Little Red Riding Hood
Once upon a
time, there was a little girl who lived in a village near the forest.
Whenever she went out, the little girl wore a red riding cloak, so everyone in
the village called her Little Red Riding Hood.
One morning,
Little Red Riding Hood asked her mother if she could go to visit her
grandmother as it had been awhile since they'd seen each other.
"That's
a good idea," her mother said. So they packed a nice basket for
Little Red Riding Hood to take to her grandmother.
When the
basket was ready, the little girl put on her red cloak and kissed her mother
goodbye.
"Remember,
go straight to Grandma's house," her mother cautioned. "Don't
dawdle along the way and please don't talk to strangers! The woods are
dangerous."
"Don't
worry, mommy," said Little Red Riding Hood, "I'll be careful."
But when
Little Red Riding Hood noticed some lovely flowers in the woods, she forgot her
promise to her mother. She picked a few, watched the butterflies flit
about for awhile, listened to the frogs croaking and then picked a few
more.
Little Red
Riding Hood was enjoying the warm summer day so much, that she didn't notice a
dark shadow approaching out of the forest behind her...
Suddenly,
the wolf appeared beside her.
"What
are you doing out here, little girl?" the wolf asked in a voice as
friendly as he could muster.
"I'm on
my way to see my Grandma who lives through the forest, near the
brook," Little Red Riding Hood replied.
Then she
realized how late she was and quickly excused herself, rushing down the path to
her Grandma's house.
The wolf, in
the meantime, took a shortcut...
The wolf, a
little out of breath from running, arrived at Grandma's and knocked lightly at
the door.
"Oh
thank goodness dear! Come in, come in! I was worried sick that
something had happened to you in the forest," said Grandma thinking that
the knock was her granddaughter.
The wolf let
himself in. Poor Granny did not have time to say another word, before the
wolf gobbled her up!
The wolf let
out a satisfied burp, and then poked through Granny's wardrobe to find a
nightgown that he liked. He added a frilly sleeping cap, and for good
measure, dabbed some of Granny's perfume behind his pointy ears.
A few
minutes later, Red Riding Hood knocked on the door. The wolf jumped into
bed and pulled the covers over his nose. "Who is it?" he called
in a cackly voice.
"It's
me, Little Red Riding Hood."
"Oh how
lovely! Do come in, my dear," croaked the wolf.
When Little
Red Riding Hood entered the little cottage, she could scarcely recognize her
Grandmother.
"Grandmother!
Your voice sounds so odd. Is something the matter?" she asked.
"Oh, I
just have touch of a cold," squeaked the wolf adding a cough at the end to
prove the point.
"But
Grandmother! What big ears you have," said Little Red Riding Hood as
she edged closer to the bed.
"The
better to hear you with, my dear," replied the wolf.
"But
Grandmother! What big eyes you have," said Little Red Riding Hood.
"The
better to see you with, my dear," replied the wolf.
"But
Grandmother! What big teeth you have," said Little Red Riding Hood
her voice quivering slightly.
"The
better to eat you with, my dear," roared the wolf and he leapt out of the
bed and began to chase the little girl.
Almost too
late, Little Red Riding Hood realized that the person in the bed was not her
Grandmother, but a hungry wolf.
She ran
across the room and through the door, shouting, "Help! Wolf!"
as loudly as she could.
A woodsman
who was chopping logs nearby heard her cry and ran towards the cottage as fast
as he could.
He grabbed
the wolf and made him spit out the poor Grandmother who was a bit frazzled by
the whole experience, but still in one piece."Oh Grandma, I was so
scared!" sobbed Little Red Riding Hood, "I'll never speak to
strangers or dawdle in the forest again."
"There,
there, child. You've learned an important lesson. Thank goodness
you shouted loud enough for this kind woodsman to hear you!"
The woodsman
knocked out the wolf and carried him deep into the forest where he wouldn't
bother people any longer.
Little Red
Riding Hood and her Grandmother had a nice lunch and a long chat.
