Fresh Bread American Style
>
>Once upon a time, on a farm in TEXAS, there was a
little red hen
>who scratched about the barnyard until she uncovered
quite a few
>grains of wheat. She called all of her neighbors
together and
>said, "If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread
to eat. Who will
>help me plant it? "Not I," said the cow. "Not I,"
said the duck.
>"Not I," said the pig. "Not I," said the goose.
"Then I will do it
>by myself," said the little red hen. And so she did;
The wheat grew
>very tall and ripened into golden grain.
>
>"Who will help me reap my wheat?" asked the little
red hen. "Not
>I," said the duck. "Out of my classification," said
the pig. "I'd
>lose my seniority," said the cow. "I'd lose my
unemployment
>compensation," said the goose. "Then I will do it by
myself," said
>the little red hen, and so she did.
>
>At last it came time to bake the bread. "Who will
help me bake the
>bread?" asked the little red hen. "That would be
overtime for me,"
>said the cow. "I'd lose my welfare benefits," said
the duck. "I'm
>a dropout and never learned how," said the pig. "If
I'm to be the
>only helper, that's discrimination," said the goose.
"Then I will
>do it by myself," said the little red hen. She baked
five loaves
>and held them up for her neighbors to see. They
wanted some and,
>in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen
said, "No, I
>shall eat all five loaves."
>
>"Excess profits!" cried the cow. "Capitalist leech!"
screamed the
>duck. "I demand equal rights!" yelled the goose.
The pig just
>grunted in disdain. And they all painted "Unfair!"
picket signs and
>marched around and around the little red hen,
shouting
>obscenities.
>
>Then a government agent came, he said to the little
red hen, "You
>must not be so greedy." "But I earned the bread,"
said the little
>red hen.
>
>"Exactly," said the agent. "That is what makes our
free enterprise
>system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can
earn as much as he
>wants. But under our modern government regulations,
the productive
>workers must divide the fruits of their labor with
those who are
>lazy and idle."
>
>And they all lived happily ever after, including the
little red hen,
>who smiled and clucked, "I am grateful, for now I
truly >
>understand."
>
>But her neighbors became quite disappointed in her..
She never again
>baked bread because she joined the "party" and got
her bread free.
>And all the Democrats smiled. 'Fairness' had been
established.
>Individual initiative had died but nobody noticed;
perhaps no one
>cared, as long as there was free bread.
> |
