Little Red Riding Hood

Little Red Riding Hood
Once upon a time there was a dear little girl
Who was loved by everyone who looked at her
But most of all by her grandmother
And there was nothing that she
Would not have given to the child
Once she gave her a little cape of red velvet
Which suited her so well that she would
Never wear anything else
So she was always called "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, she is ill and weak
And they will do her good
Set out before it gets hot
And when you are going, walk nicely
And quietly and do not run off the path
Or you may fall and break the bottle
And then your grandmother will get nothing
And when you go into her room
Don't forget to say, 'Good morning'
And don't peep into every corner before you do it"

"I will take great care," said Little Red Riding Hood to her mother
And gave her hand on it
The grandmother lived out in the wood
Half a league from the village
And just as Little Red Riding Hood entered the wood, a wolf met her
Little Red Riding Hood did not know what a wicked creature he was
And was not at all afraid of him

'Good day, Little Red Riding Hood,' said he
'Thank you kindly, wolf'
'Whither away so early, Little Red Riding Hood?'
'To my grandmother's'
'What have you got in your apron?'
'Cake and wine; yesterday was baking-day
So poor sick grandmother is to have something good, to make her stronger'
'Where does your grandmother live, Little Red Riding Hood?'
'A good quarter of a league farther on in the wood
Her house stands under the three large oak-trees
The nut-trees are just below
You surely must know it,' replied Little Red Riding Hood

The wolf thought to himself
'What a tender young creature! what a nice plump mouthful
She will be better to eat than the old woman
I must act craftily, so as to catch both'
So he walked for a short time by the side of Little Red Riding Hood
And then he said: 'See,Little Red Riding Hood, how pretty the flowers are about here
Why do you not look round?
I believe, too, that you do not hear how sweetly the little birds are singing
You walk gravely along as if you were going to school
While everything else out here in the wood is merry'

Little Red Riding Hood raised her eyes
And when she saw the sunbeams dancing here and there through the trees
And pretty flowers growing everywhere, she thought
'Suppose I take grandmother a fresh nosegay; that would please her too
It is so early in the day that I shall still get there in good time'
And so she ran from the path into the wood to look for flowers
And whenever she had picked one, she fancied that she saw a still prettier one farther on
And ran after it, and so got deeper and deeper into the wood

Meanwhile the wolf ran straight to the grandmother's house and knocked at the door

'Who is there?'
'Little Red Riding Hood,' replied the wolf
'She is bringing cake and wine; open the door'
'Lift the latch,' called out the grandmother
'I am too weak, and cannot get up'

The wolf lifted the latch, the door sprang open
And without saying a word he went straight to the grandmother's bed
And devoured her
Then he put on her clothes, dressed himself in her cap
Laid himself in bed and drew the curtains

Little Red Riding Hood, however, had been running about picking flowers
And when she had gathered so many that she could carry no more
She remembered her grandmother, and set out on the way to her

She was surprised to find the cottage-door standing open
And when she went into the room
She had such a strange feeling that she said to herself
'Oh dear! how uneasy I feel today, and at other times I like being with grandmother so much'
She called out: 'Good morning,' but received no answer
So she went to the bed and drew back the curtains
There lay her grandmother with her cap pulled far over her face
And looking very strange

'Oh! grandmother,' she said, 'what big ears you have!'
'The better to hear you with, my child,' was 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 terrible big mouth you have!'
'The better to eat you with!'
And scarcely had the wolf said this
Than with one bound he was out of bed
And swallowed up Little Red Riding Hood

When the wolf had appeased his appetite
He lay down again in the bed, fell asleep and began to snore very loud
The huntsman was just passing the house, and thought to himself
'How the old woman is snoring! I must just see if she wants anything'
So he went into the room, and when he came to the bed
He saw that the wolf was lying in it
'Do I find you here, you old sinner!' said he. 'I have long sought you!'
Then just as he was going to fire at him
It occurred to him that the wolf might have devoured the grandmother
And that she might still be saved, so he did not fire, but took a pair of scissors
And began to cut open the stomach of the sleeping wolf
When he had made two snips, he saw the little Little Red Riding Hood shining
And then he made two snips more, and the little girl sprang out, crying
'Ah, how frightened I have been! How dark it was inside the wolf'
And after that the aged grandmother came out alive also
But scarcely able to breathe
Little Red Riding Hood, however
Quickly fetched great stones with which they filled the wolf's belly
And when he awoke, he wanted to run away
But the stones were so heavy that he collapsed at once
And fell dead

Then all three were delighted
The huntsman drew off the wolf's skin and went home with it
The grandmother ate the cake
And drank the wine which Little Red Riding Hood had brought
And revived, but Little Red Riding Hood thought to herself
'As long as I live, I will never by myself leave the path
To run into the wood, when my mother has forbidden me to do so'

It is also related that once when Little Red Riding Hood was again taking cakes to the old grandmother
Another wolf spoke to her, and tried to entice her from the path
Little Red Riding Hood, however, was on her guard, and went straight forward on her way
And told her grandmother that she had met the wolf
And that he had said 'good morning' to her, but with such a wicked look in his eyes
That if they had not been on the public road she was certain he would have eaten her up
'Well,' said the grandmother, 'we will shut the door, that he may not come in'
Soon afterwards the wolf knocked, and cried
'Open the door, grandmother, I am Little Red-Cap, and am bringing you some cakes'
But they did not speak, or open the door
So the grey-beard stole twice or thrice round the house
And at last jumped on the roof
Intending to wait until Little Red Riding Hood went home in the evening
And then to steal after her and devour her in the darkness
But the grandmother saw what was in his thoughts
In front of the house was a great stone trough, so she said to the child
'Take the pail, Little Red Riding Hood; I made some sausages yesterday
So carry the water in which I boiled them to the trough'
Little Red Riding Hood carried until the great trough was quite full
Then the smell of the sausages reached the wolf, and he sniffed and peeped down
And at last stretched out his neck so far that he could no longer keep his footing and began to slip
And slipped down from the roof straight into the great trough
And was drowned
But Little Red Riding Hood went joyously home
And no one ever did anything to harm her again