Henny Penny

Working and eating have always gone hand in hand. The Bible states in II Thessalonians 3:10 "even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat." There have always been those sayings, "A good day's wage for a good day's work." Even the children had stories to help them understand the importance of working hard and gaining from your labor. One such story that I remember was "Henny Penny".

Henny Penny and her chicks lived in the great barnyard of Farmer Brown. One day as she was clucking along, she happened upon some seeds of grain. "Oh my," she said. "I can plant these seeds and when they are grown, I can grind it into flour and make bread." So, she asked the dog, the cat, and the pig, "Who will help me plant these seeds?" The dog replied, "I'm too busy playing." The cat told her, "I'm too busy grooming." And the pig said, "Not me, I'm too busy sunning." So, Henny Penny, tilled the ground and planted the seeds herself.

Each day she asked the dog, the cat, and the pig, "Who will help me fill the buckets with water to pour on the seeds?" And each day they all had something better to do and would not help with the work. So, each day Henny Penny watered and tended to the seeds alone.

Then the day came that the seeds had grown into tall stalks of wheat and were ready to be sown, so she went to the Dog, the Cat, and the Pig and again asked, "Who will help me thrash the wheat?" No one stepped forward to help because they had something better to do. So, Henny Penny worked hard to thrash the wheat alone.

Once that was done, it was now important to grind the wheat into flour. Like before, she went to the Dog, the Cat, and the Pig, asking, "Who will help me grind the wheat?" But again, they all refused. So, like she had done before, Henny Penny worked hard and long to grind the wheat into flour.

Now, it was time to take the flour and make it into loaves of bread, she went to the Dog, the Cat, and the Pig, and she asked, "Who will help me make the bread from the flour?" No one volunteered to help because the dog was too busy playing, the cat too busy grooming, and the pig too busy laying in the sun.

"Okay, then I'll make it myself," she said. And Henny Penny did just that. She mixed the flour and made the bread, she baked it and when it was done, the dog, the cat, and the Pig could smell the wonderful aroma of the fresh baked bread and when she asked, "Who will help me eat the bread?"

The Dog barked, "I will." The cat meowed, "I will help you eat it," and the Pig grunted, "Oh, I'll help."

But this time, Henny Penny told them, "When I asked you to help me plant the seeds, you couldn't. When I asked for help in watering the seeds, you refused. And, when I asked help in gathering the wheat and grinding it into flour, you were too busy. You wouldn't even help prepare the bread to be baked. The most simple task you wouldn't do, but now you want to eat the bread?"

They all nodded their heads, but Henny Penny told them, "No, I believe, my chicks and I will eat the bread, and maybe next time, you will be more willing to help." And that she did, and Henny Penny and her chicks had a wonderful meal.

Moral of the story? You don't work, you don't eat.

Sound familiar? The problem with the world today, is that they have not heard the story of "Henny Penny", and they have not learned its moral. Raise the young with a good work ethic, and they will build a better future for themselves and for others. Today children are taught to be lazy and not productive. Give children responsibilities, and they will learn how to be responsible adults. Teach children how to respect others, and they will grow into respectful adults. So, tell this story to your kids, and then have them take out the trash, but reward them for their hard work.