Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived with her parents in a small village on the edge of the woods. She was known throughout her village as Little Red Riding Hood because of the scarlet cloak she wore around her shoulders. The cloak had been a gift from Little Red’s granny, whom she loved very much.
One day, Little Red’s mother received a letter from her granny. The sweet old woman was suffering from a terrible cold and couldn’t leave her house, which sat a little ways into the woods. Little Red’s mother packed a basket of goodies and instructed the girl to take it down the path to her grandmother’s house.
“Be careful while you’re in the woods, Little Red,” her mother said. “Stick to the path, don’t dillydally, and never talk to strangers.”
Little Red took the basket and skipped down the path to her granny’s house, intending to follow her mother’s instructions. However, the girl had only been in the woods for a matter of moments when a field of wildflowers distracted her.
“Oh my, what beautiful flowers,” Little Red said. “Surely Mother wouldn’t mind if I made Granny a bouquet. Flowers help people feel better when they’re ill.”
She convinced herself a quick stop wouldn’t hurt and had a seat in the field. Little Red picked the prettiest flowers and made herself a flower crown, a flower necklace, and two flower bracelets. By the time she finished, there were no flowers left to make a bouquet for her granny.
“Oh well,” Little Red said. “I’m sure seeing me will make Granny feel just as good as a bouquet of flowers would.”
Little Red returned to the path, but it wasn’t long before she was distracted again. This time, a bush with vibrant blueberries caught her eye.
“Oh my, what delicious-looking berries,” Little Red said. “Surely Mother wouldn’t mind if I picked some for Granny. Sweets always lift someone’s spirits when they’re feeling under the weather.”
So Little Red stopped to pick her granny some blueberries. She tested one to make sure they were sweet. She tested a second berry to make sure the first berry hadn’t been a fluke. The third and fourth berries were just a little reward she gave herself for being so thoughtful.
The berries were so delicious, Little Red couldn’t stop eating them. By the time she remembered to pick some for Granny, she had eaten them all.
“Oh well,” Little Red said. “I’m sure I’ll be as sweet a treat as anything for Granny.”
Little Red didn’t want to waste any more time, so she decided to stick to the path the rest of the way to her granny’s house. When she was about halfway through the woods, Little Red had an awful fright.Standing on the path in front of her was a ferocious black wolf with big ears and sharp teeth.
“Hello, little girl,” the wolf growled.
“Hello,” Little Red said, not wanting to be rude, but then she quickly covered her mouth. “Oops—I promised my mother I wouldn’t talk to strangers.”
“Oh, but I’m not a stranger,” the wolf said with a grin. “I’ve been watching you from the minute you stepped into the woods. I watched you pick flowers in the field, and I watched you eat all the blueberries off the bush. So you see, we’re very well acquainted.”
Little Red smiled. “Oh, that’s a relief,” she said. “I was afraid I had broken my word.”
“What brings you into the woods, little girl?” the wolf asked.
“I’m on my way to my granny’s house,” Little Red said. “She’s come down with a terrible cold, so I’m bringing her a basket of goodies to cheer her up.”
“What a wonderful granddaughter you are,” the wolf said. “Whereabouts does your granny live?”
“Just down this path a little farther into the woods,” Little Red said. “In fact, I better get going if I want to get back home in time for supper.”
Little Red said good-bye to the wolf and continued her journey down the path. Unbeknownst to her, the wolf had darted through the trees beside the path and arrived at her granny’s house before her. Thanks to Little Red’s directions, the wolf was going to enjoy two meals today!
He found the old woman asleep in bed and gobbled her up in one bite. By the time Little Red arrived, the wolf was dressed in Granny’s clothes and lying in her bed.
“Granny, it’s Little Red,” she said and knocked on the door. “I’ve brought you a basket of goodies!”
“Come in, my child,” the wolf said, pretending to be Little Red’s granny.
Little Red figured her granny must be sicker than she thought, because her voice was almost unrecognizable. She went to the side of Granny’s bed and had a good look at her. The old woman didn’t look like herself either.
“Oh my, what big ears you have,” Little Red said.
“The better to hear you with, my dear,” the wolf said.
“Oh my, what a big nose you have,” Little Red said.
“The better to smell you with, my dear.”
“Oh my, what sharp teeth you have.”