Children's Song

The most spirited animal on the farm
Was a little rooster.
He was always diligent.
On the roof he stood and crowed,
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
Happily, he woke up the world.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" A little rooster stood on the roof, crowing sonorously to announce the arrival of the dawn. When the people and animals on the farm heard his voice, they began to stir. Even the hands of the clocks began to run more vigorously.

Only one rooster was allowed to announce the break of day on every farm. Originally, it would have been impossible for the little rooster to get this honorable job. A big, cocky rooster had done it for years, but then he was replaced by the little rooster. What happened?

The little rooster had seen the big rooster crowing on the roof ever since he was born. He envied the big rooster and hoped that one day he could undertake the task.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" He practiced crowing every day, but the others always laughed at him. "Hey, little rooster, what an awful noise you make! It'll never be your turn to announce the arrival of the dawn." But the little rooster was not discouraged, and he practiced even harder.

Now let's talk about the big rooster. He had been crowing at dawn on the farm for five years. However, time gradually weakened his will and he started to get lazy.

He no longer crowed with might and main. Sometimes he only hollered "cock..." Although the earth still woke and the sun still rose to his shortened crow, all the animals on the farm were confused. They asked each other, "What's the matter with the big rooster? How come his crow only has one sound?"

The pigs were the worst victims. They always woke up after the big rooster crowed seven times. Now with the rooster crowing only once, it was impossible for them to wake up, so they kept on sleeping. When the farmer found the pigs still in bed, he was so angry that he refused to feed them for one whole day.

The big rooster became lazier and lazier. He recorded his crow and broadcast it from the roof every morning.

Usually the big rooster crowed forty-nine times at dawn. With a stereo, his crowing could be replayed one hundred and fifty-two times. It seemed to save him a lot of time and energy. "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" For several days in a row, the rooster announced the coming of dawn with his stereo. Although it sounded strange, no one complained.

One day, the farmer found his stereo missing. He turned the farm inside out, and finally found the machine on the roof. He then commanded all the animals to gather in front of the barn.

"Who stole my stereo? Turn that audacious thief in or you won't get any food today," he threatened.

The animals trembled, and no one dared to say anything. Suddenly, there was a stir among the pigs. One of them said, "The big rooster stole your stereo."

"What! The big rooster?" The angry farmer turned to stare at the rooster.

Since all the animals were pointing at him, the big rooster knew that it was impossible for him to get away with it. He was so scared that he couldn't stop shivering.

"Why did you steal my stereo?"

"I... I... I took it to announce the arrival of the dawn."

"What! To announce the arrival of the dawn!" exclaimed the furious farmer. "What a lazy animal! YOU ARE FIRED!"

So, the big rooster lost his job.

Now the farmer needed a new rooster to succeed him. All the roosters on the farm wanted to do the job. They jostled against each other to apply for it. The little rooster was small and weak, so he was shoved and elbowed to the sidelines. There were more applicants than the farmer had expected, so he decided to give a test.

The applicants took turns to show their crowing skill. But since they had hardly ever practiced, they failed one by one. Finally, it was the little rooster's turn. "Cock-a-doodle-doo..." To everyone's surprise, his crow was loud and long. Immediately, he was appointed to take over the big rooster's job.

"Be a hard worker, little rooster, and don't you ever try to cut corners if you want to do a good job," said the farmer.

"Yes, sir, you may rest assured that I won't let you down," the little rooster answered.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" The next day, he crowed on time at the crack of dawn. The farmer smiled and nodded his head in satisfaction.