Once upon a time, there was a Little Red Hen and her chicks. They lived with a pig, a dog, and a cat.
One day, the Little Red Hen was in such a good mood that she bought tickets for a five-day trip to Las Vegas. Having three extra tickets, she invited the pig, the dog, and the cat. This made a major dent in her savings, but not one of them had taken a vacation in quite a while.
When the group landed in Las Vegas, the excited bunch rented rooms in a hotel, only yards away from Caesar's Palace. This proved to be nicely convenient, considering how much taxis cost.
The next day the Little Red Hen, the chicks, the pig, the dog, and the cat set out to do a little gambling.
"Who will help me watch the chicks while we visit the casino?" asked the Little Red Hen.
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the dog.
"Not I," said the cat.
"Well," said the Little Red Hen, "then I shall watch them myself!"
And she did.
Soon, the Little Red Hen ran out of poker chips in the midst of a game.
"Who will loan me a chip?" asked the Little Red Hen, even though she knew it was highly unlikely that they would.
As if in answer to her thoughts:
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the dog.
"Not I," said the cat.
"Then I shall have to borrow one from someone else."
She did not find anyone, and the poor Little Red Hen lost that game and her money.
Later, they were wondering the time. They assumed it was very late since the moon was high in the sky. If you figure right, it was actually very close to closing time. They were right.
"Who will help me ask the Caesar's Palace worker what it is?"
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the dog.
"Not I," said the cat.
"Alright," said the Little Red Hen, "I will ask him myself."
A minute later she came back. "It closes at 1:00 A.M. It is now 12:30 A.M. We only have a half hour!" she exclaimed breathlessly. The Little Red Hen was running out of money. She limited herself to one more game. The Little Red Hen approached a beautiful slot machine with her chicks at her side.
She pushed in the money and grasped hold of the handle. Clutching it tightly, she pulled hard, but it wouldn't budge!
"Who will help me pull the handle down?" asked the Little Red Hen.
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the dog.
"Not I," said the cat.
"Then I shall have my chicks help me."
And they did.
Three jackpot signs came up. The hen squealed with delight as millions of dollars of quarters squirted out.
"Who will help me use up all this money?" asked the proud Little Red Hen.
"I," said the pig.
"I," said the dog.
"I," said the cat.
"No, you will not!" cried the Little Red Hen, starting to get very angry.
"You did not help me watch the chicks, you did not lend me a poker chip when I needed one, you did not come with me to ask what time it was, and you would not help me pull down that darned handle... so you will not share my money!!!" exclaimed the Little Red Hen in such a way that she scared the animals.
As you might guess, the pig, the dog, and the cat were a little angry, but they got what they deserved.
The Little Red Hen filled up her savings again and planned a cruise to Hawaii. Currently, the pig, the dog, and the cat are poor, begging panhandlers. The chicks are movie stars, and the Little Red Hen is a rich New York showgirl.
It all goes to show that if you do what is right, however that is brought to you, your work will pay off in the long run. If you don't, you may wind up with the pig, the dog, and the cat as poor, begging panhandlers.