Once upon a time, there was a little girl called Mary. She lived with her mum and dad who loved her very much. Her mum made her the prettiest little dress to wear, gave her the shiniest black shoes and made her a cloak with a hood from some lovely red cloth. Mary wore these beautiful clothes every day and became known as ‘Little Red Riding Hood’.
Little Red Riding Hood’s grandma lived on the other side of the woods. She was old and frail and sometimes felt too poorly to get out of bed.
One day Little Red Riding Hood’s mum asked her to take some eggs, bread, and butter to her grandma. She told her to go straight to her grandma’s house, not to stop or talk to anyone along the way, and get back home before dark.
Little Red Riding Hood picked up the bag of shopping, kissed her mum goodbye, and set off along the path to her grandma’s house.
She quickly skipped along the path at first but all around her were fields full of pretty flowers.
She thought to herself that it would be lovely to take some to her grandma, so she stopped to pick some for her.
She was so busy picking the flowers, she didn’t hear the pitter patter of feet coming towards her on the path behind. Suddenly, there was an old grey wolf standing beside her.
“Hello, Little Red Riding Hood,” said the wolf.
“Hello,” Little Red Riding Hood answered.
“Where are you going on this lovely, sunny day?” He asked.
“I am going to my grandma’s house,” she said, “She is poorly so I am taking her some shopping as she cannot get out of bed.”
“Where does your grandma live?” the wolf asked.
“Just up beyond the woods in a little white house, this path goes straight there,” she explained.
The wolf now had all the information he needed. He said goodbye to Little Red Riding Hood and off he went into the woods.
As soon as he was out of sight, he ran as fast as he could all the way to the little white house just beyond the woods. He wanted to get there before Little Red Riding Hood did.
As he ran, he passed a woodcutter working in the woods. The woodcutter thought it was strange to see the wolf running so fast through the woods, so he decided to follow him to see what he was up to. When they reached the little white house, the woodcutter hid behind a large rock and watched closely.
The path had led the wolf straight to the little white house, just as Little Red Riding Hood had told him, so he knew this must be the grandma’s house.
He looked around to make sure no one was watching him, and the wolf knocked on the door. He didn’t see the woodcutter hiding behind the rock.
There was no answer, so he knocked again, and still no answer. The wolf pushed the door open and went inside.
Once inside he looked all around but could not see Little Red Riding Hood’s grandma anywhere. He didn’t know this at the time, but the grandma was feeling a little better today, so she had gone to visit a friend.
The wolf had a plan. He searched around until he found grandma’s dressing gown, which he put on along with her night cap and glasses. He then crawled into her bed, pulling the duvet up to his chin and waited patiently.
The woodcutter stayed hidden outside wondering what the wolf was up to but he was waiting so long the tired woodcutter fell asleep!
A little while later, Little Red Riding Hood arrived at the house. The woodcutter was still fast asleep so he didn’t notice her at all. Little Red Riding Hood ran up and knocked on the front door.
The wolf tried his best to sound like her grandma, “Who’s there?” he asked.
“It’s me grandma, Little Red Riding Hood,” she answered.
“Come in,” said the wolf.
She pushed the door open and went in. The wolf had shut the curtains, making it very dark inside.
“I can’t get out of bed,” said the wolf, still pretending to be grandma, “Put the shopping on the table and come over here dear.”
Little Red Riding Hood did as she was told, put the shopping on the table, and went over to the bed. As she got closer, she thought her grandma looked a little strange.
“Grandma, what big eyes you have.”
“All the better to see you with, my dear.”
“Grandma, what long ears you have.”
“All the better to hear you with, my dear.”
“Grandma, what big, sharp, white teeth you have.”
“All the better to eat you with!” Howled the wolf who sprang out of bed chasing Little Red Riding Hood.
Little Red Riding Hood ran as fast as she could across the room. At that moment, the woodcutter who had been woken up after hearing all the noise inside the house, burst through the front door.
He chased the wolf away into the woods and told him never to come back again.
A little while later, her grandma came home from visiting her friend. Little Red Riding Hood and the woodcutter told her everything that had happened.
She thanked the woodcutter for saving Little Red Riding Hood and for chasing the wolf away.
From then on, Little Red Riding Hood always listened to her mum and did not stop or talk to anyone on the way to grandma’s house ever again.
