ਛੋਟੀ ਲਾਲ ਮੁਰਗੀ
The Little Red Hen
Bilingual Punjabi + English English folk tale Ages 4-8
, , ਰੌਲੇ-ਰੱਪੇ ਬੱਤਖ਼ ਨਾਲ ਰਹਿੰਦੀ ।
Once upon a time, a little red hen lived on a farm with a lazy cat, a sleepy dog, and a noisy duck.
। , " ਬੀਜਣ ਕਰੇਗਾ?"
One day the little red hen found some grains of wheat. "Who will help me plant this wheat?" she asked.
" ," । " ," । " ," ਬੱਤਖ਼ ।
"Not I," said the cat. "Not I," said the dog. "Not I," said the duck.
" ," । ।
"Then I will plant it myself," said the little red hen. And she did.
ਗਈ। , " ਕੱਟਣ ਕਰੇਗਾ?"
The wheat grew tall and golden. "Who will help me cut the wheat?" she asked.
" ," । " ," । " ," ਬੱਤਖ਼ ।
"Not I," said the cat. "Not I," said the dog. "Not I," said the duck.
" ," । ।
"Then I will cut it myself," said the little red hen. And she did.
" ਬਣਾਉਣ ਲਿਜਾਣ ਕਰੇਗਾ?" ।
"Who will help me take the wheat to the mill to grind it into flour?" she asked.
" ," । " ," । " ," ਬੱਤਖ਼ ।
"Not I," said the cat. "Not I," said the dog. "Not I," said the duck.
" ," । ।
"Then I will do it myself," said the little red hen. And she did.
ਆਖ਼ਰਕਾਰ ਕੋਲ । , " ਬਣਾਉਣ ਕਰੇਗਾ?"
At last she had soft white flour. "Who will help me bake the bread?" she asked.
" ," । " ," । " ," ਬੱਤਖ਼ ।
"Not I," said the cat. "Not I," said the dog. "Not I," said the duck.
" ਬਣਾਵਾਂਗੀ," । ।
"Then I will bake it myself," said the little red hen. And she did.
, ਗਈ। , " ਕਰੇਗਾ?"
Soon a warm, lovely smell filled the farm. "Who will help me eat the bread?" she asked.
" !" । " !" । " !" ਬੱਤਖ਼ ।
"I will!" said the cat. "I will!" said the dog. "I will!" said the duck.
ਮੁਸਕਰਾਈ। " , । ਨਾਲ ।"
The little red hen smiled. "When there was work to do, none of you would help. So today I will share with my chicks instead."
, ਬੱਤਖ਼ ਹੋਇਆ। , ਨਾਲ ਆਏ।
The cat, the dog, and the duck felt sorry. The very next day, they all hurried to help with the work.
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A public-domain English folk tale tale, retold and translated into Punjabi (Gurmukhi) for diaspora families by Maastarji. Read together to build Punjabi reading confidence.
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Frequently asked questions
- Is "The Little Red Hen" written in Gurmukhi?
- Yes. The full story is written in Punjabi (Gurmukhi script) as “ਛੋਟੀ ਲਾਲ ਮੁਰਗੀ”, with the English shown alongside so you can read both together. You can hide the English to read in Gurmukhi only.
- Can my child read this if they are still learning Punjabi?
- Yes. Keep the English on so a new reader can follow the meaning while they sound out the Gurmukhi. As they grow more confident, switch to “Gurmukhi only” for reading practice.
- Is this story free to read?
- Yes — every story on Maastarji is free to read online, with no sign-up. “The Little Red Hen” is a public-domain English folk tale tale, retold and translated into Punjabi for diaspora families.
