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.