ly
she noticed a tiny piece of paper lying on the ground. "Quirrichi,
quirrichi, what luck!" she said to herself. "This must be a letter.
One time when the king, the great ruler of our country, held his court
in the meadow close by, many people brought him letters and laid them
at his feet. Now I, too, even I, the little white hen, have a letter.
I am going to carry my letter to the king."

The next morning the little white hen started bravely out on her long
journey. She carried the letter very carefully in her little brown
basket. It was a long distance to the royal palace where the king
lived. The little white hen had never been so far from home in all her
life.

After a while she met a friendly fox. Foxes and little white hens are
not usually very good friends, you know, but this fox was a friend of
the little white hen. Once upon a time she had helped the fox to
escape from a trap and the fox had never forgotten her kindness to
him.

"O, little white hen, where are you going?" asked the fox.

"Quirrichi, quirrichi," replied the little white hen, "I am going to
the royal palace to carry a letter to the king."

"Indeed, little white hen," said the fox, "I should like to go with
you. Give me your permission to accompany you on your journey."

"I shall be glad to have you go with me," said the little white hen.
"It is a very long journey to the royal palace where the king lives.
Wouldn't you like me to carry you in my little brown basket?"

The fox climbed into the little brown basket. After the little white
hen had gone on for some distance farther she met a river. Once upon a
time the little white hen had done the river a kindness. He had, with
great difficulty, thrown some ugly worms upon the bank and he was
afraid they would crawl back in again. The little white hen had eaten
them for him. Always after that the river had been her friend.

"O, little white hen, where are you going?" the river called out as
soon as he saw her.

"Quirrichi, quirrichi, I am going to the royal palace to carry a
letter to the king," replied the little white hen.

"O, little white hen, may I go with you?" asked the river.

The little white hen told the river that he might go with her and
asked him to ride in the little brown basket. So the river climbed
into the little brown basket.

After the little white hen had journeyed along for a time she came to
a fire. Once upon a time, when the fire had been dying the little
white