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 get well for a long time. In fact it was winter before he got out of the house again.

Now shouldn’t you suppose that after all this the Rooster would never again disobey the little Hen? If only he had he would be alive to this day. Listen, now, to what happened:

One morning when he got up, he saw that ice was beginning to form on the river.

“Goody! Goody!” he cried. “Now I can go sliding on the ice!”

“Oh, my dear,” the little Hen said, “you mustn’t go sliding on the ice yet! It’s dangerous! Wait a few days until it’s frozen harder and then go sliding.”

But would the Rooster listen to the little Hen? No! He just insisted on running out that very moment and sliding on the thin ice.

And do you know what happened?

The ice broke and he fell in the river and, before the little Hen could get help, he was drowned!

And it was all his own fault, too, for the little Hen had begged him to wait until the ice was safer.