Wolf eating little red riding hood
Better to teach you with: The Terrifying real story of Little Red Riding hood
Flickr | Photo CourtesyFairy tales are extremely old, some experts estimate the tradition is 6000 years old.
This children’s story is far more “metal” then the one we tell today.
It is no question that several of the original Grimm’s fairy tales have aged quite terribly, with some being referred to by many under the tongue-in-cheek title of “Grim Fairy Tales”. However, one of the most beloved children’s fairy-tales to come from such a dark and bizarre origin is that of “Little Red Riding Hood”.
The story of Little Red Riding Hood is pretty much common knowledge at this point, however it should be repeated in its more well-known version before diving into its original telling.
Red Riding Hood is a little girl nicknamed such for the red jacket she always wears. On her way to bring food to her sick Grandmother’s house, she meets a cunning wolf who inquires about her business, learning from the innocent little girl where her grandmother lives.
He then distracts the girl by encouraging her to pick flowers while he rushes to the Grandmother’s house and devours her, taking her place in bed.
Red Riding Hood arrives and discovers the ruse too late, before she is either swallowed whole as well or is chased through the forest by the wolf. In the end, she and her grandmother are both rescued by a woodcutter in the area and live happily ever after.
Here is the original tale published in the book “Mother Goose Tales” by Charles Perrault. Upon learning of Red Riding Hood’s grandmother, the wolf rushes to the house, kills the grandmother and then slices the corpse into meat cuts as well as gathering her blood in a bottle.
Red Riding Hood arrives soon after with bread and milk. The wolf, disguised as the grandmother, urges the girl to eat the “meat and wine” in the cellar.
Though it is only implied, a cat notices and calls out Red Riding Hood for eating her grandmother naming her an insensitive epithet. The wolf then encourages Red Riding Hood to enter the bed with him after throwing her red jacket into the fireplace, insisting she won’t need it anymore.
Red Riding Hood complies and is devoured. Where is the woodcutter? He’s not in this story. That is how it ends. Rather horrifying in today’s standards wouldn’t you say?
French Author Charles Perrault, responsible for compiling other fairytales, most notably “Cinderella”, spoke out in defense to the backlash this story received.
In an article on the blog “Once upon a time” by Genevieve Carlton, Perrault stated the story was about the danger of trusting strangers which he personified as a wolf, those appearing “gentle” to be “most dangerous.”
Upon further examination, his symbolism becomes less and less subtle. For instance, the “gentle” wolf encouraging the girl to leave behind her jacket (symbol of the innocent person she was before) and join him in bed.
Folktales at the time were not meant to entertain, but educate. With a life expectancy significantly shorter than our current ones, children were raised to be moral and careful as they matured faster.
A story with a terrifying conclusion is far more effective and real than one with a happy ending.
There are still wolves who mask their intent by appearing “gentle” that is the true horror- how correct the original story is in today’s standards.
In The Original Little Red Riding Hood, The Wolf Forced Her To Eat Her Grandma
Little Red Riding Hood Has Been Told For Centuries, But It Didn't Used To Have A Happy Ending
Photo
:
Julius Sergius von Klever
/ Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Long before it was first written down, "Little Red Riding Hood" was a folktale told for centuries. Anthropologist Jamie Tehrani argues that the fairy tale was not invented by the French writer Charles Perrault, the author of Mother Goose Tales and the first person who wrote it down. Historian Robert Darnton explains that most of Perrault’s stories came from the oral tradition – most likely through his son’s nurse, where he borrowed the name Mother Goose.
But the story of Little Red Riding Hood had much deeper roots, and it went through a number of versions. Even after Perrault’s French version, the story spread to Germany and England, carried by French refugees of the Wars of Religion and later conflicts, until the Brothers Grimm wrote it down again in the 19th century. In fact, the story of a girl wearing red who wanders off and runs into a wolf dates back to at least the 11th century, when a Belgium poet recorded the tale.
The long history of the story includes a number of changes that transform it from a disturbing tale of cannibalism and pedophilia to the much friendlier version children hear today, which has a happy ending.
In Some Versions Of The Story, There Is No Little Red Riding Hood
Photo
:
Unknown
/ Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
One of the defining features of Little Red Riding Hood is her red hood – it appears in nearly every image of the story produced in the last 200 years.
But in some versions of the story, the little girl didn’t wear a red hood at all. One folk version told in 17th- and 18th-century France described the main character as simply a “little girl.” In other versions, the hood is made from gold. The red hood doesn't appear until the 17th century.
Where did the famous hood come from? It was most likely invented by the original Mother Goose, Charles Perrault. In his version, first published in 1697, the girl’s mother “had a little red riding hood made for her.” Perrault explains, “it suited the girl so extremely well that everybody called her Little Red Riding Hood.” And after that, the red hood stuck around.
Once The Red Hood Appeared, People Claimed It Symbolized Coming Of Age... Or Sin
Photo
:
Internet Archive Book Images
/ Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
The red hood made its first appearance in Perrault’s version, but it was such a popular detail that it came to define the story.
In fact, much has been made of the red color. Psychoanalyst Erich Fromm claimed that the red hood was a symbol of menstruation, turning the tale into a morality lesson for young girls who might “stray from the path,” putting their honor at risk. The wolf, in Fromm’s version, becomes a seducer of young girls.
Red was a color associated with sin when Perrault first wrote the fairy tale in the 1690s. And many folklorists point out that the red color was often a symbol that a girl had come of age, linking it to menstruation. When the wolf tricks Little Red Riding Hood and eats her up, the message is clear: beware of predators who want to take advantage of young girls. And there’s a twisted part of the earliest French versions that really drives the point home.
In The Original Version, The Wolf Makes Red Strip And Climb In Bed With Him
Photo
:
Gustave Doré
/ Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
The original version of "Little Red Riding" gets creepy very quickly.
Once the little girl is at her grandmother’s house, where the wolf has disguised himself as her grandmother, the wolf asks Red to strip off her clothes. In the story, the wolf says, “Undress and get into bed with me.” When Red asks what do do with her apron, the wolf says, “Throw it on the fire; you won’t need it any more.”
After Red tosses her apron in the fire, the wolf also makes her take off her bodice, skirt, petticoat, and stockings. With each item of clothing, the wolf says “Throw it on the fire; you won’t need it any more.” Once she’s taken off her clothes, Red climbs into bed with the wolf. That’s when she notices that something is not right with her “grandmother.”
“Oh grandmother! How hairy you are!” Red declares. In today's version of the fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood definitely doesn’t get naked.
The Wolf Feeds The Grandmother To Little Red Riding Hood
Photo
:
Charles Perrault
/ Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Even before Red climbs into bed with the wolf, the older versions of the story are gruesome.
When the wolf sneaks into the grandmother’s house, he kills and butchers the elderly woman. He pours her blood into a bottle and slices up her flesh on a platter.
As if that wasn’t bloody enough, when Little Red Riding Hood shows up, the story quickly turns into a tale of familial cannibalism. When Red hands over the bread and milk to the wolf, he says, “Have something yourself, my dear. There is meat and wine in the pantry.” He points to the blood and flesh of her grandmother. Red eats the snack, and a little cat whispers, “Slut! To eat the flesh and drink the blood of your grandmother!”
There are some strange parallels here with the religious tradition of taking the Eucharist – the body and blood of Christ. However, for obvious reasons, this cannibalism was omitted from later versions of the story.
Little Red Riding Hood Escapes In One Version Using Some Poop Humor
Photo
:
Harry Clarke
/ Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
In most versions of Little Red Riding Hood, the girl never figures out the wolf’s disguise – which is kind of surprising, since most people would recognize a wolf wearing a nightdress.
Perhaps Red didn’t have the best eyesight.
But in one version, Red manages to escape from the wolf’s trap. Once she has climbed into bed with the wolf, she notices that he isn’t exactly grandmotherly. Red makes up a lie to leave the bed: she says that she has to poop and doesn’t want to do it in grandmother’s bed. The wolf lets Red leave for the woods, but he ties a piece of string to her so that she can’t escape. In this version, the girl tricks the wolf by slipping the string over a branch and running away. That’s some clever thinking!
Little Red Riding Hood - Charles Perrault, read online
Once upon a time there was a little girl. Her mother loved her without memory, and her grandmother even more. For her granddaughter's birthday, her grandmother gave her a red cap. Since then, the girl went everywhere in it. Neighbors said this about her:
— Here comes Little Red Riding Hood!
Once a mother baked a pie and said to her daughter:
— Go, Little Red Riding Hood, to your grandmother, bring her a pie and a pot of butter and find out if she is healthy.
Little Red Riding Hood gathered and went to her grandmother.
She is walking through the forest, and towards her is a gray wolf.
— Where are you going, Little Red Riding Hood? Wolf asks.
— I go to my grandmother and bring her a pie and a pot of butter.
— Does your grandmother live far away?
“Far away,” answers Little Red Riding Hood. - Over there in that village, behind the mill, in the first house from the edge.
— All right, — Wolf says, — I also want to visit your grandmother. I'll go down this road, and you go down that one. Let's see which one of us comes first.
The Wolf said this and ran as fast as he could along the shortest path.
And Little Red Riding Hood went along the longest road. She walked slowly, stopping along the way, picking flowers and collecting them in bouquets. Before she had even reached the mill, the Wolf had already galloped up to her grandmother's house and was knocking on the door: knock-knock!
Who is there? Grandma asks.
- It's me, your granddaughter, Little Red Riding Hood, - the Wolf answers, - I came to visit you, I brought a pie and a pot of butter.
And my grandmother was sick at the time and was in bed. She thought it was really Little Red Riding Hood and called out:
— Pull the string, my child, and the door will open!
The wolf pulled the string and the door opened.
The wolf rushed at the grandmother and swallowed her at once. He was very hungry because he had not eaten anything for three days. Then he closed the door, lay down on his grandmother's bed and began to wait for Little Red Riding Hood.
Soon she came and knocked:
Knock Knock!
Who is there? Wolf asks. And his voice is rough, hoarse.
Little Red Riding Hood was frightened, but then she thought that her grandmother was hoarse from a cold, and answered:
— It's me, your granddaughter. I brought you a pie and a pot of butter!
The wolf cleared his throat and said more subtly:
— Pull the string, my child, the door will open.
Little Red Riding Hood pulled the rope-door and opened it. The girl entered the house, and the Wolf hid under the covers and said:
- Granddaughter, put the pie on the table, put the pot on the shelf, and lie down next to me!
Little Red Riding Hood lay down next to the Wolf and asked:
— Grandmother, why do you have such big hands?
- This is to hug you tighter, my child.
— Grandmother, why do you have such big ears?
— To hear better, my child.
— Grandmother, why do you have such big eyes?
— To see better, my child.
— Grandma, why do you have such big teeth?
— And this is to eat you as soon as possible, my child!
Before Little Red Riding Hood had time to gasp, the Wolf rushed at her and swallowed her.
But, fortunately, at that time, woodcutters with axes on their shoulders were passing by the house. They heard a noise, ran into the house and killed the Wolf. And then they cut open his belly, and Little Red Riding Hood came out, and behind her and grandmother - both whole and unharmed.
The tale of Little Red Riding Hood, who put the Wolf who molested her in her place
The second wave of MeToo has risen on Russian Twitter: girls and boys spoke about cases of harassment, unwanted attention and abuse by journalists. The culture of violence is sewn into history and social norms, part of which are children's fairy tales. The princesses do not decide anything in them and teach the girls a simple rule: the prince is always right and only he can lead you into people. And it can also kiss without your consent and generally turn out to be stupid and limited.
Laura Lane and Ellen Hawn got tired of the old customs and the weakness of the heroines and rewrote the fairy tale in the book Cinderella and the Glass Ceiling. We are publishing a chapter in which Little Red Riding Hood put in her place an ill-mannered and annoying Wolf who pursued her in a dark forest.
Once upon a time there lived a sensible and spiritual girl, nicknamed Little Red Riding Hood.
Her real name was Rose. But everyone called her Little Red Riding Hood, because she wore a cherry-colored cloak with a hood and was short. One day Rosa's mother asked her to take a basket of sweet pastries to her grandmother while she was sick.
- Just look, don't turn anywhere, but go straight to grandma! Mother instructed Little Red Riding Hood. “Don’t walk down poorly lit streets, don’t talk to strangers, and don’t slouch!”
- Okay, Mom! Rosa shouted and closed the door behind her.
Once outside, she immediately hunched over. After walking a few blocks down the road to her grandmother's house, she heard a loud whistle from behind a tree.
— Awww!
It was the Wolf!
- Hello, Red. Dear cape, said the wolf. “I bet you look even better under it.”
"That's a pain in the ass," Rose thought. She now had no time for verbal skirmishes with the ill-mannered Wolf. “By the way, how banal he is with his jokes. After all, it is obvious that under the cloak I have clothes!” To somehow distract herself, Rosa took a chocolate chip cookie out of her basket and took a bite.
“Ugh, bad girl, don’t bite the cookie,” Wolf immediately responded, smiling greasyly. — Can I have a piece too?
"Only an idiot would beg for food from a stranger," thought Rose. "Get off already."
She thought about tossing him a half-eaten cookie, but it was too tasty to give to someone like Wolf. Instead, she quickened her pace. However, the Wolf was still following her, even when she started running on the footbridge.
“Mmm,” he muttered disgustingly. - Sweetie.
Little Red Riding Hood really wanted the last phrase to refer not to her, but to the cookie. She looked around for a safe place to hide, but all the shops were closed.
The wolf was still following her. Rosa became very uneasy. She did not want to enter into a direct confrontation with the Wolf and anger him, it seemed to him that a look of reproach would affect him. She looked sternly at the Wolf: get lost.
And she turned away sharply.
“Damn, what an ass,” Wolf said.
It didn't seem to work, Rose thought. She lowered her head and pulled on the hood of her red cloak, hoping that he would take the hint and stop chasing her.
— Why so sad? Well, smile! - said the wolf and began to approach. — What is wrong with you, girl?
He became aggressive. Not paying attention did not help, snapping too. Rose despaired. Her palms began to sweat, blood rushed to her cheeks, and her left eye twitched. She decided to try another method: a sincere monologue.
- Look, man. I don't like what you're doing," Rose began. — My grandmother is sick, I go to visit her. It would be great if I could calmly walk down the street without harassment and so on. So that no one comments on my raincoat and my butt. Which, by the way, is not visible, because my raincoat completely covers it! We all walk this earth, trying to coexist. Would you like it if the only thing I saw in you was a fluffy gray tail? That's what makes me uncomfortable.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw the wolf stop.
She turned around and went to her grandmother's house. Little Red Riding Hood doubted whether it was necessary to say anything to the wolf at all. What if he has a knife with him? Wolves are quite dangerous, besides, they can have rabies. When she finally looked over her shoulder, the wolf was gone.
“Wow! After all, the right words can really handle the situation,” she thought.
But just to be on the safe side, she sent a geotagged sentinel pigeon to her best friend Cleo to let her know where Little Red Riding Hood is. This was often indispensable, for example when you go to a concert in the woods or when you are being chased by a non-domesticated canine.
Soon Rosa was with her grandmother. She knocked on the door and waited. But the grandmother did not open it. Then Rosa tried the door - it was not locked.
— Grandma, hello! It's Rose! she announced. - I brought you all sorts of goodies.
“I’m here, granddaughter,” answered the grandmother.
But her voice sounded unusual - hoarse and creaky.
“Poor grandmother,” thought Rosa, “apparently she is very sick.” Rosa went to the door to her grandmother's room at the back of the house and pushed open the door. Grandmother was lying in bed reading a book. But something wasn't right.
“Granny, you have big ears,” Rosa remarked.
- Well, this is to hear you better.
— And what eyes!
— To see you better, granddaughter.
— What a huge mouth!
- Listen, well, this is already too much! Grandma got angry. “Isn’t it nice to point your finger at my big eyes, ears and mouth. You know, with age, the ear cartilage grows, and the eyes are bigger due to new glasses for vision. And I also have a new set of false teeth.
"I'm sorry," Rosa felt uncomfortable. “It’s just that I almost didn’t recognize you in those new glasses. You look great!
- Well, tell me, how is your walk?
“To be honest, not very much,” Rosa answered, jumping onto her grandmother’s bed. - On the way, one ill-mannered Wolf followed me, still did not lag behind.
Rosa told what happened to her on the way here.
“You know,” Grandmother replied, “Even they pester me, at my age.
Rose was not surprised. Indeed, on the streets they pester women of all ages and with different figures.
— I would like to give you some wise advice, but even among my friends there is no consensus on what to do with molesters. We all have our own methods of struggle. Everything depends on the situation. If you do nothing, you feel powerless, and if you try to defend yourself, it can be dangerous. I'm proud of how you handled that stupid bag of garbage. And now, can you still treat me to the buns that your mother baked?
They spent the next hour eating sweet pastries and imagining how they should behave when meeting molesters. Grandma said that she would love to punch them, and Rosa dreamed of how she would give a presentation about molestation on the street and tell why such behavior of men makes women feel insecure.
“I am very glad that you are feeling better,” Rosa said to her grandmother.
- Otherwise, I was afraid that the serial killer wolf got into your house, ate you and was waiting for me to eat too.
— Well, no, — answered the grandmother. “Perhaps the Wolf you described was in some gloomy and stranger fairy tale.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, the Wolf continued to harass women. But then his own grandmother, who went out for bread, saw what he was doing. At the moment when he whistled after the young girl, the grandmother crept up to him and knocked him out with a fresh loaf of yeast dough. As he lay on the sidewalk, she gave him a whole lecture on male aggression and toxic masculinity. Since then, he never again molested women on the street.
The wolf was still following her. Rosa became very uneasy. She did not want to enter into a direct confrontation with the Wolf and anger him, it seemed to him that a look of reproach would affect him. She looked sternly at the Wolf: get lost.
And she turned away sharply.
“Damn, what an ass,” said the Wolf.
It didn't seem to work, Rose thought. She lowered her head and pulled on the hood of her red cloak, hoping that he would take the hint and stop chasing her.
— Why so sad? Well, smile! - said the wolf and began to approach. — What is wrong with you, girl?
He became aggressive. Not paying attention did not help, snapping too. Rose despaired. Her palms began to sweat, blood rushed to her cheeks, and her left eye twitched. She decided to try another method: a sincere monologue.
- Listen, boy. I don't like what you're doing," Rose began. — My grandmother is sick, I go to visit her. It would be great if I could calmly walk down the street without harassment and so on. So that no one comments on my raincoat and my butt. Which, by the way, is not visible, because my raincoat completely covers it! We all walk this earth, trying to coexist. Would you like it if the only thing I saw in you was a fluffy gray tail? That's what makes me uncomfortable.
I didn't choose this coat for you.
I put it on because I liked it. And to please my mother, because this is the only thing from my wardrobe that seemed pretty to her. For the future, please try to be more respectful when talking to women. Have a good day.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw that the wolf had stopped. She turned around and went to her grandmother's house. Little Red Riding Hood doubted whether it was necessary to say anything to the wolf at all. What if he has a knife with him? Wolves are quite dangerous, besides, they can have rabies. When she finally looked over her shoulder, the wolf was gone.
“Wow! After all, the right words can really handle the situation,” she thought.
But just to be on the safe side, she sent a geotagged sentinel pigeon to her best friend Cleo to let her know where Little Red Riding Hood is. This was often indispensable, for example when you go to a concert in the woods or when you are being chased by a non-domesticated canine.
Soon Rosa was with her grandmother.
She knocked on the door and waited. But the grandmother did not open it. Then Rosa tried the door - it was not locked.
- Grandma, hello! It's Rose! she announced. - I brought you all sorts of goodies.
“I’m here, granddaughter,” answered the grandmother.
But her voice sounded unusual - hoarse and creaky. “Poor grandmother,” thought Rosa, “apparently she is very sick.” Rosa went to the door to her grandmother's room at the back of the house and pushed open the door. Grandmother was lying in bed reading a book. But something wasn't right.
“Grandma, you have big ears,” Rosa remarked.
- Well, this is to hear you better.
— What eyes!
— To see you better, granddaughter.
— What a huge mouth!
“Listen, this is overkill! Grandma got angry. “Isn’t it nice to point your finger at my big eyes, ears and mouth. You know, with age, the ear cartilage grows, and the eyes get bigger due to new glasses for vision.
Also, I have a new dentures.
“Sorry,” Rosa felt uncomfortable. “It’s just that I almost didn’t recognize you in those new glasses. You look great!
— Well, tell me, how is your walk?
“To be honest, not very much,” Rosa answered, jumping onto her grandmother’s bed. - On the way, one ill-mannered Wolf followed me, still did not lag behind.
Rosa told what happened to her on the way here.
“You know,” Grandmother replied, “Even they pester me, at my age.
Rose was not surprised. Indeed, on the streets they pester women of all ages and with different figures.
— I would like to give you wise advice, but even among my girlfriends there is no consensus on what to do with molesters. We all have our own methods of struggle. Everything depends on the situation. If you do nothing, you feel powerless, and if you try to defend yourself, it can be dangerous. I'm proud of how you handled that stupid bag of garbage. And now, can you still treat me to the buns that your mother baked?
They spent the next hour eating sweet pastries and imagining how they would behave when meeting with molesters.
