Little Red Riding Hood

Once upon a time, at the edge of a great, green forest, there lived a kind little girl whom everyone loved. Her grandmother had sewn her a beautiful red cloak with a hood, and she wore it so often that everyone in the village simply called her Little Red Riding Hood.

One sunny morning, her mother packed a basket with a warm cake and a small bottle of wine. "Your grandmother is feeling poorly," she said, kneeling down so she could look Little Red Riding Hood right in the eye. "Bring her this basket, and mind what I tell you — walk straight through the woods on the path, and do not wander off it. If you stray, you may lose your way, or meet trouble you cannot outrun."

"I promise, Mother," said Little Red Riding Hood, and she meant it with her whole heart as she set off, the basket swinging on her arm.

Into the Forest

The forest was cool and green, and sunlight fell through the leaves in golden coins. Birds sang overhead, and somewhere close by, a wolf was watching her with hungry, clever eyes.

"Good day, Little Red Riding Hood," the wolf said, stepping out from behind a tree, his voice smooth as syrup. "Where might you be going with that fine basket?"

"To my grandmother's house," she answered politely, for she did not yet know that a friendly voice can still belong to a dangerous creature. "She is ill, and I'm bringing her cake and wine."

"How lovely," said the wolf. "And just look at these flowers all around you! Your grandmother would be so pleased if you brought her a bouquet too."

Little Red Riding Hood looked at the flowers glowing in the sunlight — the pinks and yellows and blues just past the edge of the path. She had promised her mother she would not stray. But surely, she thought, just a few steps wouldn't hurt.

She left the path.

The Wolf Runs Ahead

While Little Red Riding Hood wandered deeper among the flowers, picking one and then another, the wolf did not linger a moment longer. He dashed straight through the forest, choosing the shortest route, and soon reached Grandmother's little cottage far ahead of her.

He knocked softly. "Who is it?" called Grandmother from her bed.

"It is your granddaughter," the wolf said, making his voice as small and sweet as he could. "I've brought you cake and wine."

"Just lift the latch and come in, dear, I am too weak to rise," said Grandmother.

The wolf slipped inside — and poor Grandmother had no chance at all. In one gulp, the wolf hid her away, then pulled on her nightcap, climbed into her bed, and drew the curtains close, waiting.

Something Is Not Right

By the time Little Red Riding Hood reached the cottage, her arms were full of flowers and her heart was light. She knocked and let herself in, just as she always did.

"Grandmother, I've brought you cake and wine," she called, stepping toward the bed. But something felt wrong. Grandmother's voice sounded rough. Grandmother's face looked strange beneath the nightcap.

"Grandmother," she said slowly, "what big ears you have."

"All the better to hear you with, my dear."

"Grandmother, what big eyes you have."

"All the better to see you with, my dear."

"Grandmother, what big teeth you have!"

"All the better to eat you with!" the wolf cried, and he leapt from the bed and swallowed Little Red Riding Hood whole, just as he had swallowed her grandmother.

The Huntsman's Rescue

Full and sleepy, the wolf lay down in the bed once more and began to snore so loudly that a huntsman passing by the cottage stopped to listen. "That old woman snores strangely today," he thought, and went inside to check on her.

There in the bed lay the wolf, fast asleep. The huntsman raised his gun to shoot, but then thought better of it — perhaps the grandmother was still alive inside. Instead, he took his shears and carefully cut open the sleeping wolf's belly. Out stepped Little Red Riding Hood, and then her grandmother too, frightened but unharmed and very glad to breathe fresh air again!

Together, they filled the wolf's belly with heavy stones while he slept on. When at last he woke and tried to run, the stones were so heavy that he toppled over and fell down dead, and could trouble no one ever again.

Little Red Riding Hood sat with her grandmother, ate the cake, drank the wine, and thought hard about what had happened. "Never again," she said quietly, "will I wander from the path when I've been told not to."

Moral / Lesson: When someone who loves us gives us a warning, it is because they can see dangers we cannot yet see ourselves. Listening — even when the flowers look tempting — keeps us safe.

Attribution: Adapted from The Brothers Grimm, Kinder- und Hausmärchen (1812) — public domain.