Little Red Riding Hood: The Wolf's Tale

  In the original Little Red Riding Hood, a girl goes to see her grandma and she runs into a wolf in the woods, right?  Then she goes to her grandmother's house, only to find out that the wolf has eaten her grandmother and that he plans to eat her as well.  Of course, someone comes to save her, the wolf is killed, and they even save the grandma!  Pretty great right?  The story we all know about Little Red Riding Hood has us all believing that the wolf is the bad guy, but I'm afraid the tale is a lot sadder than that.

  The story begins with a wolf named David, who, like most wolves, lived in a wolf den.  His den had a small kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, and one bathroom.  Pretty great for a modern day wolf.  Unfortunately for David, his house was getting too expensive and he couldn't afford to pay his mortgage.  He had just gotten laid off from his job at the bakery because some of the customers had gone missing, and, of course, they all suspected him.  To be fair, he did eat one or two of them- but he's a wolf, so can you really blame him?

   

  David logged on to wolfdenfinder.com so he could find another den that was more affordable.

    "$800,000, $550,000, $600,000?  This is insane!  I can't afford any of these," David mumbled miserably to himself.  Job searching was a bust too.  He definitely wasn't going to make enough money to be able to live in any of those nice wolf dens.  Maybe Pricilla will let me stay with her, thought David.  He decided he would go over to her den and ask her.

  "Absolutely not!" Pricilla declared.  "I already have five other wolves staying here with me.  I am not about to get kicked out of my home.  I'm sorry David, you'll have to find somewhere else to stay."  David's shoulders slumped and his ears drooped, but he thanked her anyway, turned, and walked away.  Surely there are other options.  Maybe I can get a loan, he thought.

   

  He checked his GPS before going into the building to make sure he was in the right place. Pig, Pig, and Pig Loans.  The building was made of bricks, and David figured the owner of this company must be the third little pig, who was the only one smart enough not to build a house out of sticks and hay.  David laughed to himself and then walked inside.

  "HAHAHAHAHA!" the pigs squealed.

  "We can't give you a loan!  Have you seen your credit score?  It's lower than Sandy's voice when she sings in the shower!" (Sandy was the littlest pig).  Sandy glared at her older brother (Bob), who apparently is a jerk.

  "He's right, David.  You'll have to get help somewhere else."  David growled, and for a moment he felt like he might just eat the three little pigs.  But instead he decided to go.

  David dragged his paws through the dirt.  He hadn't eaten in three days and he had nowhere to go.  Wandering through the forest for so long had left him feeling hopeless.  All of a sudden, a girl emerged from behind some trees.  Her hair was dark red, much like her sweatshirt.  She looked to be about 15 years old, and in her hands she carried a basket filled with flowers, fruits, jams, and various baked goods.  David's mouth started to water.  He walked up to the girl.

  "Hello," he said.

  "Hello," she said.

  "What's in your basket?" he asked.

  "Oh, just some stuff for my grandma.  I'm going to visit her- her house is at the end of the forest."

  "Is it really..." David muttered to himself.  "What's your name?"

  "Rose," she answered.  "What's your name?"

  "David," he said.  "Could I possibly have one of those fruits before I go on my way?"

  "Of course!" she said as she handed him a bright, shiny, red apple.

  "Thank you.  I hope you have a good day, Rose," said David, as he started to walk away.  David began to feel lighter on his feet.  He needed to find this grandma.

  This is the only house at the end of the forest- it must be it, thought David to himself as he approached a small cottage.  It had two windows, one on each side of the front door, which was painted red.  The window sills had flower beds on them, and through one of the open windows David could smell cherry pie being baked.  A stone path led to the front door and David walked right up to the door and knocked (a little too loudly than he meant to).

  "Who's there?" a voice called.  David didn't know what to say.

  "Rose?" the voice called again.

  "It's David!  We don't know each other!" he finally called back.  After a few moments, an old woman opened the door. She had curly white hair, and David wondered if it had once been red like Rose's.  The woman wore eyeglasses connected to a chain that hung around her neck.  She had on a light pink apron that she wore over a long sleeved dark green shirt and blue jeans, and she was completely covered with flour.  Obviously she had been in the middle of baking.  David hoped she wasn't annoyed at him for interrupting.

  "Can I help you?" the woman asked.

  "I need a place to live," David said weakly.  "I've tried everything.  All of the wolf dens are too expensive, I can't find a job, and my credit score is terrible.  Will you please help me?" The woman looked at him and smiled.

  "You can stay here tonight.  In the morning, maybe we can look together for something for you." David was so relieved.  He finally had a place to stay.

Knock knock.

  "Oh!  That must be my granddaughter, Rose.  I'll go get the door."  The woman, who had later introduced herself as Samantha, went to go answer the door. 
Wait.  Something didn't feel right.  David lifted his nose to the air and sniffed.  He bolted up out of his seat and ran towards the door.  When he got there, he didn't see Rose.  Rather, he saw a very large man with a dark shaggy beard and a giant ax.  He must be some sort of robber, thought David. He looked over, only to see Samantha on the ground, injured.  David leaped and attacked the man with the ax.  Even though men with axes are generally pretty dangerous and terrifying, a wolf is much more so.  Naturally, David won the fight with only a few minor injuries, and the scary ax man ran away in defeat.  That's when Rose arrived.

    "What happened?  What's going on?" she was clearly freaking out.  "...David?"

    "Hey, Rose," he replied.  "A guy came in here to rob you  and tried to hurt your grandma.  He's gone now."  Together they lifted Samantha off of the ground and laid her in her bed.  Rose got some ointment for the cuts and then she bandaged everything up.

    "You're pretty good at this," he said.

    "I want to be a nurse when I grow up," she answered.  They left Rose's grandmother so she could rest for a while and went to clean up.

    "So why did you come here?" Rose asked.

    "I had nowhere else to go.  I had nowhere to live and I couldn't afford any other place to live."

    "Oh," she said.

    "Your grandmother said that I could stay here tonight.  That's why I was here." David sighed, beginning to feel very tired.  "Your grandma is a very nice lady."

    "Yes, she is."

  In the coming days, Rose's grandmother Samantha gradually got better from her injuries.  David was now living with Samantha permanently, and he and Rose had become good friends.  Rumors had been spread by the man with the ax about the wolf, saying that he was a great and terrible beast that had nearly killed him when he tried to rescue Rose and her grandmother.  These are likely the rumors that started the original Little Red Riding Hood story. But Rose and Samantha knew the truth.  David had saved them, not that scary hairy man.

    Luckily this story has a good ending.  David continues to live with Samantha.  She gave him a job on her farm, and he is doing very well- only a few animals have gone missing.