Once upon a time there lived on the borders of a great forest a woodman
and his wife who had one little daughter, a sweet, kind child, whom
every one loved. She was the joy of her mother's heart, and to please
her, the good woman made her a little scarlet cloak and hood, and the
child looked so pretty in it that everybody called her Little Red
Riding-Hood.



One day her mother told her she meant to send her to her grandmother--a
very old woman who lived in the heart of the wood--to take her some
fresh butter and new-laid eggs and a nice cake. Little Red Riding-Hood
was very pleased to be sent on this errand, for she liked to do kind
things, and it was so very long since she had seen her grandmother
that she had almost forgotten what the dame looked like.



The sun was shining brightly, but it was not too warm under the shade of
the old trees, and Red Riding-Hood sang with glee as she gathered a
great bunch of wild flowers to give to her grandmother. She sang so
sweetly that a cushat dove flew down from a tree and followed her. Now,
it happened that a wolf, a very cruel, greedy creature, heard her song
also, and longed to eat her for his breakfast, but he knew Hugh, the
woodman, was at work very near, with his great dog, and he feared they
might hear Red Riding-Hood cry out, if he frightened her, and then they
would kill him. So he came up to her very gently and said, "Good day,
Little Red Riding-Hood; where are you going?"

"To see my grandmother," said the child, "and take her a present from
mother of eggs and butter and cake."

"Where does your grandmamma live?" asked the wolf.

"Quite in the middle of the wood," she replied.

"Oh! I think I know the house. Good day, Red Riding-Hood." And the wolf
ran off as fast as he could

Little Red Riding-Hood was not in a hurry, and there were many things to
amuse her in the wood. She ran after the white and yellow butterflies
that danced before her, and sometimes she caught one, but she always let
it go again, for she never liked to hurt any creature.



And then there were the merry, cunning little squirrels to watch,
cracking nuts on the branches of the old trees, and every now and then a
rabbit would hurry away through the tall ferns, or a great bee come
buzzing near her, and she would stop to watch it gathering honey from
the flowers, and wild thyme. So she went on very slowly. By-and-by she
saw Hugh, the woodman. "Where are you going, Little Red Riding-Hood,"
said he, "all alone?"



"I am going to my grandmamma's," said the child. "Good day; I must make
haste now, for it grows late."

While Little Red Riding-Hood was at play in the wood, the great wolf
galloped on as fast as he could to the old woman's house. Grandmother
lived all by herself, but once or twice a-day a neighbour's child came
to tidy her house and get her food. Now, grandmother was very feeble,
and often kept her bed; and it happened that she was in bed the day
Little Red Riding-Hood went to see her. When the wolf reached the
cottage door he tapped.

"Who is there?" asked the old dame.

"Little Red Riding-Hood, granny," said the wolf, trying to speak like
the child.

"Come in, my dear," said the old lady, who was a little deaf. "Pull the
string and the latch will come up."

The wolf did as she told him, went in, and you may think how frightened
poor grandmother was when she saw him standing by her bed instead of
Little Red Riding-Hood.

Very soon the wolf, who was quite hungry after his run, ate up poor
grandmother. Indeed, she was not enough for his breakfast, and so he
thought he would like to eat sweet Red Riding-Hood also. Therefore he
dressed himself in granny's nightcap and got into bed, and waited for
the child to knock at the door. But he waited a long time.



By and by Little Red Riding-Hood reached her grandmother's house, and
tapped at the door.



"Come in," said the wolf, in a squeaking voice. "Pull the string, and
the latch will come up."

Red Riding-Hood thought grandmother must have a cold, she spoke so
hoarsely; but she went in at once, and there lay her granny, as she
thought, in bed.

"If you please, grandmamma, mother sends you some butter and eggs," she
said.

"Come here, dear," said the wicked wolf, "and let me kiss you," and Red
Riding-Hood obeyed.

But when Red Riding-Hood saw the wolf she felt frightened. She had
nearly forgotten grandmother, but she did not think she had been so
ugly.

"Grandmamma," she said, "what a great nose you have."

"All the better to smell with, my dear," said the wolf.

"And, grandmamma, what large ears you have."

"All the better to hear with, my dear."

"Ah! grandmamma, and what large eyes you have."

"All the better to see with, my dear," said the wolf, showing his teeth,
for he longed to eat the child up.

"Oh, grandmamma, and what great teeth you have!" said Red Riding-Hood.



"All the better to eat you up with," growled the wolf, and, jumping out
of bed, he rushed at Red Riding-Hood and would have eaten her up, but
just at that minute the door flew open and a great dog tore him down.
The wolf and the dog were still fighting when Hugh, the woodman, came in
and killed the wicked wolf with his axe.

Little Red Riding-Hood threw her arms round the woodman Hugh's neck and
kissed him, and thanked him again and again.



"Oh, you good, kind Hugh," she said, "how did you know the wolf was
here, in time to save me?"

"Well," said Hugh, "when you were gone by, I remembered that a wolf had
been seen about the wood lately, and I thought I would just come after
you and see if you were safe. When we came near grandmother's house Trim
sniffed and ran to the door and whined, and then he pushed it open--you
had not shut it close--and rushed in, and I followed him, and between us
we have killed the wolf."

Then Hugh took the child home, and her mother and father could not thank
him enough for saving Little Red Riding-Hood.