Little Red Riding Hood

There was once a girl who wore a red hood everywhere she went - to school, to the shops, to the park, even to bed when her mother wasn't looking. Everyone in the village called her Little Red Riding Hood, and she didn't mind one bit. One sunny morning, her mother handed her a basket filled with soup, fresh bread, and a jar of honey. 'Take this to Grandma's house,' her mother said. 'She's feeling poorly. Stay on the path, and don't stop to talk to strangers.'

The path to Grandma's house wound through a deep, green wood. Sunlight fell in golden coins through the leaves, and the air smelled of pine needles and wild garlic. Little Red Riding Hood walked happily, swinging her basket and humming a tune she'd made up about squirrels.

She had just passed the old oak tree when a wolf stepped out from behind a bush. He was tall and grey, with a long snout and a smile that showed too many teeth. 'Good morning,' said the wolf, in a voice like honey poured over gravel. 'Where are you going with that lovely basket?'

'To my grandmother's house,' said Little Red Riding Hood. 'She lives in the cottage by the stream, with the blue door and the roses growing up the wall.' She knew she wasn't supposed to talk to strangers, but the wolf seemed so polite, and he had such nice manners.

'How kind of you,' said the wolf. 'Why don't you pick some of those wildflowers for her? Grandmothers love wildflowers.' Little Red Riding Hood thought that was a splendid idea. She stepped off the path and began gathering daisies and buttercups, while the wolf slipped away through the trees, grinning.

The wolf reached Grandma's cottage first. He knocked on the blue door. 'Who is it?' called Grandma from her bed. 'It's me, Little Red Riding Hood,' said the wolf, making his voice as small as he could. 'Come in, dear, the door's open,' said Grandma. And in went the wolf.

When Little Red Riding Hood arrived with her flowers and her basket, the cottage was quiet. She pushed open the blue door and found Grandma in bed, the blankets pulled up to her chin and a nightcap pulled down to her eyebrows.

'Grandma, what big eyes you have,' said Little Red Riding Hood.

'All the better to see you with, my dear.'

'Grandma, what big ears you have.'

'All the better to hear you with, my dear.'

'Grandma, what big teeth you have.'

'All the better to - '

But before the wolf could finish his sentence, a tremendous knock shook the front door. It burst open, and there stood the woodcutter from the village, axe over his shoulder, filling the doorway. He had heard the wolf's howl from across the wood and come running. The wolf took one look at the woodcutter, leapt out of bed, scrambled through the window, and ran into the forest so fast that he left his shadow behind.

Grandma climbed out of the wardrobe where she had been hiding. She was shaken but perfectly fine. Little Red Riding Hood poured her the soup, buttered the bread, and spooned honey into her tea.

They sat together by the fire, all three of them, and Little Red Riding Hood made a quiet promise to herself. She would still walk through the woods. She would still sing to the squirrels. But from now on, she would stay on the path - and she would never, ever trust a smile with too many teeth.