Haiku Story About The Little Red Hen Chicken Poem

Cleaning out an old drawer, a torn-edged, yellowed paper fell out of a book onto the floor. On it was this poem that was printed in the newspaper, probably 30 or 40 years ago. Perhaps this is an omen. What does it say to you?

Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done,

and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.

Somebody got angry, because it was Everybody's job.

Everybody thought that Somebody would do it.

But Nobody asked Anybody.

It ended up that the job wasn't done,

and Everybody blamed Everybody,

when actually Nobody asked Anybody.

Speckled chicken pecks

all day stirring up the ground

turning the brown soil

That poem reminds me of the fable of “The Little Red Hen” from my childhood. Do you remember reading those Little Golden Books and making a collection of shiny edged Golden books on your shelf?

We learned the virtue of hard work, effort and reaping what was sewn. Some historians say the folktale originates from either England or Russia. Both countries probably had some variation on the same theme, or else the story traveled along from oral tradition. Joseph Jacobs was supposedly the first person to put it to pen.

The different versions have either a mouse, cat, dog, goose, duck, cow and or horse. All of them are lazy, sleeping, or playing with undesirable character traits, and not obliged to helping their friend the chicken on the friendly farm.

Alternately, the chicken wants to turn the grain into some baked good. As in our life, we are given the seed, some material from heaven, which we utilize and transform into something useful in our world.

In the end, would you share your finished product, if all your friends didn’t pitch in to help? What would be your attitude? How can the problem be solved?

Here is one version of the story:

One day the Little Red Hen was scratching in a field, she found a grain of wheat that had dropped from heaven.

She asked herself, "This wheat should be planted."

Then asked her farm friends, "Who will plant this grain of wheat?"

"Not I," said the Goat

"Not I," said the Pig

"Not I," said the Goose

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

Soon the wheat grew to be tall and strong.

"The wheat is ripe," said the Little Red Hen. "Who will cut the wheat?"

"Not I," said the Goat

"Not I," said the Pig

"Not I," said the Goose

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

When the wheat was cut, the Little Red Hen said,

"Who will thresh the wheat?"

"Not I," said the Goat

"Not I," said the Pig

"Not I," said the Goose

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

When the wheat was threshed, the Little Red Hen said,

"Who will take this wheat to the mill?"

"Not I," said the Goat

"Not I," said the Pig

"Not I," said the Goose

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

She took the wheat to the mill and had it ground into flour.

Then she said, "Who will make this flour into bread?"

"Not I," said the Goat

"Not I," said the Pig

"Not I," said the Goose

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

She made and baked the bread.

Then she said, "Who will eat this bread?"

"I will," said the Goat

"I will," said the Pig

"I will," said the Goose

"Oh no you won't!" said the Little Red Hen. "I will do that." And she did.

Montana woman uses chickens as therapy animals

You've heard of equine rehabiliation, the comfort of dogs and cats for the elderly, swimming with the dolphins, keeping a canary, and now there is chicken therapy. Therapy dogs can be a comfort for seniors and those recovering from illnesses and injuries.

Jana Clairmont of Polson, Mont., calls her therapy birds a white rooster and Cornish game hen "Fowl Play." She takes them out to resident homes at Polson Health and Rehabilitation Center in northeast Montana. "Many seniors were raised on farms," Clairmont says, "and holding a chicken can bring back memories."

It is true. Watching chickens scratch around with their constant movement, watching them preen is like watching a fish aquarium which calms the heart and mind. Holding them in your lap and stroking their feathers is like having a soft kitten that loves you no matter what.

Link

Debby Bruck, CHOM is the founder of Homeopathy World Community and believes that homeopathy is the wave of the future that provides hope and healing to those who have tried every other approach. Follow Debby on Twitter.

I am honored to say that if you search #HAIKU on Google this Hubpages will be one of the top searches.

Google this title, "Chickens Become Urban Pets" ~ Seems they do not allow LINKS to ABC News site anymore.

They don't bark, bite or require daily walks. They even offer tokens in return for their care.

More and more urban and suburban elite are moving beyond keeping poodles and cats and adopting another kind of animal to coddle: the chicken.

"They're just so relaxing to watch," says Robin Fox, a Miami resident who began keeping chickens in her apartment in the late 1990s. "They're friendly birds, they're fluffy and they give you eggs. Dogs don't give you eggs."

While some immigrants have long recognized the benefits of keeping chickens in urban lots (free fresh eggs and chicken breasts) the concept appears to have taken flight, so to speak, among urban yuppies and suburban elite who build elaborate coops for their flocks.

And then there is Fox, who says she must have chickens in her life, no matter the inconvenience.

"The only problem is they can't be potty trained. You have to change their paper every day," says Fox who reports some of her furniture is spotted by chicken droppings but she's sure only she can see the stains.

Chicken Rules

Steven Keel, the owner of Egganic Industries in Ringgold, Va., says that sales of his elaborate $1,500 Henspas — low-maintenance, high-comfort homes designed for urban and suburban chickens — are up 15 percent. The McMurray Hatchery in Webster City, Iowa, reports they're sending more mail-order chicks (ranging in cost from about $1 to $5 per chick) to addresses in upper-class suburbs.

And the City Chicken Workshop sessions at the Seattle Tilth Association have been filled to standing-room only. The two-hour classes held four times a year teach new chicken owners the basics in building coops and keeping their animals healthy. Director Pamela Burton says they'll soon be adding classes.

"The demand is too great," she says. "We're thinking we'll have a beginning chicken class and then add intermediate classes."

What's there to learn about keeping chickens in urban lots? For starters, says Burton, it's good to know if it's legal.

HOW TO KEEP CHICKENS IN A CITY ~ Chickens in Diapers

Join the "urban chicken movement" and raise your own backyard flock. Chickens are both fun and useful to keep. Don't expect to keep a breeding flock with noisy roosters, but your hens will earn their keep and provide enjoyment by laying eggs for you. Chickens can provide you with healthy, home grown eggs and meat, quality nitrogen-rich fertilizer, pest control and companionship. Perhaps surprisingly, a reasonable number of chickens can adapt very well to the constraints of an urban environment. It is even possible to keep chickens indoors through the use of diapers.