The Speckled Hen

There once lived a grandfather and a grandmother. They had a speckled hen. The hen laid a whole oven shelf full of eggs. The grandmother gathered the eggs into a pot and placed it on the stove shelf. A mouse ran by, flicked its tail, the pot fell, and the eggs broke.

The grandfather cries, the grandmother cries, the hen clucks, the gate creaks, wood chips fly, magpies chatter, geese honk, dogs bark...

A wolf comes by:

"Grandfather, grandmother, why are you crying?"

"How can we not cry? We had a speckled hen. She laid a whole oven shelf full of eggs. The grandmother gathered the eggs into a pot and placed it on the stove shelf. A mouse ran by, flicked its tail, the pot fell, and the eggs broke."

And the wolf howled.

A bear comes by:

"Wolf, why are you howling?"

"How can I not howl? There once lived a grandfather and a grandmother. They had a speckled hen. The hen laid a whole oven shelf full of eggs. The grandmother gathered the eggs into a pot and placed it on the stove shelf. A mouse ran by, flicked its tail, the pot fell, and the eggs broke. The grandfather cries, the grandmother cries, the hen clucks, the gate creaks, wood chips fly, magpies chatter, geese honk, dogs bark... But I can't bark, so I howl instead."

The bear listened to the tale and, out of frustration, tore off his own tail. And that's why, ever since, he has lived with a stubby tail.

↑ To the top

The Speckled Hen

More fairy tales