Henny Penny facts for kids
Henny Penny, also known as Chicken Little or Chicken Licken, is a very old folk tale. It's a story with a lesson, told in a special way where events build up. The main character is a chicken who believes the world is ending!
The famous phrase "The sky is falling!" comes from this story. People use it today as an idiom. It means someone is panicking or wrongly believes a disaster is about to happen. This tale has been around for over 2,500 years. You can still find references to it in books, movies, and more.
Contents
The Story and Its Names
There are many versions of the "Chicken Little" story. The most popular one starts when an acorn falls on the chick's head. The chick thinks the sky is falling down! It decides to go tell the King.
On its journey, the chick meets other animals. Most of these are other birds. They all decide to join the chick on its quest to see the King.
Different Endings
The story can end in different ways. In one common ending, a fox invites all the animals into its den. Then, the fox eats them all. In another version, one animal, usually Cocky Locky, warns the chick. This allows the chick to escape. In other happy endings, all the animals are saved. They finally get to speak to the King.
Character Names
In most versions, the animals have fun, rhyming names. Some common names include Chicken Licken or Chicken Little. There's also Henny Penny or Hen-Len. Other characters are Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky, Drakey Lakey, Goosey Loosey, and Turkey Lurkey. The fox is often called Foxy Loxy.
Lessons from the Story
The moral, or lesson, of the story changes with the ending. If the story has a happy ending, the lesson is about courage. It teaches you not to be a "Chicken" (meaning scared). If the birds are eaten by the fox, the fable warns you. It tells you not to believe everything you hear.
Where the Story is Called What
In the United States, the story is most often called "Chicken Little." Children's books from the early 1800s show this. In Britain and other former British colonies, it's usually known as "Henny Penny" or "Chicken Licken." These names were also used in the United States.
Images for kids
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"There was once a little chick named Kluk": beginning of the 1823 Danish version of the story.
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Title page of The Remarkable Story of Chicken Little
See also
In Spanish: Henny Penny para niños
