Fairy Tales Retold: reading creative fiction; Granny the Hero 2

Little Red Riding Hood

1. Once there was a little girl with a cloak that had a red velvet hood. She was known as Little Red Riding Hood. One day her mother said, “Your granny is sick. Please take her some cakes; they will do her good. Remember to stay on the path, and do not stop along the way.”
2. “Yes, mother,” said Little Red Riding Hood. Her granny lived in a house in the woods. When she entered the woods, she saw a wolf. The Wolf wished to eat Little Red Riding Hood for lunch. But she did not know that, so she was not afraid of him.

3. “And where are you going?” he asked.
4. “To my granny’s house,” said Little Red Riding Hood.
5. “And where does your granny live?” asked the Wolf.
6. “In the woods, a short distance from here, in a cottage under three big oak trees,” said Little Red Riding Hood.
7. What a tasty snack this girl would be, the Wolf thought, but she’s not big enough for a meal. I must find a way to eat her and her granny too.
8. The Wolf said, “Why, look at all the pretty flowers. Why don’t you stop to rest and pick some of them?”
9. Little Red Riding Hood saw the lovely flowers, and said, “Granny would love some fresh flowers.” Forgetting what she promised her mother, she left the path and went into the woods to pick flowers.
10. Each time she picked one, she saw others even prettier, and so she strayed deeper and deeper into the woods.
11. The Wolf hurried to Granny’s cottage and knocked on the door.
12. “Who’s there?” said a little voice.
13. “It is I, Little Red Riding Hood,” said the Wolf.
14. “Oh, let yourself in, dear,” said Granny.
15. The Wolf opened the door. Before Granny could realize what was happening, the Wolf gobbled her up!
16. Then the sly Wolf dressed in her nightgown. With a wicked grin, he got into the bed, and pulled up the covers. It was quite the disguise.

17. Meanwhile, Little Red Riding Hood entered Granny’s house. She took a deep breath and called out, “Good morning, Granny.” But there was no answer. She went up to the bed.
18. There she saw her granny, or so she thought. Little Red Riding Hood thought her granny looked very strange indeed.
19. “Oh, Granny,” she said, “what big ears you have!”

20. “The better to hear you with,” said the Wolf.
21. "Hmmm,” said Little Red Riding Hood. “Granny must be very sick, for her voice is much deeper than it used to be.”
22. “And Granny, what big eyes you have!” said Little Red Riding Hood.
23. “The better to see you with, my dear,” answered the Wolf.
24. “And Granny, what big teeth you have!” said Little Red Riding Hood.
25. “The better to eat you with!” cried the Wolf as he sprang up and swallowed Little Red Riding Hood in one big gulp.
26. After his meal, the Wolf went to sleep, and began to snore. A hunter who was passing by the cottage heard the snoring.
27. “My,” he said, “the old woman sounds terrible! I’d better check on her.”
28. The hunter saw the Wolf. He realized that the Wolf had eaten the old woman. He knew he had to set her free.
29. The hunter set them free, and out jumped Little Red Riding Hood and Granny.

30. “Oh, I’m so grateful you saved us!” said Little Red Riding Hood.
31. When the Wolf woke up, he ran away, never to be seen again.
32. And Little Red Riding Hood said to herself, “After this I shall always do as my mother tells me.”

Granny, the Hero

1. I’ll bet you’ve heard my story before. I’m the sweet old granny from Red Riding Hood. You know, the one who was gobbled up by a wicked wolf and rescued by a woodsman? I bet you think you know everything there is to know about this old tale. But you are so wrong!
2. Let’s start with that sly old Wolf. He thought he could fool a little old lady like me. I’m sure he thought he’d have an easy meal. I’m just a gentle old woman. I’m polite to everyone I meet. That’s why I invited him in. He thought he’d fooled me with his silly voice, but he hadn’t. That Wolf could never sound like my sweet Little Red. I would recognize her soft, gentle voice anywhere. I didn’t know what the Wolf was planning when I invited him in. But then, I’m sure he didn’t expect this old granny to be just as sly as he was.
3. The moment he swallowed me whole, I was already planning my escape. When you get to be as old as I am, you look forward to adventure. I knew if I put my mind to it, I’d be back out in no time.
4. The next thing I knew, there was my granddaughter, Little Red. The Wolf had swallowed her up too.
5. “Let’s play a game!” I said to Little Red. “Let’s see who can jump the highest.”

6. Little Red and I started jumping. Oh, did we jump! We jumped and jumped and jumped. What a curious sight it must have been to see that old Wolf’s belly bouncing up and down! He howled and howled. The louder he howled, the harder we jumped. He finally opened his mouth, and out we popped! Then the Wolf ran away as quickly as he could—before we started jumping on top of him as well as inside him.
7. I was a bit startled as I looked around and saw a man I didn’t recognize. Little Red said he was a woodsman. He took one look at us and fell down to the floor with a thump! I guess seeing an old granny and a young girl pop out of a wolf’s mouth could be shocking. But then, the woodsman jumped up and declared himself a hero. He said he had rescued us. What nerve! He’d already run straight into town and told several people before I could stop him. I tried telling everyone the truth, but you know how it is. People just weren’t sure they could believe an old granny could beat a wicked wolf. But you know who does believe it? That old nasty wolf! We never saw him again.

Practice Question