I love this story!  And I am so glad to see that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt continues to publish it.  It was originally published in 1979 and renewed in 2001.  The little red hen works her tailfeathers off gardening, cleaning, and cooking, and when she asks for help from the dog, the cat, and the mouse, they are all ‘too busy’ to even give her a glance.  At the end when she asks for help to eat the cake, they are all wide awake, eager to help, but she shows her backbone and eats it all herself.  She shows them!  Next time they learn to pitch in and help with the work if they want to enjoy the benefits.  This story is so good to teach young children to help with the work and not to be lazy.  This book and other classic folk tales needs to be in every elementary library and every child needs to be familiar with the story and the concept.  Illustrations have great color and simplicity, while remaining interesting.