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The Hen and the Badger

ySRuJG;vHm Written by ySRwhw>8DR Illustrated by

pDRzD'X. Saw Powder Betsy LePlatt
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The Hen and the Badger

ySRuJG;vHm Written by ySRwhw>8DR Illustrated by

pDRzD'X. Saw Powder Betsy LePlatt

This book was published as a project of the Saint Paul Public Library and The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library,
with the generous support of Sandra Schloff. Copyright © 2015 by Saint Paul Public Library. All rights reserved,
including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
ISBN 978-0-9967337-0-0 (paperback)/ 978-0-9967337-2-4 (ebook)
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Once upon a time in a quiet village near the mountains,
there lived an old woman, a mother hen, and five little
chicks. Their house was at the far edge of the village.
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One day, a hungry badger came by and saw the mother
hen and her little chicks. The sneaky badger made
friends with the old woman, the hen, and the
chicks. All day long, the badger and
the chickens played.
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In the evening, the badger asked, “Oh mother hen, where will
you sleep tonight?” The mother hen replied, “I can’t tell you,
because you will eat us.” “But we played all day,” said the
badger. Mother hen didn’t want to be rude
to her new friend, but she did not
trust the badger. She said,
“We will sleep by the fire.”
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When it was dark, the mother hen and the little chicks
slept high on the shelf—away from the fire.
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The badger crept in quietly so the old woman wouldn’t hear
him. He sniffed all around the fire, because he was very
hungry and he wanted to have some chicken for dinner.

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He could not find the mother
hen and her chicks.
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In the morning, he asked, “Oh mother hen, where did you
sleep last night? I could not find you.” The mother hen told
the badger, “We slept on the shelf.” For the rest of the day,
the badger and the chicks played hide-and-seek.

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In the evening, the badger asked the hen,
“Where will you sleep tonight?”
The hen replied, “We will
sleep under the house.”
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That night, the badger went under the house to look
for the mother hen and her chicks.

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Still, he could not find them.
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In the morning, the badger asked, “Oh mother hen, where
did you sleep last night? I could not find you.” The hen
replied, “We slept in the wash area.” That day, the badger
and the chickens played tag.
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In the evening, the badger asked the hen, “Where will you
sleep tonight?” The mother hen replied, “We will sleep in
the bamboo jug.”
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That night, the badger looked
for the mother hen and her
chicks in the bamboo jug. He
did not find them. He was
very hungry and very angry,
so he decided to keep looking.
He looked by the fire. He
looked on the shelf. He looked
under the house. Finally, he
looked in the wash area. He
still could not find the mother
hen and her chicks.
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The hen and chicks were hidden inside a large, dry gourd. One
of the chicks said, “Mommy, I want to sneeze.” The mother hen
said, “Don’t sneeze. If you sneeze, the badger will know we are
sleeping here.” The young chick was scared
and held onto his sneeze.
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The hungry badger was still looking for the hen and her
chicks and getting closer to the gourd. The mother hen and
her chicks were getting very nervous.
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The little chick said again, “Mommy, I have to sneeze.” The
mother hen said, “You can’t sneeze. If you sneeze, the badger
will hear you.” The little chick held onto the sneeze.

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But the little chick’s nose really itched, and he really had
to sneeze, so he said, “Mommy, I HAVE TO SNEEZE!” The
mother hen replied, “Shh … shh … shh.”
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The badger heard the little chick talking to the mother
hen, and he crept closer and closer to the gourd.
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As the badger came close to the gourd, the little chick said,
“Mommy, I can’t hold this anymore! Ha—ha—ha—CHOO!” The
gourd exploded into many pieces.

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The badger jumped up and ran away. Too startled to watch
where he was going, the badger crashed into a post and hit
his head.
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The old woman woke up when she heard
the sneeze. She scooped up the badger,
threw him in the stew pot,
and cooked him up.
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The mother hen and her five little chicks went back to bed
and slept soundly, not worried about the badger anymore.
ISBN 978-0-9967337-0-0 (paperback)
ISBN 978-0-9967337-2-4 (ebook)