Little Red Riding Hood, Level C (Grade Level 2-3)

Little Red Riding Hood

          Once upon a time there lived in a small village a little girl. She was the prettiest child who was ever seen. Her mother was very fond of her. Her grandmother doted on her still more. She had made a little red riding hood for her. Everybody called her Little Red Riding Hood.

          One day her mother had made some cakes. She called Little Red Riding Hood.

          “Go, my dear, and see how your grandmother is doing. I hear she has been very ill. Take her a cake, and this little pot of butter.”

          Little Red Riding Hood set out at once to go to her grandmother. She lived in another village.

          As she was going through the wood, Little Red Riding Hood’s eyes landed on some beautiful flowers growing deep in the trees. She was not supposed to leave the path when she went through the forest.

          But she thought that her grandmother would love the flowers. Besides, she could hear chopping. That meant that the friendly woodcutter she often met in the wood was near. She hurried over and began to pull the buds quickly from the vine. She knew they would make her grandmother very cheerful.

          But soon along came a great wolf. He had a very great mind to eat her up, but he dared not. He too heard the chopping of the friendly woodcutter. He was not so friendly to child-eating wolves. So instead he asked her where she was going. The poor child did not know that it was not safe to stay and talk to a wolf. So she said to him, “I am going to see my grandmother and carry her a cake and a little pot of butter from my mother.”

          “Does she live far off?” said the wolf.

          “Oh I say,” answered Little Red Riding Hood; “it is beyond that mill you see there, at the first house in the village.”

          “Well,” said the wolf to himself with a cackle, “I’ll go and see her too. I’ll go this way and go you that, and we shall see who will be there first.”

          The wolf ran as fast as he could, taking the shortest path. The little girl took a longer way. She stopped to gather nuts, to chase butterflies, and to chat with her friend the woodcutter. Soon the wolf was at the old woman’s house. He knocked at the door.

          Tap, tap.

          “Who’s there?”

          “Your grandchild, Little Red Riding Hood,” said the wolf, copying her voice. “I have brought you a cake and a little pot of butter sent you by Mother.”

          The good grandmother was in bed, because she was still somewhat ill.

          “Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up,” she said.

          The wolf pulled the bobbin, and the door opened. Then he fell upon the good woman. He ate her up very quickly. It had been more than three days since he had eaten. He then shut the door and got into the grandmother’s bed. He waited for Little Red Riding Hood. She came much later and knocked at the door.

          Tap, tap.

          “Who’s there?”

          Little Red Riding Hood was at first afraid. The voice did not sound like her grandmother. But she thought her grandmother just had a cold.

          “It is your grandchild Little Red Riding Hood. I have brought you a cake and a little pot of butter from Mother.”

          “Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up.” The wolf made his voice as soft as he could.

          Little Red Riding Hood pulled the bobbin, and the door opened.

          The wolf hid himself under the blankets and said to her, “Put the cake and the little pot of butter upon the stool, and come closer so I may hug you.”

          Little Red Riding Hood walked toward the bed. She was greatly amazed to see how her grandmother looked in her nightclothes.

           “Grandmother, what big arms you have!” she said.

          “All the better to hug you with, my dear.” Little Red Riding Hood smiled, no longer worried. She reached out her arms to her grandmother. Then she stopped.

          “Grandmother, what big ears you have!”

          “All the better to hear with, my child.” This made sense to Little Red Riding Hood. Her grandmother often had quite a bit of trouble hearing her. She took another step forward and then paused once more.

          “Grandmother, what big eyes you have!”

          “All the better to see with, my child.” Little Red Riding Hood noticed that her grandmother was not wearing her glasses today. In fact, they were on the floor beside the bed. One of the lenses was cracked. She picked them up and stepped up close to the bed. The wolf smiled in delight.

          “Grandmother, what big teeth you have!” said Little Red Riding Hood in sudden fear.

          “All the better to eat you with!”

          And at that the wolf sprang out of bed at once on poor little Red Hood, and ate her up. When the wolf had filled his belly, he lay down again in the bed. He was quite pleased with himself.

          But Little Red Riding Hood’s friend the woodcutter had heard her scream. He rushed toward her grandmother’s house.

          He went into the room, and looked into the bed. There lay the wolf. “Have I found you now, old rascal?” said he. “I’ve long been looking for you.”

          He was just going to take aim with his gun, when he thought to himself, “Perhaps the wolf has only swallowed the poor child, and she may yet be saved.”

          Therefore he did not shoot, but took a knife and began to cut open the sleeping wolf’s belly. When he had made a few cuts, he saw a red hood gleam. After one or two more cuts out skipped Little Red Riding Hood, and cried, “Oh, how frightened I have been. It was so dark in the wolf’s belly!”

          Afterwards out came her grandmother, still alive, but scarcely able to breathe. But Red Hood made haste and fetched large stones. They filled the wolf’s belly with them. When he woke he wanted to jump up and run away, but the stones were too heavy. He fell on the ground and soon died of a bad stomachache.

          Now, they were all three merry. The woodcutter took off the wolf’s skin. Grandmother ate the cake and butter which Little Red Riding Hood had brought, and became strong and well again. Little Red Riding Hood thought to herself that it would be some time before she headed into the trees again, or told a wolf where she was going.