The Little Black Hen
Berryman and Baxter,Prettiboy and PennAnd old Farmer MiddletonAre five big men....And all of them were afterThe Little Black Hen.
She ran quickly,They ran fast;Baxter was first, andBerryman was last.I sat and watchedBy the old plum-tree....She squawked through the hedgeAnd she came to me.
The Little Black HenSaid "Oh, it's you!"I said "Thank you,How do you do?And please will you tell me,Little Black Hen,What did they want,Those five big men?"
The Little Black HenShe said to me:"They want me to lay themAn egg for tea.If they were Emperors,If they were Kings,I'm much too busyTo lay them things."
"I'm not a KingAnd I haven't a crown;I climb up trees,And I tumble down.I can shut one eye,I can count to ten,So lay me an egg, please,Little Black Hen."
The Little Black Hen said,"What will you pay,If I lay you an eggFor Easter Day?"
"I'll give you a PleaseAnd a How-do-you-do,I'll show you the BearWho lives in the Zoo,I'll show you the nettle-placeOn my leg,If you'll lay me a great bigEastery egg."
The Little Black HenSaid "I don't careFor a How-do-you-doOr a Big-brown-bear,But I'll lay you a beautifulEastery egg,If you'll show me the nettle-placeOn your leg."
I showed her the placeWhere I had my sting.She touched it gentlyWith one black wing."Nettles don't hurtIf you count to ten.And now for the egg,"Said the Little Black Hen.
When I wake upOn Easter Day,I shall see my eggShe's promised to lay.If I were Emperors,If I were Kings,It couldn't be fullerOf wonderful things.
Berryman and Baxter,Prettiboy and Penn,And old Farmer MiddletonAre five big men.All of them are wantingAn egg for their tea,But the Little Black Hen is much too busy,The Little Black Hen is much too busy,The Little Black Hen is MUCH too busy....She's laying my egg for me!
Words in this poem
- penn v. t.
- To write; to compose and commit to paper; to indite; to compose; as, to pen a sonnet.
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Little Black Hen is in the public domain. This text is taken from Now We Are Six, Project Gutenberg ebook #70516; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: A. A. Milne, The Little Black Hen, in Now We Are Six (1927), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70516, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/milne-now-we-are-six/the-little-black-hen.html, id L27238.
Form and metre
The Little Black Hen is 84 lines in 11 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%).
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -AAA-A baxter · pennA · middletonA · menA · after · henA
- 2 -A-A-B-B quickly · fastA · and · lastA · watched · treeB · hedge · meB
- 3 ABBB-A-A henA · youB · youB · doB · me · henA · want · menA
- 4 -A-A-B-B hen · meA · them · teaA · emperors · kingsB · busy · thingsB
- 5 -ABA-CBC king · crownA · treesB · downA · eye · tenC · pleaseB · henC
- 6 -A-A said · payA · egg · dayA
- 7 -A-A-B-B please · doA · bear · zooA · place · legB · big · eggB
- 8 -A-A-B-B hen · careA · do · bearA · beautiful · eggB · place · legB
- 9 -A-A-B-B place · stingA · gently · wingA · hurt · tenB · egg · henB
- 10 -A-A-B-B up · dayA · egg · layA · emperors · kingsB · fuller · thingsB
- 11 -AAA-BCCCB baxter · pennA · middletonA · menA · wanting · teaB · busyC · busyC · busyC · meB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Berryman and Baxter, | 6 | /˘˘·/˘ |
| Prettiboy and Penn | 5 | ····· |
| And old Farmer Middleton | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| Are five big men.... | 4 | ···· |
| And all of them were after | 7 | ······· |
| The Little Black Hen. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| She ran quickly, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| They ran fast; | 3 | ··· |
| Baxter was first, and | 5 | /˘··· |
| Berryman was last. | 5 | /˘˘·· |
| I sat and watched | 5 | ····˘ |
| By the old plum-tree.... | 5 | ····· |
| She squawked through the hedge | 6 | ··˘··· |
| And she came to me. | 5 | ····· |
| The Little Black Hen | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Said "Oh, it's you!" | 4 | ···· |
| I said "Thank you, | 4 | ···· |
| How do you do? | 4 | ···· |
| And please will you tell me, | 6 | ······ |
| Little Black Hen, | 4 | /˘·· |
| What did they want, | 4 | ···· |
| Those five big men?" | 4 | ···· |
| The Little Black Hen | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| She said to me: | 4 | ···· |
| "They want me to lay them | 6 | ······ |
| An egg for tea. | 4 | ···· |
| If they were Emperors, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| If they were Kings, | 4 | ···· |
| I'm much too busy | 5 | ···/˘ |
| To lay them things." | 4 | ···· |
| "I'm not a King | 4 | ···· |
| And I haven't a crown; | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| I climb up trees, | 4 | ···· |
| And I tumble down. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| I can shut one eye, | 5 | ····· |
| I can count to ten, | 5 | ····· |
| So lay me an egg, please, | 6 | ······ |
| Little Black Hen." | 4 | /˘·· |
| The Little Black Hen said, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "What will you pay, | 4 | ···· |
| If I lay you an egg | 6 | ······ |
| For Easter Day?" | 4 | ·/˘· |
| "I'll give you a Please | 5 | ····· |
| And a How-do-you-do, | 6 | ······ |
| I'll show you the Bear | 5 | ····· |
| Who lives in the Zoo, | 5 | ····· |
| I'll show you the nettle-place | 7 | ····/˘· |
| On my leg, | 3 | ··· |
| If you'll lay me a great big | 7 | ······· |
| Eastery egg." | 4 | ···· |
| The Little Black Hen | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Said "I don't care | 4 | ···· |
| For a How-do-you-do | 6 | ······ |
| Or a Big-brown-bear, | 5 | ····· |
| But I'll lay you a beautiful | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Eastery egg, | 4 | ···· |
| If you'll show me the nettle-place | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| On your leg." | 3 | ··· |
| I showed her the place | 6 | ··˘··· |
| Where I had my sting. | 5 | ····· |
| She touched it gently | 6 | ··˘·/˘ |
| With one black wing. | 4 | ···· |
| "Nettles don't hurt | 4 | /˘·· |
| If you count to ten. | 5 | ····· |
| And now for the egg," | 5 | ····· |
| Said the Little Black Hen. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| When I wake up | 4 | ···· |
| On Easter Day, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| I shall see my egg | 5 | ····· |
| She's promised to lay. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| If I were Emperors, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| If I were Kings, | 4 | ···· |
| It couldn't be fuller | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Of wonderful things. | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Berryman and Baxter, | 6 | /˘˘·/˘ |
| Prettiboy and Penn, | 5 | ····· |
| And old Farmer Middleton | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| Are five big men. | 4 | ···· |
| All of them are wanting | 6 | ····/˘ |
| An egg for their tea, | 5 | ····· |
| But the Little Black Hen is much too busy, | 11 | ··/˘·····/˘ |
| The Little Black Hen is much too busy, | 10 | ·/˘·····/˘ |
| The Little Black Hen is MUCH too busy.... | 10 | ·/˘·····/˘ |
| She's laying my egg for me! | 7 | ·/˘···· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.