Red Riding Hood

An old story, of a sort. This is a re-interpretation of mine of one of the supposed original tales of Red Riding Hood.

Red Riding Hood was a young woman in a small village of woodsmen. She was a mischevious, disobedient girl who was constantly being told that her ways would get her into trouble. Her grandmother was an old lady, and thus lived in a small cottage deep in the woods. Some folk of the village even muttered that her grandmother was a witch.

It happened that Red Riding Hood's grandmother fell ill and was bedridden. No one knew of this until a small sparrow came to Red Riding Hood and told her. Red Riding Hood of course knew better than any small bird, and brushed away the sparrow. She was busy being the centre of attention of a group of young village men.

And so the bird flew off, and flew to Red Riding Hood's mother and told her. Furious with her daughter Red Riding Hood's mother packed a basket of food and set out in search of her daughter. She found her under a bridge, kissing one of the villaage boys, with her hooded cape on the ground beneath them.

She drew out the slim willow branch (in those days all mothers of disobedient children would carry one) and struck her daughter across her legs. "Filthy disobedient pig!" she said to her daughter. "Your grandmother lies ill, go to her at once before I beat you black and blue."

Sniffing, Red Riding Hood put on her cape and took up the basket before walking into the forest towards her grandmother's house.

In the forest also lived an evil beast, the wolf, who loved nothing more than destruction and corruption. He had been watching Red Riding Hood for some time, and now saw his chance. As she entered the forest he stood before her, smiling at her.

"Well hello there. And where is a beautiful girl like you off to today?" he asked.

Red Riding Hood blushed as bright as her cape and said to the wolf (completely forgetting all the warnings she had been given about not talking to the wolf) "I am going to take this food to my grandmother. See, some bread and cheese, all we can spare."

Hearing this the wolf laughed inside, for he knew the way to the grandmother's house well. "Look at those flowers" he said "I'm sure your grandmother would love a bunch of those."

"Alright," said Red Riding Hood, rather grumpily as she didn't want to waste time, "I'll pick her some."

The wolf licked his lips as he watched her young form bend to pick the flowers. Then, quick as a flash, he ran off through the woods to the grandmother's house.

The sparrow had been watching this and followed the wolf, sure he must be up to evil. It was right in thinking so, for when the wolf got to the grandmother's house he called out in Red Riding Hood's voice "Oh grandmother, I have brought a basket of food for you. Please let me in."

The grandmother called back in her old, croaky voice "Come in my dear grandaughter. Warm yourself by the fire. The door is unbarred."

Quick as lightning the wolf burst through the door and killed the old woman. Then he cut out her thigh and carved it, leaving the cuts of meat on the side like ham. An empty bottle was lying on the side, and he filled it with her blood, then ate the rest of her himself before throwing her bones onto the fire. He took her clothes, blew out the candle by the side of the bed, dressed himself in her clothes and climbed into the bed. No sooner had he finished than Red Riding Hood knocked at the door.

"Come in my dear grandaughter" called the wolf in the grandmother's voice, "and warm yourself by the fire."

In came Red Riding Hood in her red cape, a bunch of flowers in one hand and the basket of food in the other, her clothes muddy and dirty from picking the flowers. The wolf stared at her as she came in, but with only the dim light from the fireplace Red Riding Hood could only just make out her grandmother's clothes and not see the wolf inside them.

"I've brought you some food grandmother." said Red Riding Hood.

"Thank you dear, but I've just eaten. There's some ham left there. You must be hungry. Have some." said the wolf in the old woman's voice.

Red Riding Hood was hungry from her walk, so she sat at the table in the cottage and sliced some bread before putting on it a slice of cheese and some of the meat the wolf had offered. As she was about to take her first bite the sparrow, unable to bear any more without saying anything, burst out "Filthy girl, eating the meat of your grandmother, shame on you!"

But Red Riding Hood was very hungry, and considered the sparrow a foolish little bird, and she bit deeply into the bread, cheese and meat, and finished off the platter with the sparrow crying out its warning outside the cottage.

"You must be thirsty my dear," said the wolf, "have some of the wine that's left in that bottle."

Red Riding Hood took the bottle and poured herself a glass of wine. As she lifted it to take the first sip the sparrow cried out again "Depraved child, don't you see what you're doing? Drinking the life-blood of your family!"

And now the meat and wine had made Red Riding Hood sleepy, and she yawned. The wolf grinned an evil grin as it said its next words, and its impression of the grandmother slipped a little as it spoke. "My dear, you sound tired. Why don't you climb into bed with me?"

Red Riding Hood nodded, yawning again, and started to move over to the bed.

"Oh my dear girl, you can't climb into bed in those filthy clothes. Take off that muddy cape of those or you'll make the bed dirty." said the wolf.

Red Riding hood unfastened her cape and let it drop on the floor. "Where shall I put it?" she asked the wolf.

"Throw it on the fire my dear" said the wolf, and she took the cape and threw it onto the fire where it burned away.

"You should take off your shoes dear." said the wolf.

She slipped off her shoes and looked around for somewhere to put them. The wolf's voice was slipping a lot now, almost back to its smooth growl. "Throw them onto the fire dear, you won't need them again."

The shoes followed the cape onto the fire, burning away in the hot, greedy flames.

"Now your dress dear." said the wolf, entirely in its own voice now "Throw that on the fire too, you won't need it again."

Outside the sparrow wept as it watched Red Riding Hood strip off her dress and stand naked and shivering while her red dress burned away on the fire.

"Now you can get into bed, my dear" said the wolf "and warm yourself up next to me, and sleep."

So Red Riding Hood climbed into bed with the wolf, and curled up next to its thick fur, and lay with the wolf.

1 comment:

AngelConradie said...

awesome bunny! i read it twice!!