Atondido Stories
The Story of a Little Hen
There were once a Rooster and a Hen who were very good
friends. They always went about together like brother and sister.
The Rooster was headstrong and thoughtless and often did fool-
ish things. The little Hen was very sensible and always looked
after the Rooster as well as she could.
Whenever he began doing something foolish, she always
said:
"Oh, my dear, you mustn't do that!"
If the Rooster had always obeyed the little Hen he would be
alive to this day. But, as I have told you, he was careless and
headstrong and often he refused to take the little Hen's advice.
One day in the spring he ran into the garden and just gorged
and gorged on green gooseberries.
"Oh, my dear!" the little Hen cried. "You mustn't eat green
gooseberries! Don't you know they'll give you a pain in your
stomach!"
But the Rooster wouldn't listen. He just kept on eating goose-
berry after gooseberry until at last he got a terrible pain in his
stomach and then he had to stop.
"Little Hen," he cried, "help me! Oh, my stomach! Oh! Oh!"
He was so sick that the little Hen had to give him some hot
peppermint and put a mustard plaster on his stomach.
After that shouldn't you suppose he would do what she told
him? But he didn't. As soon as he was well he was just as care-
less and disobedient as before.
One day he went out to the meadow and he just ran and ran
and ran until he got all overheated and perspired. Then he went
down to the brook and began drinking cold water.
"Oh, my dear," the little Hen cried, "you mustn't drink cold
water while you're overheated! Wait and cool off!"
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