Little Red Riding Hood was a kind and cheerful little girl who got her nickname from the bright red hooded cape her grandmother had made for her. She loved wearing it so much that people rarely called her by any other name.
One morning, her mother packed a basket with cake and a bottle of wine for her sick grandmother, who lived alone in a cottage deep in the woods. Before Little Red Riding Hood left, her mother gave her a serious warning.
“Stay on the path,” she said. “And don’t stop to talk to strangers.”
The little girl promised she would be careful and happily started her walk through the forest.
As she wandered along the path, she came across a wolf. He looked friendly enough, and since Little Red Riding Hood had never learned to be afraid of him, she stopped to chat.
“Good morning,” said the wolf smoothly. “Where are you headed today?”
“I’m going to visit my grandmother,” she replied innocently. “She’s sick, so I’m bringing her some cake and wine.”
The wolf’s eyes lit up with a clever idea. Pretending to be helpful, he smiled and said, “Your grandmother would probably love some fresh wildflowers too. Why don’t you pick a few for her? I know a quicker way to her cottage, so I’ll head there myself.”
The little girl thought that sounded wonderful. Soon she wandered off the path, happily gathering colorful flowers from the forest.
Meanwhile, the wolf raced straight to the grandmother’s cottage. He knocked on the door and copied the little girl’s voice.
“Grandmother, it’s me, Little Red Riding Hood.”
The old woman, weak and sick in bed, told him to come inside. The moment the wolf entered, he swallowed the poor grandmother whole.
Then he put on her nightcap, climbed into her bed, and pulled the blankets up around himself while he waited for Little Red Riding Hood to arrive.
A little while later, the girl reached the cottage and knocked on the door.
“Come in, dear,” the wolf called out in a disguised voice.
Little Red Riding Hood stepped inside and walked toward the bed. At first, she thought her grandmother looked odd, but she couldn’t quite figure out why.
“Grandmother,” she said slowly, “what big eyes you have.”
“The better to see you with, my dear,” the wolf replied.
“And what big ears you have.”
“The better to hear you with, my dear.”
“And what big hands you have.”
“The better to grab you with, my dear.”
Then the little girl gasped. “Grandmother, what a big mouth you have!”
“The better to eat you with!” the wolf shouted.
With that, he leaped out of bed and swallowed Little Red Riding Hood in one huge gulp.
Not long after, a woodcutter passed by the cottage and heard loud snoring coming from inside. Something about it didn’t feel right, so he went in to investigate.
There he found the wolf asleep in the bed, looking unusually full. Realizing what must have happened, the woodcutter quickly cut open the wolf’s belly. Out came the grandmother and Little Red Riding Hood, both safe and unharmed.
To make sure the wolf could never hurt anyone again, they filled his belly with heavy stones. When the wolf woke up and tried to run away, he stumbled and fell into a well.
After that frightening day, Little Red Riding Hood never forgot her mother’s warning about talking to strangers or wandering off the path.