What If The Little Red Hen Had Help?
I have truly come to love writing flash fiction, but playing around with fairy tales that have been in my head for years was a tough one. But! What a great exercise! So, hat's off to Cassie, Mark, Leigh, and Morgan for putting this blogfest together and making me really think outside the fairy tale box! Click here to see the other entries.
"Phfft!" The Little Red Hen blew feathers away from her
face and stepped toward her mixing bowl.
"Ouch! That was my paw!"
said Cat.
Thump! The sack of
flour fell and Hen found herself in a cloudy, floury mess.
"Cat, I
didn't know you were there."
"I came to
help, and brought some salt with me. I hope 3lbs. is enough."
"Oh. Thank
you. Usually, I make bread alone."
Hen went to cleaning up the flour.
"Are you
ready for some salt?
"Not yet.
First, I need some eggs."
"Oh good!
Because I have two dozen of them," said Goose, bursting through the door.
"What? Eggs?”
A startled Hen tripped over her broom and went flying and flapping into the
sink, as two eggs slipped from Goose's wings.
“Thanks, but I already have
some eggs because I usually make bread alone." Hen said climbing out of the
sink.
"Ooops. I guess you can't use the broken ones, can you?"
“No,” said Hen reaching
for a mop.
“Time for salt yet?” Cat asked.
“Not yet.” Hen sighed, mopping up the eggy mess.
"I'm really quite used to doing this alone. Where was I? Right. Flour. One cup. Two cups. Thr..."
"I'm really quite used to doing this alone. Where was I? Right. Flour. One cup. Two cups. Thr..."
Cow came plowing through the door. "Am I late?
Did I make it on time?"
Hen's measuring
cup flew out of her wing, hit the ceiling and landed spilling more flour.
"Cow?"
"Milk. I've
got your milk," she panted. "Super fresh and warm. Been holding it all morning. Just need you to collect it, thereby relieving a little, ahem, pressure," Cow said with a smile somewhere between
happy-to-help and I'm-getting-really-uncomfortable.
The Little Red Hen
smiled at her friends quietly wishing she hadn't asked for help in the first place.
lol!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, sometimes the help we want doesn't turn out to be all that helpful. ^_^
haha! sounds like when my kids offer to help me with anything. Love it!
ReplyDeleteFun entry! Sometimes too many cooks ruin the broth.
ReplyDeletelol! That is adorable! I LOVE it!
ReplyDeleteThat's perfect, I love it! Be careful what you wish for....is that the lesson here?
ReplyDeleteThis was quite adorable! Lovely imagery, if, erm, somewhat messy. lol. Great job.
ReplyDeleteLOL!
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely brilliant! I love it! Such a great story choice. Poor hen. I do hope she manages to get the bread made eventually. And maybe the friends will step in to help with the mess! :D
Great entry! Thanks for being part of the blogfest!
Hah! Sometimes it *doesn't* take a village! :-)
ReplyDeleteSome Dark Romantic
Cute. They just all want their share of the bread. At least they learned SOMETHING from the situation.
ReplyDeleteCat can lick up the eggs and spilled milk, cow will eat the spilled flour, everybody's happy.
Lauren
Lauren-ritz.blogspot.com
This. Is. So. Cute. !!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSeriously. I love this. What a classic little beauty this is. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent, Tracy! What a fun twist on the original! I think you could turn this into a fractured fairy tale PB! :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I love this twist. Doesn't Hen sound just like us--asking for help but not really wanting it???
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. New follower, btw. :)
Aww! Such a cute story. It sounds like there were too many bakers in the kitchen. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the twist on the story of the Little Red Hen!
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the way it goes? You ask for help and then it's more trouble than it's worth--especially with kids ;)
ReplyDeleteHey,
ReplyDeleteNot sure (OK, I am sure we don't have a "Cute" award) but if we did, you win :)
That was brilliant and made me feel like I was home in the kitchen with the kids "helping" me :)
This was so adorable. Loved it, especially the cow. LOL!
ReplyDeleteHah! I adore this one. Very nice! :D
ReplyDeleteLOL..this is good. :) reminds me of my kids when I ask them to help. more trouble, more floor and everything goes haywire. And the cow. Made me smile. :)
ReplyDeleteMommy, let me help!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the smile!
And the lesson is... be careful what you wish for. :) At least Hen didn't send them all away in a huff.
ReplyDeleteCute. It makes me think of my little kids being 'helpful.' :)Great job!
ReplyDeleteOther people's input and help can get in the way. Great piece.
ReplyDeleteI love the lighthearted, fun feel to this. Yeah, it's often quicker to get jobs done on your own!
ReplyDeleteThat was awesome! It made me think of baking with the kids :)
ReplyDelete