It's never too late to mend,\" said the little Red Hen. \"And don't\nbe too sad. See, here I have my little work-bag, and in it there is\na pair of scissors, and a little thimble, and a needle and thread.\nVery soon you will see what I am going to do.\"\n\nNow the sun was very hot, and soon Mr. Fox began to feel his sack\nwas heavy, and at last he thought he would lie down under a tree and\ngo to sleep for a little while. So he threw the sack down with a big\nbump, and very soon fell fast asleep.\n\nSnore, snore, snore, went the Fox.\n\nAs soon as the little Red Hen heard this, she took out her scissors,\nand began to snip a hole in the sack, just large enough for the\nMouse to creep through. \"Quick,\" she whispered to the Mouse, \"run as\nfast as you can and bring back a stone just as large as yourself.\"\nOut scampered the Mouse, and soon came back, dragging the stone\nafter him. \"Push it in here,\" said the little Red Hen, and he pushed\nit in in a twinkling.\n\nThen the little Red Hen snipped away the hole, till it was large\nenough for the Cock to get through. \"Quick,\" she said, \"run and get\na stone as big as yourself.\" Out flew the Cock, and soon came back\nquite out of breath, with a big stone, which he pushed into the sack\ntoo.\n\nThen the little Red Hen popped out, got a stone as big as herself,\nand pushed it in. Next she put on her thimble, took out her needle\nand thread, and sewed up the hole as quickly as ever she could. When\nit was done, the Cock and the Mouse and the little Red Hen ran home\nvery fast, shut the door after them, drew the bolts, shut the\nshutters, and drew down the blinds and felt quite safe.\n\nThe bad Fox lay fast asleep under the tree for some time, but at\nlast he woke up. \"Dear, dear,\" he said, rubbing his eyes and then\nlooking at the long shadows on the grass, \"how late it is getting.\nI must hurry home.\" So the bad Fox went grumbling and groaning down\nthe hill till he came to the stream.\n\nSplash! In went one foot. Splash! In went the other, but the stones\nin the sack were so heavy that at the very next step down tumbled\nMr. Fox into a deep pool. And then the fishes carried him off to\ntheir fairy caves and kept him a prisoner there, so he was never\nseen again. And the four greedy little foxes had to go to bed\nwithout any supper.\n\nBut the Cock and the Mouse never grumbled again. They lit the fire,\nfilled the kettle, laid the breakfast, and did all the work, while\nthe good little Red Hen had a holiday, and sat resting in the big\narm-chair. No foxes ever troubled them again, and for all I know\nthey are still living happily in the little house with the green\ndoor and green shutters, which stands on the hill.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n           *       *       *       *\n\nErrors and Anomalies (noted by transcriber):\n\nThe hyphen in \"down-stairs\" is conjectural, based on hyphenization of\nother words in the book.\n\n  said the little Red Hen. And off she ran\n    [superfluous close quote after \"Hen.\" deleted]\n  See, here I have my little\n    [no open quote in original at new paragraph]\n  and / A Little / Red / Hen\n  was off the shutters\n  crumbs upon the floor\n  FOUR BAD / LITTLE FOXES\n  said the / rude Cock\n  back of the biggest / arm-chair\n    [no final periods (full stops) in original]","title":"The cock, the mouse, and the little red hen : $b an old tale retold","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":3355}