Ridinghood Revised

Little Red Riding Hood - Revised

by Jean LeFevre

Once Upon a Time, so all the good stories begin, there lived a really nice teenager. She liked bright clothes, and especially her Red Cape, with a hood. It was made by her Grandmother. Grandmother lived in a small cottage in the woods, it was lonely, but she loved being away from the city and close to nature. Every week her grand daughter, who was often called Little Red Riding Hood, would visit her grandmother and bring her some home baked cookies and some milk.

In the same woods, lived a large Wolf. Like most of his kind, he was rather timid and very gentle. Sadly, his mate had been killed and he had become a Lone Wolf - a lonely wolf! Every week, he watched for Little Red Riding Hood, and on the other days he kept a watchful eye on Grandmother. He knew the animals would not hurt her, but he feared that there were humans who were neither kind nor reliable. Wolf was afraid for her.

Grandmothers tend to be somewhat absent minded and on this particular week Grandmother forgot that her grand daughter would be coming and she went out to the local village. This was Wolf's opportunity! He rushed ahead and pulled the latch (most wolves are clever at this sort of thing), ran into the bedroom and hopped into Grandmother's bed. He pulled the sheets up to his chin and waited - hopefully - for the cookies and milk!

Little Red Riding Hood called out and when there was no answer, she went into the bedroom. Sitting up in the bed was a large wolf. As the wolf did not look in the least like her grandmother, she was rather surprised and asked what he was doing in the bed and where was Grandmother?

Wolf looked longingly at the cookies and licked his lips. He did not quite meet the girl's eyes because he knew that was not polite, but he made a little sound and poked his nose at the cookies. Red Riding Hood pulled one out of her bag and gave it to him. Hetook it very carefully, remembering that People have very thin skin - and wolves have very sharp teeth. The cookie was delicious! He made a little noise at the back of his throat, and waited. He received a second cookie. Just at that moment Grandmother came rushing in, very apologetic for having forgotten. Tears formed in the wolf's eyes as he prepared to leave.

Both Grandmother and Little Red Riding Hood sat down either side of him and gently wiped away the tears. They wanted to know what was wrong. He told them about the death of his life-long mate and then added that no one ever seemed to think about taking cookies to wolves. He added that he was very lonely.

Grandmother stroked his thick fur and told him she understood - she had lost her mate too and was also very lonely. Little Red Riding Hood looked at them both, and a smile lit up her face. "Wolf, why don't you live here with Grandmother? I worry about her safety and I know you will take care of her! Grandmother, you always say how lonely your life has become and I know you would like to have Wolf as your friend and companion. I can bring extra cookies, and we can all share"!

Wolf looked at Grandmother, with a question - and hope - in his eyes. Grandmother reached out her arms and held him gently. Love filled the little cottage and it became a real Home - for Grandmother and the First German Shepherd!