Little Red Riding Hood is a European fairy tale. The earliest known versions were told by French peasants in the 10th century, and recorded by Egbert of Liège. The best-known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm.
Summary[]
Once upon a time, there was a young girl who lived in a small country village. She was given a red hooded cloak from her grandmother, which suited her so well that she wore it every day, and she came to be known as Little Red Riding Hood.
One day, her grandmother fell ill, and so her mother sent her to deliver some goods to her in a basket (the contents vary from version to version, often baked goods such as cakes or bread, often including a beverage such as wine). Before sending her on her way, Red's mother instructed her on how to handle herself on the journey - to travel quickly, to take care of the basket, and to avoid any strangers she might encounter.
Red's grandmother lived in another village, a half-hour's walk through the woods. A bit after Red set out on her errand, she encountered the Big Bad Wolf, who struck up a conversation. Red told the Wolf exactly where she was going and why, and the Wolf took immediate interest. In some versions, he suggests that Red slow down and take in her surroundings, since after all her grandmother won't mind if she's a little late. On other versions, the Wolf proposes a race to see who gets to the house first, with him taking a shorter path and Red taking a more roundabout way. In either case, the Wolf made a break straight for grandma's house, while Red got distracted doing things like gathering flowers and picking berries.
The Wolf naturally reached the house first, and knocked on the door. When the grandmother asked who it was, the Wolf mimicked Red's voice to trick her. The grandmother told him to just come in - "Pull the bobbin and the latch will open" - as she was too weak to get out of bed. The Wolf went in, devoured the grandmother, and disguised himself as her before taking her place in the bed. (In some versions, the Wolf closes the curtains and pulls the covers over his face, to better disguise his appearance."
Red arrived later, in some versions finding the door ajar. She set the basket down, and approached the bed, the Wolf mimicking her grandmother's voice to trick her. As Red approached, she began to make out the Wolf's features. We all know the back-and-forth from birth. What big ears, better to hear you with. What big eyes, better to see you with. What big sharp teeth... at which point, the Wolf devoured Red just as he had her grandmother.
In the oldest versions, that's usually where it ends. In the Brothers Grimm version, a savior was added - a woodsman or huntsman who noticed something amiss while passing by. He entered the house to find the wolf asleep, his belly swollen from his meal. Upon realizing that Red and her grandmother can be saved, the woodsman cut the Wolf open to free them. They then filled the wolf's belly with heavy stones, and sewed him back up. This led to the Wolf's death, either from falling into water and drowning, or simply from the weight of them. And so Red, her grandmother, and the woodsman lived happily ever after.
Variations[]
- The Brothers Grimm version also adds an epilogue in which Red encounters a second wolf in the woods, but this time does everything right, going straight to her grandmother's house and working with her to defeat the wolf
- Certain takes following the Grimm version have the woodsman arrive before Red gets eaten, ending the tale on a bittersweet note where Red survives but the grandmother still dies
- Softer versions of the tale have the grandmother stow safely away from the Wolf, or not even be in the house at all when he arrives, with nobody getting eaten at all
- Some decidedly dark older versions have the Wolf trick Red into cannibalizing parts of her grandmother, before instructing her to throw her clothes into the fire and get into bed with him, after which he eats her
- The True History of Little Golden Hood changes the hood's color from red to gold, and imbues it with magical properties (the grandmother being something of a witch), with it burning the Wolf when he attacks the heroine before the grandmother herself drives him off
- W. W. Denslow's version of the tale has the grandmother quickly defeat the Wolf and chain him outside, after which Red tames him and makes him the world's first domestic dog
- The Walt Disney Laugh-o-Gram Studio adaptation moves the tale to the (then-modern) 1920s, and features such absurdities as Red and the Wolf driving cars, the Wolf magically shrinking his car, Red chasing a dancing flower, and the woodsman-equivalent using an airplane to rescue Red