Little Green Riding Hood.

Once upon a time there lived a little country girl. She was an only child who lived with her mother on the outskirts of a village, in the middle of a vast land of hills. Everything was green all around for as far as the eye could see. The little girl was not used to the other children who impressed her a bit whenever she would meet them on market days. Her only friends were the farm animals: she would play the school teacher with rabbits, chase hens and sing nursery rhymes to newborn calves. Still, her games of choice would always take place in the fields. She loved running down the hills as fast as she could without falling, or would sometimes roll them down on purpose as she found the dizziness exhilarating. She would also build luxurious mansions by flattening the tall grass blades and layout mazes of corridors leading to spacious dining rooms. She knew the name of each flower in the meadow and picked a little bouquet for her mother every day. As much as she rejoiced in seeing her daughter so delighted, her mother often felt sorry to find her clothes smudged with grass stains. One day, she made a little green riding hood for the girl to wear when playing outdoors. The child liked it so much she would wear it at all times, and this is why everybody called her Little Green Riding Hood.

One day her mother, having made some cakes, said to her: Go, my dear, and see how your grandmother is doing, for I hear she has been very ill. Take her a cake, and this little pot of butter. Little Green Riding Hood set out immediately to go to her grandmother, who lived in another village. Somewhere in the middle of the forest, she met with a wolf. He would have very much like to devour her on the spot, for he had eaten but a shrew in the past three days, yet he dared not: he was too wary of the woodcutters who could be heard working nearby. As softly as he could he asked her: Well lovely girl, beautiful day for a walk. Where are you off to, alone in these woods? The poor child was innocent and very fond of animals. She only knew the gentle ones from the farm and could have not imagined there existed fiendish, dangerous beasts. She said to him: I am on my way to visit my grandmother who has been feeling ill. My mother sent me to carry her this cake and this little pot of butter. Why, the poor women. I know her very well but I had not heard of her misfortune. You see me extremely sorry to learn such terrible news. I shall walk along with you and bid her my best wishes.

Little Green Riding Hood loved her grandmother dearly so she was very pleased to hear a good friend would come and visit her too. On the way she was cheerful and voluble, asking the wolf a thousand questions about the woods, which she wasn’t familiar with. At the sight of an unknown flower she chortled and clapped her hands and called the wolf in her high pitched voice. The wolf patience was wearing thin. His stomach rumbled, he was drooling over the girl’s plump little fingers, and her shrieks made him nervous, for he did not want to be found out. Nevertheless he had to remain patient and play along some more but he knew his time would come soon. In fact he suddenly realized he had not heard the sound of an axe for quite some time and set out to jump on the girl. At that very moment, they were approaching a clearing and the child exclaimed excitedly: Oh look wolf! Look at that hill down there! Let’s race down! With these words she left him no choice and grabbed the wolf by the pawn. Caught unprepared, he immediately stumbled over a large root and hurtled down the hill, rolling and tumbling, only to violently end up his flight in a crash against the trunk of a wide oak tree.

Crying with guilt and despair, Little Green Riding Hood carried the unconscious wolf to her grandmother’s house. The good woman dressed his wounds and took care of him, and soon he recovered. He never regained his wit however, and the grandmother became famous in the land for owning the only pet wolf ever heard of since time immemorial.