The Story of Chicken Little: The Sky is Falling (2024)

There was once a big farm near a vast field, and here there lived a hen named Penny. She was great friends with everyone, and those who knew her gave her many names.

She was a tiny hen. The other chickens in the yard would tease her for her size. They often termed her “Chicken Little.” While Penny surprisingly loved this name, her favorite thing to be called was “Henny-Penny,” given to her by the other fowls that lived nearby. The rhyme was perfect, it was sweet, and she liked it very much.

One morning, as Henny-Penny was plucking worms in the henyard, an acorn dropped from a tree right onto her head! She had no idea what had hit her, however, and so she started shouting:

“The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”

She ran around in circles for a while, calmed herself, and then got right to waddling—she had to alert the king!

She waddled and waddled and waddled until she found her excellent friend Rooster-Booster.

“What’s the matter, Henny-Penny?” he asked.

“Oh, Rooster-Booster, the sky is falling! The sky is falling! And we must alert the king!” she cried.

“Oh, we must, we must!” he cried back.

Henny-Penny and Rooster-Booster waddled and waddled and waddled until they saw their wonderful pal Ducky-Chucky.

Now, Ducky-Chucky was basking in the sun near the pond’s edge when he noticed the two chickens fast-approaching.

“Henny-Penny, Rooster-Booster: hello! Fine day, isn’t it?” Ducky-Chucky giggled and splashed into the water.

“Oh, Ducky-Chucky, the sky is falling! The sky is falling! And we must alert the king!” Henny-Penny exclaimed.

“Oh, we must, we must!” Rooster-Booster chimed in.

Ducky-Chucky bounded from the pond and joined his friends immediately. As he shook his little webbed feet free of water, he felt the warm sun dry them quickly and wondered how the sky could fall on a warm summer’s day such as this one.

He looked at the concern on his friends’ faces, nevertheless, and shrugged his wonders away.

Henny-Penny, Rooster-Booster, and Ducky-Chucky waddled and waddled and waddled until they met up with the brawny Goosie-Brucie floating with ease at the other end of the pond.

“Oh, Goosie-Brucie,” Henny-Penny began, “the sky is falling! The sky is falling! We must alert the king!”

“Oh, we must, we must!” Rooster-Booster chimed in.

Ducky-Chucky looked back up at the blazing sun and again wondered how the sky could fall on a warm summer’s day such as this one.

Goosie-Brucie wanted to protect his fowl friends, and he wanted to join them on their journey to the nearby palace, but he had a question about the sky above.

“Henny-Penny…” he started. “How do you know the sky is falling?”

“Well, it fell right on my head!” she answered.

Goosie-Brucie puffed his chest feathers instantly and moved right along, shrugging his question away.

Henny-Penny, Rooster-Booster, Ducky-Chucky, and Goosie-Brucie waddled and waddled and waddled until they came to the farm fence. They noticed the eccentric Turkey-Perky pecking on the other side.

“Oh, Turkey-Perky, the sky is falling! The sky is falling! We must alert the king!” Henny-Penny squealed.

“Oh, we must, we must!” Rooster-Booster chimed in.

Again, Ducky-Chucky, now hot as ever and missing his pond, wondered how the sky could fall on a warm summer’s day such as this one.

Goosie-Brucie again asked aloud, “How do we know the sky is falling?”

“It fell right on my head, I say, I say!” Henny-Penny shouted in desperation.

Now, Turkey-Perky stopped pecking and turned to the group:

“Rooster-Booster, did you see the sky fall?”

“No, I did not,” the rooster replied quietly.

“And, Ducky-Chucky, you look strained: how are you feeling?” Turkey-Perky asked.

“Well, I am concerned, I am hot, and I wonder how the sky could be falling on such a beautiful day,” he replied.

“And Goosie-Brucie,” Turkey-Perky turned to the burly bird, “You do not see any sky falling, do you?”

“No, I do not,” the goose responded.

“Ha-ha! Well, then, I will come with you on your merry way, but we’ve all got some doubts, Penny!” the turkey said with glee. He was interested to see where this adventure would go.

Henny-Penny, Rooster-Booster, Ducky-Chucky, Goosie-Brucie, and Turkey-Perky waddled and waddled and waddled until they could see the palace just beyond the farmer’s field.

As they waddled over the last hill of the vast field, they saw a flash of reddish-brown before them. It was Mr. Fox!

None of the fowl friends had met this sly creature before, but they had heard rumors of his trickery and appetite. Henny-Penny and Rooster-Booster were oblivious, though, and desperate to keep moving. Ducky-Chucky suddenly shivered, forgetting the day’s heat, while Goosie-Brucie’s chest became even puffier; Turkey-Perky just stopped and smiled.

“Hello, hello, hello,” cooed the fox.

“Oh, Mr. Fox, the sky is falling! The sky is falling! We must alert the king!” Henny-Penny shouted.

“Oh, we must, we must!” Rooster-Booster chimed in. But the other birds stayed silent.

“Ah, yes, the sky is falling! And I know where the king is!” replied a delighted Mr. Fox. He licked his lips and gestured the birds to follow him past a large tree and back over the hill.

Henny-Penny and Rooster-Booster began to waddle and waddle and waddle in the direction of Mr. Fox. Turkey-Perky whispered something to Ducky-Chucky and Goosie-Brucie, and then the three waddled closely behind the rest.

As Mr. Fox led Henny-Penny and Rooster-Booster into a hole in the hill just under the tree, Ducky-Chucky bounded into action. There was a small patch of water beside the opening, and the duck giggled with delight as he splashed his feet loudly.

Rooster-Booster and Mr. Fox re-emerged from the hole, suddenly distracted by all the quacking and splashing. Goosie-Brucie looked at Turkey-Perky, who gave him the signal, and stood right under the tree over the hole. The goose puffed his chest out as hard as he could muster and bumped the trunk, causing the tree to shake. Several acorns fell, covering the hole and hitting Mr. Fox, knocking him out cold. Turkey-Perky pecked and pecked and pecked up the acorns until there was just enough room for the tiny hen to escape out of the hole. “Chicken Little” indeed! By now, she had seen the acorns collapse and knew what had fallen on her head earlier.

Henny-Penny, Rooster-Booster, Ducky-Chucky, Goosie-Brucie, and Turkey-Perky waddled and waddled and waddled back home to safety. Henny-Penny hugged her fowl friends and kissed Turkey-Perky on the cheek, grateful that the fox had not eaten them—and that the world was not ending! Instead, they all lived happily ever after.

The End.

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My name is Tasha Guenther. I currently live in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, while I finish my Ph.D. in Cultural Studies with a concentration in digital cultures at McMaster University. I am an avid academic essay/book chapter writer, but I also enjoy writing short stories and non-fiction pieces. You can read more of my DLTKsCrafts work here!

Alongside my learning, studying, and thinking about digital platforms and critical theory, I appreciate long conversations with close friends, reading poetry, and taking photos of my cat. Learn more about mehereor connect with me on myInstagram,Twitter, VSCO, andFacebook accounts.