Now We Are Six/The Little Black Hen

by Alan Alexander Milne

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Berryman and Baxter,
Prettiboy and Penn
And old Farmer Middleton
Are five big men . . .
And all of them were after
The Little Black Hen.

She ran quickly,
They ran fast;
Baxter was first, and
Berryman was last.
I sat and watched
By the old plum-tree . . .
She squawked through the hedge
And she came to me.

The Little Black Hen
Said “Oh, it’s you!”
I said “Thank you,
How do you do?
And please will you tell me,
Little Black Hen,
What did they want,
Those five big men?”

The Little Black Hen
She said to me:
“They want me to lay them
An egg for tea.
If they were Emperors,
If they were Kings,
I’m much too busy
To lay them things.”

“I’m not a King
And I haven't a crown;
I climb up trees,
And I tumble down.
I can shut one eye,
I can count to ten,
So lay me an egg, please,
Little Black Hen.”

The Little Black Hen said,
“What will you pay,
If I lay you an egg
For Easter Day?”

“I’ll give you a Please
And a How-do-you-do,
I’ll show you the Bear
Who lives in the Zoo,
I’ll show you the nettle-place
On my leg,
If you’ll lay me a great big
Eastery egg.”

The Little Black Hen
Said “I don’t care
For a How-do-you-do
Or a Big-brown-bear,
But I’ll lay you a beautiful
Eastery egg,
If you’ll show me the nettle-place
On your leg.”

I showed her the place
Where I had my sting.
She touched it gently
With one black wing.
“Nettles don’t hurt
If you count to ten.
And now for the egg,”
Said the Little Black Hen.

When I wake up
On Easter Day,
I shall see my egg
She’s promised to lay.
If I were Emperors,
If I were Kings,
It couldn’t be fuller
Of wonderful things.

Berryman and Baxter,
Prettiboy and Penn,
And Old Farmer Middleton
Are five big men.
All of them are wanting
An egg for their tea,
But the Little Black Hen is much too busy,
The Little Black Hen is much too busy,
The Little Black Hen is MUCH too busy . . .
She’s laying my egg for me!