Little Red Riding Hood

 

 

Tale of the Brothers Grimm

translation by Alda Volkmann
review by Ruth Salles

Once upon a time there was such a lovely girl that everyone liked her just by looking at her. The one who liked her the most was her grandmother, who didn't know what to give her granddaughter anymore. He once gave her a red velvet hood. It looked so good on the girl that she didn't want to wear another one anymore. That's why everyone started calling her Little Red Riding Hood.

One day, his mother said to him:

– Little Red Riding Hood, I have here a piece of cake and a bottle of wine that you must take to your grandmother. She is sick and weak and will revive from it. Go soon, before the heat rises, and behave yourself. Don't move out of the way, because you could fall and break the bottle, and Granny will be left with nothing. When you enter your room, don't forget to say good morning and don't snoop around.

"I'll do everything right," said Little Red Riding Hood, and said goodbye to her mother.

The grandmother, however, lived there in the forest, half an hour from the village. When Little Red Riding Hood entered the forest, she met the wolf. But he wasn't afraid at all, because he didn't know how evil he was.

“Good morning, Little Red Riding Hood,” said the wolf.

– Thank you very much, Wolf.

– Where are you going so soon, Little Red Riding Hood?

- I'm going to Grandma's house.

– And what are you wearing under your apron?

– Wine and cake. We baked yesterday. It will do Granny good, and she will be stronger, for she is sick and weak.

– Little Red Riding Hood, where does your grandmother live?

“Your house is about fifteen minutes from here, in the woods, under three big oaks; it is surrounded by walnut trees, you must know that, replied Little Red Riding Hood.

The wolf thought to himself: “That small, delicate girl must be a great snack, and tastier than the old one; you need to be smart to catch both.” And he walked a little way beside Little Red Riding Hood, then he said:

– Little Red Riding Hood, look at the beautiful flowers around the path! Why don't you look around? I don't think you even hear the sweet singing of the birds. You're as serious as if you were going to school, and it's so much fun to wander through the woods!

Little Red Riding Hood looked up, and when she saw how the sun's rays danced through the trees and how everything was full of beautiful flowers, she thought: “If I bring Grandma a bunch of fresh flowers, she'll be happy; and it is so early that I will still be on time.” And he left the path and went into the forest to pick flowers. When I picked one, I thought there was another more beautiful one ahead, I ran there and penetrated deeper and deeper into the forest.

The wolf, however, went straight to the grandmother's house and knocked on the door.

- Who's there?

“It's Little Red Riding Hood bringing wine and cake. Open!

- Just turn the knob - exclaimed the grandmother - I'm too weak and I can't get up.

The wolf turned the knob, the door opened, and he entered. Without saying a word, he went straight to his grandmother's bed and swallowed her. Then he put on his clothes and cap, lay down and closed the curtains.

Meanwhile, Little Red Riding Hood was running around looking for flowers, and when she had gathered so many that she couldn't carry any more, she remembered her grandmother again and set out for her house. She was surprised to find the door open and, when she entered the room, she had a strange impression and thought: “Oh, my God, how scared I am today, I who always liked coming to Grandma’s house so much…” Then she exclaimed:

- Good Morning! – but got no response.

Then she went to the bed and pulled back the curtains. There was the grandmother lying there, with her bonnet on and covering her face a little, and she looked so weird…

– Ah, Grandma, your ears are so big!

- They are to hear you better.

– Ah, Grandma, your eyes are so big!

- They are to see you better.

– Ah, Grandma, your hands are so big!

- They're to get you better.

– Ah, Grandma, your mouth is so big and so horrible!

- It's to devour you better.

As soon as the wolf said that, he jumped out of bed and swallowed poor Little Red Riding Hood.

Having satisfied his appetite, he lay down again, slept and began to snore very loudly.

The hunter was passing by the house and he thought, "Since the old lady snores, you'd better see if she's not feeling bad." So he entered the
room and, coming to the bed, saw the wolf lying there.

“This is where I find you, old sinner,” he said, “I, who have looked for you so long.

The hunter was going to use the carbine, but he thought that the wolf might have devoured the grandmother and that he could still save her. Then he took a pair of scissors and began to cut the sleeping wolf's belly. After making a few cuts, she saw the red glow of the little hat and, with a few more cuts, the girl jumped out and exclaimed:

– Oh, how frightened I was, and how dark the belly of the wolf is!

Then the old grandmother also came out, still alive and barely able to breathe. Little Red Riding Hood, however, hurriedly fetched large stones and filled the wolf's belly with them. When he woke up, he wanted to run away, but the stones were so heavy that he immediately fell and died.

The three were very happy; the hunter skinned the wolf and took it home. The grandmother ate the cake and drank the wine that Little Red Riding Hood had brought and was revived. Little Red Riding Hood, however, thought: “You will never go out of your way to run through the forest again when your mother forbids you.”

They also say that another time, when Little Red Riding Hood was taking pastries to her old grandmother, another wolf spoke to her and wanted to take her out of the way. But Little Red Riding Hood was careful, continued on her way and told her grandmother that she had met the wolf, that the wolf had said good morning, looking at her with very evil eyes.

“If I hadn't been on the public road, he would have devoured me.

- Come - said Granny - let's close the door so he doesn't come in.

Soon after, the wolf knocked on the door and called:

– Open the door, Grandma. I'm Little Red Riding Hood and I bring pastries.

But the two were very quiet and did not open the door. The old wolf circled the house a few times, and at last he climbed onto the roof and waited for Little Red Riding Hood to come out in time to return home; he would then follow her to devour her in the dark. But the grandmother saw what he meant. Now, in front of the house there was a large stone trough, and she said to the girl:

– Little Red Riding Hood, go get the bucket where I cooked sausages yesterday and pour the water where they were cooked into the trough.

Little Red Riding Hood poured a lot of water until the big trough was full. Then the smell of the sausages reached the wolf's nose, which began to sniff and stretched its neck so far that it could no longer hold on to its paws and began to slide off the roof. He fell straight into the big trough and drowned.

So Little Red Riding Hood returned home very happy, and no one harmed her along the way.

 

 

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