The little girl lived with her mother in a cottage on the edge of the forest. She always wore her red velvet cloak with a hood, a gift from her beloved grandmother. So, everyone called her Little Red Riding Hood.
One day, she was going to visit her grandmother who was sick, so her mother gave her a basket of goodies to carry.
“There are cakes and an apple pie and some marmalade in this for Grandma. Go carefully and don’t talk to strangers on the way, my dear,” warned Mummy, “And be sure not to play in the forest on the way!”
Red Riding Hood happily took the basket and set off. It was a lovely day. She sang as she walked along. Then she saw some primroses in the forest and decided to pick some for Grandma.
Suddenly, she saw a large wolf watching her. She wished him politely, and then, remembering her mother’s warning, she walked on, clutching the primroses.
“Where are you off to?” asked the wolf.
“My Grandma’s house, sir. She stays in the cottage by the river. She’s ill,” replied Red Riding Hood.
The wolf ran on ahead of the little girl. Reaching Grandma’s house, he knocked at the door.
“Come in, my dear. The door’s open,” said Grandma, thinking it must be her little grand-daughter.
She was horrified when she saw the wolf enter her room. she jumped out of bed to escape but the wolf pounced on her and gobbled her up! Then he looked around and found a gown and a cap and put them on. Seeing her glasses on the table, he put on those too and settled down in the bed to wait for Red Riding Hood.
Red Riding Hood came to the cottage and was quite surprised to see the door open.
“Grandma must have left it open for me,” she thought. All the same it would be polite to knock, so she knocked and heard a voice say, “Come in!”
“Hullo, Grandma. How are you today?” she asked, “Mother has sent some goodies for you.”
“Thank you, my dear,” replied the wolf.
Red Riding Hood looked up, a little puzzled. “You sound different, Grandma,” she said, “And you look different too. Your ears look rather large today.”
“Oh, that’s to hear you better, dear,” said the wolf.
“And your eyes too look different,” observed Red Riding Hood. “That’s to see you better with,” said the cunning old wolf.
“Grandma, even your mouth looks strange, with bigger teeth,” said Red Riding Hood, really worried now.
“That’s to eat you with!” said the wicked wolf as he leapt out of bed. Red Riding Hood screamed but the wolf gobbled her up as well.
A woodcutter was chopping wood near Grandma’s cottage and heard Red Riding Hood’s scream. He was sure something was wrong, so he ran towards the cottage and saw the wolf gobbling up someone. When he saw the flesh of red, he realized it must be Red Riding Hood.
He killed the wolf with a single blow of his axe and he quickly cut him open. Luckily, he found both Red Riding Hood and Grandma alive! Grandma rubbed her eyes and peered around. Then she found her glasses and saw her little grand-daughter and the dead wolf. The woodcutter and Red Riding Hood explained all that had happened. The wicked wolf was buried in the forest.
Soon Grandma, Red Riding Hood and the woodcutter were having tea with all the goodies spread on the table!
