(Chicken Little stands between the Cock and the Hen. The Hen has a wing on his head.)
Hen. Look, father, how nice our little son is! (Chicken Little raises his head proudly.) Sonny, my dear sonny, say “How do you do” to your father!
Chicken Little. How do you do, daddy!
Cock. How clever our son is!
Hen. Now, my darling, make a pretty bow!
(Chicken Little makes a bow.)
Cock. Oh, my dear sonny, you are strong, you can do everything!
(Chicken Little raises his head higher and sticks out his chest.)
Hen. Now I must go and get some crumbs and seeds for you, my dear little sonny-boy!
Cock. And I must go and cry cock-a-doodle-doo.
Hen. My dear son, you may play here, in the yard!
Chicken Little. Yes, mummy! Goodbye, daddy!
(The Cock and the Hen go away.)
Chicken Little (walks up and down). I am clever, I am strong, I can do everything! I am clever, I am strong, I can do everything!
(The Frog jumps up to him.)
Frog. Croak, croak! Hallo, Chicken Little!
Chicken Little. Hallo, Frog! Look at me! I am clever, I am strong, I can do everything. Mammy says so, daddy says so.
Frog. Can you jump? Look! (He jumps across the stage.)
Chicken Little. Of course, I can! I can do everything! Mummy and daddy say so! (He begins to jump, falls down and cries.) Mummy, mummy! Oh, my leg!
Hen. I am here! Oh, my poor little chicken! (She bandages his leg.) Now, now, here are some crumbs for you! (Chicken Little eats them up.) My poor little darling! (She goes away.)
(The Cat comes on the stage. Chicken Little crosses the stage. He cannot walk well.)
Cat. Miaow! Hallo, Chicken Little! Are you ill?
Chicken Little. Hallo, Cat. I am not ill. I am strong. I am clever, I can do everything. Mummy and daddy say so.
Cat. And can you say “miaow”?
Chicken Little. I can do everything! Listen: peep, peep, peep!
Cat. But that is not “miaow”, it is “peep, peep”! And can you catch rats?
Chicken Little. Oh. Yes, I can! I can do everything!
(The Rat appears.)
Rat. Hallo, hallo, Chicken Little, can you catch me? Chicken Little, catch me, catch me!
(The Rat runs. Chicken Little runs after it, then the Rat looks round, turns and runs after Chicken Little. It bites him on the head.)
Chicken Little (cries). Mummy, mummy, come here! My head, my head! Oh, oh, mummy!
(The Hen runs up to him.)
Hen. Oh, my dear, oh, my poor little sonny-boy! Don’t cry! (She bandages his head.) Here are some seeds for you! (Chicken Little eats them up.) My poor little child! Are you well now? Yes, you are, I see you are. You can eat seeds.
(She goes away. The Frog, the Cat and the Rat come up to Chicken Little.) Frog. I don’t think he is clever.
Rat. I don’t think he is strong.
Cat. What can he do? He can do nothing.
Chicken Little (stamps his foot). But I am clever, I am strong, I can do everything! Mummy and daddy say so!
Frog. But it is not true!
Cat. No, it is not true!
Rat. You must learn and learn.
Frog. Then you will be clever.
Cat. Then you will be strong.
Rat. Then you will be able to do everything.
Frog, Cat, Rat (together). But now you are only a silly little chicken! Goodbye!
