Grandma had an amazing memory. One of her favorite stories was "A Little Wee Small Red Hen." This story-poem came from a little storybook she often read to her daughter LaWana, who was born in 1920. Her children remember that when they were small, she would recite the "Red Hen" to them when she mixed and kneaded bread. Larry remembers climbing up on the counter to watch her roll out the loaves and to listen to the story.
She had the whole story-poem memorized and each character had a different voice. Even now, in my mind, I can hear her do the voices of the Red Hen, the Fox, and Mrs. Fox - even though she died in 1984. And I'm amazed that I still have some parts of it in my head, even though I never purposefully memorized it.
Grandma became famous for this story. She recited it at public gatherings, and made a life-size fox costume that she put on a stick and took with her to do her readings. This photo is of her in her later years with the fox. (My brother Greg is in the costume.)
I really loved the "Red Hen" and when I was little she wrote up the whole story for me, including illustrations that she cut out from that little storybook. You can see the originals below - on the last page, you can see her personal note to me.
This story as told by Grandma Perkins is part of our heritage. If you are one of her descendants, I'm sure you are familiar with it.
What stories and poems are your family's favorites? Please leave a comment and tell me what stories are part of your heritage!
Comments Imported from Blogger:
The picture of Grandma and Greg in the costume didn't show for me...it's one of my favorites. this blog is awesome. ~Jenny