When Little Red Chicken comes home excited about what she learned in school, she explains to Papa that every story has "an elephant of surprise."

It's bright and early on a Saturday morning, and the little red chicken wants cookies for breakfast. What better way to persuade Papa than by jarring him awake and gleefully interjecting cookies-and herself!-into every nursery rhyme they read together? Though the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe heartily endorses the little red chicken's plan, Papa has his own idea for a sweet breakfast for his determined daughter.