LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

There was once a wood-cutter and his wife, who had one little girl. She was very pretty, with sweet blue eyes and golden hair; and she could feed the pigs and sew seams, and churn the butter, so she was very useful to her mother. In the next village lived her old grandmother, who loved her so much that she made a nice scarlet hood for her to keep her warm. When the neighbors saw it they called her "Little Red Riding Hood," and after a time no one ever thought of calling her by any other name.

One day her mother said to her: "Granny has been very ill. Put on your hood and run and take these cheese-cakes that I have made for her." Little Red Riding Hood started off with her basket on her arm, and soon came to a wood that lay between the two villages. Just then a wolf, who was passing, saw Red Riding Hood and said: "Where are you going, Red Riding Hood?"

"I am going to see my grandmother, Mr. Wolf," answered the little girl.

"Where does she live?" asked the wolf.

"Oh, she lives in the first cottage past yonder mill. She is very ill, so I am taking her these sweet cheese-cakes which my mother has made for her."

"If she is so ill, I will go and see her too," said the wolf. "I will go this way, and go you through the wood, and we will see who gets there first."

So saying, he shambled off, and then ran all the way to the cottage.

Tap, tap--he knocked at the cottage door.

"Who is there?" asked grandmother.

"It is I," answered the wolf, in a soft voice, "Little Red Riding Hood; I have brought you nice fresh cakes and butter."

"Pull the bobbin and the latch will lift up," called out the grand mother.

And the wolf pulled the bobbin, lifted the latch, and entered the cottage. He ate up the poor grandmother, put on her nightgown and pulled her nightcap right over his ugly rough head, and got into bed. "The old lady was tough," he said, "but the little girl will be a delicate morsel."

But little Red Riding Hood lingered on in the wood. It was so bright there; the birds sang merrily in the trees, and the brook chattered to itself as it ran down to help the mill do its work. Every thing was full of life. She chased the dainty butterflies, and then gathered a posy for her old grandmother, who could not get out and see the Spring flowers grow. At last, tired with her play, she set off to reach her grandmother's cottage.

She knocked at the door, and the wolf, softening his voice as much as possible,

called out: "Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up." Red Riding Hood opened the door and walked in.

"Put the basket on the table, and come into bed with me," said the wolf, "for I feel cold." Little Red Riding Hood thought that her grand mother's voice was very hoarse, but then she remembered that this might be on account of her cold; and being an obedient girl she got into bed. But when she saw the hairy arms, she began to grow frightened.

"What long arms you have, grandmother!"

"The better to hug you with, my dear."

Then she saw the long ears sticking up out side the nightcap.

"What great ears you have grandmother!"

"The better to hear you with, my dear."

"What large eyes you have, grandmother!"

"The better to see you with, my dear."

"What great teeth you have, grandmother!"

"The better to eat you with, my darling," shouted the wolf, and with one bound he sprang out of bed, and would have gobbled Red Riding Hood right up, had not she been too quick. She ran screaming out of the cottage, and for tunately Karl, the Woodman's son, was passing, and he quickly killed the wolf with his axe.

Little Red Riding Hood was very much frighteded, but not hurt. Karl took her home to her mother, and ever since that day she has never been allowed to go through the wood alone.

VARIATION #1

"The better to eat you up!" said the wolf in his own voice, and he was just about putting his long sharp yellow fangs in poor Little Red Riding Hood, when the door was flung open and a number of men armed with axes rushed in and made him let go of his hold, and Red Riding Hood fainted in her father's arms. He was on his way home from work, with some other men, and was just in time to save his dear little daughter.

With one or two strokes of the axe the wolf's head was cut off, so that he would do no more harm in the world, and his body was tied to a pole and carried back in triumph by the foresters.

Friends from far and near came to see Little Red Riding Hood, and she had to tell over and over again just where she met the wolf, how he looked and what he said, until it seemed as if she never got out of the woods at all, not even in her dreams.

When the children were told the story it was always with this word of warning:

"When you are sent on an errand, go right along, and do it as quickly as you can. Do not stop to play on the road or to make friends with strangers, who may turn out to be wolves in sheep's clothes," and they promised to remember, and shuddered whenever they thought of what might have been the fate of dear Little Red Riding Hood.

VARIATION #2

The big grey wolf had scarcely left the bed when the door flew open and the woodcutters rushed in with their sharp axes. When the woodcutters had finished the big grey wolf, Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother came out of the closet where she had been hiding and thanked the men.

"The Wolf pretended that he was Little Red Riding Hood", said the grandmother, "But I knew his gruff voice, and would not let him in, so when he climbed upon the roof and slid down the chimney, I hid in the closet."

"We are glad we arrived in time," said the woodchoppers.

We knew the wolf was up to mischief when he talked to Little Red Riding Hood back in the forest."

After untieing Little Red Riding Hood's bonnet and tidying up the room a bit, the kind grandmother made tea, and the woodchoppers were invited to have some of the lovely cookies.

After the meal was finished, the woodchoppers took the skin off of the wolf and made Little Red Riding Hood a present of it.

"I will make the child a lovely fur coat for the winter time," said the grandmother.

After thanking the kind men for what they had done, she bade them goodbye.

Little Red Riding Hood was very happy that her dear grandmother had not been harmed by the wolf, and, after visiting the rest of the day with her grandmother, Little Red Riding Hood walked through the forest in the evening, back to her home.

There was nothing more to fear now that the big grey wolf was dead. The news of the grey wolf's death traveled quickly through the forest, and, before Little Red Riding Hood had gone far, the little rabbits and the beautiful deer, came from their hiding places and walked down the path with her.

"Now we are free to roam the forest", they cried, "for he was the last of the wolves."

From that day on it was safe for Little Red Riding Hood to wander through the forest to visit her grandmother or to gather wild flowers. The forest animals would come out each time to talk with her, and together they would go scampering through the woods--happy that the evil which threatened their lives had been destroyed.

And so, we learn that, like the bad wolf, there are evil beings who will never listen to reason, and, who can not be persuaded to do right. That is why we must have policemen and prisons.

The End.

VARIATION #3

"Who's there?"

Little Red Riding Hood, hearing the big voice of the wolf, was at first afraid; but believing her grandmother had a cold and was hoarse, answered, "It is your grandchild Little Red Riding Hood, who has brought you a cake and a little pot of butter mother sends you."

The wolf cried out to her, softening his voice as much as he could, "Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up."

Little Red Riding Hood pulled the bobbin, and the door opened.

The wolf, seeing her come in, said to her, hiding himself under the bedclothes, "Put the cake and the little pot of butter upon the stool, and come get into bed with me."

Little Red Riding Hood took off her clothes and got into bed. She was greatly amazed to see how her grandmother looked in her nightclothes, and said to her, "Grandmother, what big arms you have!"

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

"Grandmother, what big legs you have!"

"All the better to run with, my child."

"Grandmother, what big ears you have!"

"All the better to hear with, my child."

"Grandmother, what big eyes you have!"

"All the better to see with, my child."

"Grandmother, what big teeth you have got!"

"All the better to eat you up with."

And, saying these words, this wicked wolf fell upon Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her all up.

Moral: Children, especially attractive, well bred young ladies, should never talk to strangers, for if they should do so, they may well provide dinner for a wolf. I say "wolf," but there are various kinds of wolves. There are also those who are charming, quiet, polite, unassuming, complacent, and sweet, who pursue young women at home and in the streets. And unfortunately, it is these gentle wolves who are the most dangerous ones of all.

VARIATION #4

"Oh, grandmother, what a horribly big mouth you have!"

"All the better to eat you with!" And with that he jumped out of bed, jumped on top of poor Little Red Cap, and ate her up. As soon as the wolf had finished this tasty bite, he climbed back into bed, fell asleep, and began to snore very loudly.

A huntsman was just passing by. He thought it strange that the old woman was snoring so loudly, so he decided to take a look. He stepped inside, and in the bed there lay the wolf that he had been hunting for such a long time. "He has eaten the grandmother, but perhaps she still can be saved. I won't shoot him," thought the huntsman. So he took a pair of scissors and cut open his belly.

He had cut only a few strokes when he saw the red cap shining through. He cut a little more, and the girl jumped out and cried, "Oh, I was so frightened! It was so dark inside the wolf's body!"

And then the grandmother came out alive as well. Then Little Red Cap fetched some large heavy stones. They filled the wolf's body with them, and when he woke up and tried to run away, the stones were so heavy that he fell down dead.

The three of them were happy. The huntsman took the wolf's pelt. The grandmother ate the cake and drank the wine that Little Red Cap had brought. And Little Red Cap thought to herself, "As long as I live, I will never leave the path and run off into the woods by myself if mother tells me not to."