Home

Do you know my dear, your Grandma is very ill," said the mother to her daughter one day. "Take this basket of food to her. There's soup and cake and fruit and biscuits. I hope it will make her feel much better."

So, the little girl put on her red velvet cloak with red velvet hood which her Grandma had made her for Christmas. She wore it everywhere.

That was why everyone called her 'Little Red Riding Hood'.

As she set off for the forest, her mother called after her, "Make sure you come home before dark. And remember, don't talk to strangers!"
Little Red Riding Hood nodded her head. She had never  been  to  her grandmother's cottage which was deep in the forest. She skipped along, swinging her basket of presents.

When she was halfway there, a gruff voice called out from close behind her, "Where are you going, Little Red Riding Hood?"

"I'm going to visit Grandma," said Red Riding Hood, who seemed not to notice the stranger's sharp teeth and burning yellow eyes and informed, "She is very ill and my mother has made her some cakes and soup and biscuits. Look."

The wolf sniffed into the basket, "H...m...m...! Very nice, though I don't eat that sort of thing myself. Don't you think she would like some flowers as well?"

He pointed out some pretty clumps of primroses growing under the trees. "I'm sure your grandma would feel much better if somebody brought her flowers."

"That's a lovely idea!" said Red Riding Hood as her eyes sparkled, then she remembered what her mother had said about not talking to strangers.

The girl thought, "But she can't mean that I shouldn't talk to someone as kind as this!"

Little Red Riding Hood put down her basket and began gathering primroses. It took a long time and when she turned back to move on, her basket brimming with flowers, there was no sign of the kind stranger.

Infact meanwhile, the wolf had run on ahead, and reached Grandma's cottage.

The evil wolf gave a loud knock on the door and called out in a sweet, childlike voice, "It's me, Granny, Red Riding Hood. Can I come in?"
"Lift the latch, my dear. I'm too ill to come to the door."

So, the wolf let himself into the cottage and found the old lady sitting up in bed, dressed in her bonnet and shawl. With a sudden sweep, he pounced on to the bed and swallowed the old lady down in one great gulp.

The big, bad wolf drew the bedroom curtains to shut out the daylight. Then, he went to the wardrobe and found himself a nightdress, bonnet and shawl.

A few minutes later, Red Riding Hood knocked on the cottage door. "Lift the latch, my dear," wolf said, in an old sick female's weak voice. "I'm too poorly to come to the door."

So, Red Riding Hood let herself in. "Mother has sent you this basket of food, Grandma, and I have picked you these flowers. I do hope you're feeling better today."

"I am so glad to see you, my dear, Red Riding Hood!" said the wolf. "Come in! Come in! And close the door."

Red Riding Hood stepped closer, and put the basket down on the bed.
She saw the wolf's large ears poking out of the pink nightcap, "O my! What big ears you have, Grandma!"

"All the better to hear you with, my dear!" said the wolf. "Now, come closer and let me hold your hand."

Little Red Riding Hood saw that her Grandma's hands were awfully rough and hairy, but anyway Little Red Riding Hood stroked them tenderly.

"Oh! What big eyes you have, Grandma!" said Red Riding Hood a little scared.

Two yellow eyes flashed from under the nightcap, "All the better to see you with, my dear!" The thought of eating Red Riding Hood made his mouth water.

"Eeek! What big teeth you have, Grandma!"

"All the better to eat you with, my dear!" cried the wolf. Suddenly throwing back the covers, he pounced on Little Red Riding Hood and wolfed her down in one gulp, all of her, the hood, coat and the shoes!
A short while later, a woodcutter was passing by the old lady's cottage and, knowing that Granny Hood was sick he decided to see her.

But some strange noise was coming from inside! He peeped through the window...and saw the wolf lying on the bed fast asleep.

In a flash, he guessed what had happened. He crept into the cottage and with his sharp knife, cut open the belly of the sleeping wolf.
And Lo!

Who should step out of big bad wolf's stomach but Little Red Riding Hood and her Grandma!

The woodcutter put his finger to his lips, "Shssh...! Fetch me some stones from the garden as quick as you can."

Little Red Riding Hood ran out and brought loads of stones and pebbles.The woodcutter tucked the stones into the stomach of the sleeping wolf. Then he sewed up the cut he had made with his knife, and crept into the next room with Grandma and Little Red Riding Hood.

Wolf woke with a start, "What a nightmare I saw! Phew! I shouldn't have eaten so much."

And feeling very thirsty, he trundled down to the river for a drink but something was not right.

With the weight of stones inside him, he overbalanced and fell to the bottom of the river.

And that was the end of the big, bad wolf.

Grandma hugged the girl, and Little Red Riding Hood gave her the basket of food, and the old lady ate it and felt quite well again.

Saying goodbye to her Granny and the woodcutter, Red Riding Hood walked safely home through the forest–and never spoke to strangers ever again.