Once upon a time there was a little girl whom everyone called Little Red Riding Hood – after the little red velvet bonnet she wore. She lived happily with her mummy and daddy, who loved her very much, as did everyone else, because she was sweet and obedient. Little Red Riding Hood had a grandmother who lived at the edge of the forest.
One day her mother said to her, “Little Red Riding Hood, Grandma is sick and needs something good to eat. I’ve put some cake and dandelion wine in the basket, go and take it to her. But be careful not to go off the forest path and not to stop to talk with strangers!”
The Little Red Riding Hood obeyed her mother and set off on her journey. She kept to the well-trodden forest path until she noticed red berries around the path that smelled inviting. She picked one, then another, and liked them so much that she scrounged all around to pick as many as she could. While picking, she went deeper into the forest and suddenly a wolf appeared in front of her!
“Where are you going, Little Red Riding Hood?” the wolf asked, trying to sound friendly.
“I’m going to see my grandmother, who is sick. I am to bring her a basket of cake and wine,” replied the Little Red Riding Hood.
“That’s very nice of you. And where does your grandmother live?” The wolf asked next.
“On the edge of the forest, in a little house with a red roof,” said Little Red Riding Hood. “She takes care of the forest animals, brings them food to the bird feeder in the winter and nurses them when they are sick or injured.”
“Oh, I know that one. And you know what? I’ll give you a shortcut that will get you there faster. Take this path to the left and then turn right at the big oak tree. You’ll find it’s much shorter than this way,” the wolf said to Little Red Riding Hood, looking sly.
“Really? That’s very kind of you. Thank you,” the Little Red Riding Hood thanked him and followed the wolf’s advice.
But meanwhile, the wolf quickly made his way down the main path to Grandma’s house. “Grandma, it’s me, Little Red Riding Hood. I brought you something good to eat.”
Grandma thought it was really her granddaughter and said, “Come in, my child, the door is unlocked.”
The wolf came in, saw Grandma lying in bed and jumped on her in a flash. Grandmother was frightened and began to cry for help. But the wolf quickly swallowed her whole and then got into bed. He put on his grandmother’s hat, put on her glasses and covered himself with the duvet.
After some time, the Little Red Riding Hood finally arrived and discovered that the wolf’s shortcut was actually longer than the main road. She knocked on the door and called: “Grandma, it’s me, Little Red Riding Hood. I brought you something good to eat.” The wolf disguised as Grandma called in the sweetest voice he could muster: “Come in, my child, the door is unlocked.”
The Little Red Riding Hood went in and asked Grandma straight away why she had such a strange voice. “It’s my cold, little girl,” said the wolf in disguise, in a croaky voice. Little Red headed to the bed and saw her grandmother lying there, but not only in voice but also in appearance she seemed different than usual – she had some big ears, big eyes and big teeth.
“How come you have such big ears, Grandma?” asked the Little Red Riding Hood.
“To hear you better, my child,” replied the wolf.
“And how come your eyes are so big, Grandma?” asked the Little Red Riding Hood.
“To see you better, my child,” replied the wolf again.
“And how come your teeth are so big, Grandma?” asked the Little Red Riding Hood.
“That’s so I can eat you better, my child!” growled the wolf, pounced on the Little Red Riding Hood and swallowed her whole.
After such two hearty mouthfuls, the wolf could hardly move and great fatigue overcame him. He took off his grandmother’s glasses and hat and flopped back into bed, where he promptly fell into a sound sleep. And he snored so hard that the the house shook.
In a little while the huntsman passed the cottage on his regular round. The loud snoring startled him at once. It couldn’t be Grandma! Who does she have there? He peered through the window of the cottage, saw a huge wolf in the bed and put one and one together. He went in, uncovered the covers and looked at the wolf’s stuffed belly. He took out a knife and carefully cut open the wolf’s belly. To his surprise, not only did Grandma come out of the belly, but so did Little Red Riding Hood. Fortunately, both were alive and well.
They thanked the hunter very much for saving their lives and wanted to repay him with a treat. The huntsman gladly accepted the invitation, but before that he had to take care of the wolf. He dragged him out of the hut and filled his cut belly with stones and sewed him up tightly. Then he returned to the cottage and chatted over wine and cake with Grandma and Little Red Riding Hood. Before he left, he said to the Little Red Riding Hood: “You must be careful, there are many dangerous creatures in the forest. Never trust any unknown creatures and stick to the familiar paths in the forest.” Little Red Riding Hood promised to remember that.
Meanwhile, the wolf woke up outside. He couldn’t quite get his head around where he was and what was going on, but first of all he needed to quench the enormous thirst he had. He crawled as fast as he could to a babbling brook that was flowing rapidly a short distance away. His stomach was too heavy, he thought he might have overeaten from eating grandma and the Little Red Riding Hood. When he crawled to the stream, he hurriedly leaned over to quench his thirst. But alas, his belly full of stones overwhelmed him and he roared into the water. And so there the villainous, greedy wretch sank slowly to the bottom and could not swim out.
So the Little Red Riding Hood stayed with her grandmother until the evening and then went back home to her mummy and daddy. Fortunately, no more bad wolves were running around the forest. And she never strayed from the path again when she walked through the forest alone to visit her grandmother, just as she had promised the brave hunter.
