Delightful Encounters in the Woods: Little Red Riding Hood’s Tale

Once upon a time, there was a sweet little girl who was adored by everyone who laid eyes on her, especially her grandmother. Her grandmother gave her a little cap made of red velvet, and it suited her so well that she never wanted to wear anything else. From then on, she was known as Little Red Riding Hood.

One day, her mother said to her, “Come, Little Red Riding Hood, here is a piece of cake and a bottle of wine. Take them to your grandmother, who is sick and weak. They will make her feel better. Start your journey before it gets hot, and remember to walk nicely and quietly without straying from the path. If you run off, you might break the bottle, and then your grandmother won’t receive anything. And when you enter her room, don’t forget to say good morning and don’t snoop around before doing so.”

“I promise to be careful,” Little Red Riding Hood said to her mother and shook her hand on it.

Her grandmother lived in a cottage deep in the woods, half a league away from the village. As Little Red Riding Hood entered the woods, she encountered a wolf. Unaware of the wolf’s wickedness, she felt no fear towards him.

“Good day, Little Red Riding Hood,” he greeted her.

“Thank you kindly, wolf.”

“Where are you headed so early, Little Red Riding Hood?”

“To my grandmother’s.”

“What do you have in your apron?”

“Cake and wine. Yesterday was baking day, and I want to bring something good to my poor sick grandmother to make her stronger.”

“Where does your grandmother live, Little Red Riding Hood?”

“Just a good quarter league farther on in the woods. Her house is under the three large oak trees, right below the nut trees. You must surely know it,” Little Red Riding Hood replied.

The wolf thought to himself, “What a tender young creature she is. She would make a delicious meal, even better than the old woman. I must be cunning to catch them both.” So he walked alongside Little Red Riding Hood for a short while, and then he said, “Look, Little Red Riding Hood, how beautiful the flowers are around here. Why don’t you take a moment to admire them? I also believe you haven’t noticed the sweet melody of the little birds singing. While everything in the woods is merry, you walk so solemnly, as if you were going to school.”

Little Red Riding Hood raised her eyes and saw the sunbeams dancing through the trees and pretty flowers blooming everywhere. She thought to herself, “Perhaps I should gather a fresh bouquet for my grandmother. It would surely please her. It’s still early in the day, and I’ll reach her house in good time.” So she left the path and ventured into the woods in search of flowers. Every time she picked one, she spotted an even prettier one further ahead and chased after it, going deeper into the woods.

Meanwhile, the wolf ran straight to the grandmother’s house and knocked on the door.

“Who’s there?”

“Little Red Riding Hood,” replied the wolf. “I’ve brought cake and wine. Open the door.”

“Lift the latch,” called out the grandmother. “I’m too weak to get up.”

The wolf lifted the latch, the door swung open, and without uttering a word, he went straight to the grandmother’s bed and devoured her. Then he put on her clothes, dressed himself in her cap, lay in bed, and drew the curtains.

Little Red Riding Hood, lost in her flower-picking, suddenly remembered her grandmother and continued her journey to her house.

She was surprised to find the cottage door wide open. As she entered the room, an odd feeling came over her. She thought to herself, “Oh dear, I feel so uneasy today. Normally, I enjoy being with my grandmother so much.”

She called out, “Good morning,” but received no answer. Approaching the bed, she pulled back the curtains and discovered her grandmother lying there with her cap pulled down, looking very strange.

“Oh, grandmother,” she said, “what big ears you have.”

“The better to hear you with, my child,” came the reply.

“But, grandmother, what big eyes you have,” she said.

“The better to see you with, my dear.”

“But, grandmother, what large hands you have.”

“The better to hug you with.”

“Oh, but, grandmother, what a terribly big mouth you have.”

“The better to eat you with.”

Before Little Red Riding Hood could react, the wolf leaped out of bed and swallowed her whole.

Having satisfied his hunger, the wolf lay back down, fell asleep, and began to snore loudly. By chance, a huntsman happened to pass by the house and heard the snoring. He thought to himself, “The old woman is snoring. I should check if she needs anything.”

He entered the room and, upon reaching the bed, saw the wolf lying in it. “So I finally found you, you old sinner,” he exclaimed. “I’ve been searching for you.”

However, just as the huntsman was about to shoot the wolf, he considered that the wolf might have devoured the grandmother and that she could still be saved. He decided not to shoot and instead took a pair of scissors to cut open the wolf’s stomach.

After making two snips, he saw Little Red Riding Hood shining inside. He made two more snips, and the little girl jumped out, crying, “Oh, how frightened I’ve been! It was so dark inside the wolf.”

The aged grandmother also emerged, barely able to breathe. Little Red Riding Hood quickly fetched large stones, and together they filled the wolf’s belly. When the wolf woke up, he tried to run away, but the stones were too heavy, and he immediately collapsed and died.

All three of them rejoiced. The huntsman skinned the wolf and took the pelt home. The grandmother enjoyed the cake and wine that Little Red Riding Hood had brought, and she revived. Little Red Riding Hood made a promise to herself never to stray from the path and run into the woods when her mother forbade it.

It is also said that once, when Little Red Riding Hood was again taking cakes to her old grandmother, another wolf tried to entice her from the path. Little Red Riding Hood, however, remained vigilant, continued straight ahead, and informed her grandmother that she had encountered the wolf. She described how he had greeted her with a wicked look in his eyes, and she was certain he would have eaten her if they hadn’t been on a public road. “Well,” said the grandmother, “let’s close the door, so he can’t come in.”

Shortly after, the wolf knocked on the door and cried, “Open the door, grandmother. I am Little Red Riding Hood, and I’m bringing you some cakes.”

But they remained silent and didn’t open the door. The grey-beard circled the house two or three times, then jumped onto the roof, planning to wait until evening when Little Red Riding Hood would return home. He intended to follow her and devour her in the darkness. However, the grandmother saw through his intentions. In front of the house, there was a large stone trough. She said to the child, “Little Red Riding Hood, fetch the pail. Yesterday, I made some sausages, so carry the water I used to boil them to the trough.” Little Red Riding Hood filled the pailwith water until the trough was brimming. The aroma of the sausages reached the wolf, and he sniffed and peered down. He stretched his neck so far that he lost his footing and began to slip. Helplessly, he tumbled from the roof straight into the deep trough and drowned.

Little Red-Cap joyfully continued her journey home, and from that day forward, no harm ever came her way again.