This is Vicki de Mouses’ version of "Little Red Riding Hood." This story appeared in the latest issue of "Connie’s Chronicles". A copy of it can also be found in the Sunshine Valley Public Library.

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Little Red Riding Hood. She was called by that name because of a little red cape with a hood that her Grandmother had made for her. She loved her Grandmother very much and she thought that her little red cape was so pretty, that she wore it everywhere she went. Soon everyone that knew her called her Little Red Riding Hood, because they couldn't remember what her real name was.

The little girl lived with her parents in a little house on the edge of a big woods. One day, while her father was at work, Little Red Riding Hood’s mother called the little girl to her, and said, "I would like you to take this basket of home-made Apple Cheesecake and Peanut Butter Cookies to your Grandmother who is very sick, and can't get out of bed. I'm sure that this basket of goodies, and a visit from you, will cheer her up. She has been wanting to see you for some time now. She is getting better, but it will be some time before she will be able to come and see us."

"I'd loved to," said Little Red Riding Hood, eagerly, always ready to help. "May I please go right now?" she asked. "Of course you may," replied her mother," but be sure to stay on the right path. I don't want you to get lost. There are many wild animals in the big woods. You never know what might happen to you. I want you home before dark," warned the little girl's mother.

With a promise to her mother, that she would be careful and she would be home in plenty of time before dark. Little Red Riding Hood skipped happily off in the direction of her Grandmother's house.

As she skipped along the path, she spotted some brightly-coloured flowers. Little Red Riding Hood was almost breathless with delight as she gazed at the picture in front of her. "There are hundreds of them! I can’t believe how beautiful they are!" she exclaimed excitedly. Little Red Riding Hood bent down to pick some of the pretty flowers for her Grandmother to put in the basket along with the homemade peanut butter cookies and apple cheesecake.

While she skipped happily along the path looking for the prettiest flowers she could find, it wasn't long before she wandered away from the path that led to her Grandmother's house. This was because for every pretty flower Red Riding Hood saw, she noticed some even prettier flowers further along the way. In fact, the little girl was so busy picking flowers that she didn't realize that she had wandered further and further away from all that was familiar and further away from her grandmother’s house. Little Red Riding Hood was going in the opposite direction, and going deeper and deeper into the woods. She didn't even notice that she was being watched from behind the trees, and it wasn't until she heard a rustling noise, that she looked up to see an old grey wolf!

Little Red Riding Hood’s first thought was to run away, as fast as her little legs could carry her, back home, back to safety and then she thought of her Grandmother who was sick in bed, and how much she would like to see her, and about how happy her Grandmother would be to get the goodies. She also realized for the first time, since she started her walk that morning, that she was lost. These woods were strange to her. She didn't know where she was.

Just then, the old grey wolf stepped out from behind the trees and asked in a raspy voice: "Where are you going, little girl, and what is your name."

Little Red Riding Hood knew she was lost and that she had to get to her Grandmother's and home before dark. "He seems friendly enough, she thought to herself. "Maybe he'll be able to help me find my way out of here."Out loud, the little girl said to the wolf, "My name is Little Red Riding Hood. My Grandmother's been sick for a long time, and she's only just beginning to get well now. I was on my way to visit her, but I got lost."

The wolf pretending to be concerned, replied, "Tell me where your Grandmother's house is, so that I may visit her too. I am so sorry that she's sick."

Little Red Riding Hood told the wolf where her Grandmother's house was. She felt a little silly explaining to the wolf where it was, when she was lost herself. She had no idea that the wolf had other plans for her, and that he wasn't at all the nice animal she thought him to be.

"I know of a short cut to your Grandmother's house, that will get you there much faster than by the way you have told me", said the old rascal, with a wide grin and a syrupy voice. "The way I know is much shorter, and you will get there a lot faster, you'll be able to spend more time with your Grandmother!"

What the old grey wolf told Little Red Riding Hood, was not the short cut to her Grandmother's house, but the long way around! The wolf himself, took the short cut. He wanted to get there in plenty of time before Red Riding Hood did. He had to get rid of the girl's Grandmother first! The rest would be easy!

After this, the wolf and Little Red Riding Hood went happily on their separate ways. The wolf, thinking hungrily, of how good Little Red Riding Hood would taste, and Little Red Riding Hood, imagining, just how happy her Grandmother would be to see her little Grand-daughter again, and how nice it would be for them both to visit, after such a long time of not seeing each other.

What Little Red Riding Hood, and the old grey wolf didn't know, was that the little girl's mother was worried about her, because it was already getting dark and there was no sign of anyone in sight. She asked if the Grandmother would keep an eye out for her and when the little girl arrived, to keep her as long as she thought was necessary. Little Red Riding Hood's Grandmother knew that there were wolves in that part of the woods, so she agreed to keep watch. While she sat there waiting, she became very sleepy, her eyelids began to droop, and try as she might, she just couldn't keep her eyes open, and it wasn't long before she fell fast asleep.

The dear old lady was in such a deep sleep, that, she didn't notice an old grey wolf looking in at her through the window! She didn't even know that the wolf had found her house, because of her Little Red Riding Hood. Grinning slyly, he thought to himself, "So that's what she does all day, sleep where everyone can see her! Imagine that! Sleeping!!" Seeing this he crept over to the front door and finding it unlocked, the old rascal inched in as quietly as he could, to get a closer look at what the old woman looked like!

"Why, that old bird looks as tough as nails", the old grey wolf said to himself, in disgust. He looked down at the old woman sleeping in her rocking chair, her head to one side, she was snoring softly. "I guess I'll just have to wait until the little girl comes to have my dinner", he thought hungrily licking his lips. "That young girl would be a much more tasty thing anyway! I'll just have to figure out another way to get rid of that old lady first!" the rascal thought, a sly grin spreading over his face.

Looking around, the wolf noticed a big closet at the other end of the room, and rubbing his paws together with glee, he exclaimed softly, so as not to wake the child's Grandmother, "That's the perfect place for her! No one will be able to find her in here!" That's exactly what he did! He put her in the closet, rocking-chair, and all, and locked the door! The old woman didn't even wake up! The old wolf looked around some more, in the old woman's dresser, he found a night-gown and nightcap.

The wolf's eyes lit up mischievously, as he thought about what had happened so far, and how clever he had been. He had tricked Little Red Riding into thinking that he was a nice animal, and that he really did want to have a friendly visit with her Grandmother! "Surely there would be no harm in that," he chuckled, as he hurriedly put on the night-gown and the nightcap. The rascal climbed into the big bed, pulled the covers up to his chin so that all that could be seen was his long pointy nose! He hoped that he wouldn't have too long for his dinner to come. He was very hungry! He thought that getting something to eat, was going to be the easiest part of it all.

He didn't have to wait long, because just as he settled down, Little Red Riding Hood came up to the door. Knowing that her Grandmother always kept her door unlocked during the day, she would find it that way now. She opened the door and walked right in.

In her eagerness, to see her Grandmother once again, Little Red Riding Hood didn't notice at first, that there was something strange going on. That certainly looked like her Grandmother lying on the bed, but then, Little Red Riding Hood saw that there was something odd about her face. The little girl didn't remember the dear old woman's nose being so long and pointy before. She stepped closer to the bed to take a better look. What she saw there, made her jump back in fright, "Why, Grandmother, what big ears you have!" she exclaimed.

The old grey wolf, pretending very hard to be her Grandmother replied in as squeaky a voice as he could possibly muster, "All the better to hear you with, my dear." His ears were sticking out of the sides of the night-cap that he had on top of his bead. His ears were too big to fit inside of it.

Little Riding Hood, knowing by now, that something was dreadfully wrong, said in a shaky voice: "Oh, Grandmother, what big eyes you have!"

"All the better to see you with my dear!" The wolf said softly, thinking all the while of the delicious meal, he would soon be having, a strange light glowing in his eyes.

Little Red Riding Hood, her eyes wide with fright, and shaking all over, stepped away from the big bed, then said in a voice that sounded more like a pig squealing, then anything else, "My dear Grandmother, what big teeth you have!

"ALL THE BETTER TO EAT YOU WITH, MY DEAR!" the strange looking Grandmother roared, and out of the bed jumped the wolf! Little Red Riding Hood seeing who it really was, and what he was planning to do, ran out of house screaming, "Help, help!" with the wolf following close behind her.

While Little Red Riding Hood, who could ran faster then the old grey rascal, was looking for help, she managed to trick him by going in the other direction. Dodging in and out from the big trees that were there, she narrowly escaped danger. The wolf who was dizzy from going around in circles, and exhausted from his busy day, hit his head against a tree, and fell to the ground underneath it.

A woodsman, working in the woods nearby, heard the cries for help, came running, and meeting Little Red Riding Hood along the way, asked her what was wrong. The little girl told the kind Mr. Knight everything that had happened to her that day, ending with the fear of what might have happened to her Grandmother. "Please hurry!" Little Red Riding Hood cried frantically, wringing her hands.

When the woodsman saw the wolf lying underneath the tree, he said to Little Red Riding Hood, "He's not dead, and I won't shoot him either. I'll take him to the zoo, where he belongs. It'll be much better if they keep him locked up, where he won't be able to harm anyone any more!" he said."First, I'll go back with you to see if we can find your grandmother, she may be hurt. I don't think that this old rascal could have swallowed her down. She's too tough."

Meanwhile the old woman, who had woken up was surprised to find herself locked in the closet. Frantically she tried everything to get out, but couldn't get the door open. All the while, the kindly old woman was worrying about Little Red Riding Hood, and feeling bad, because she had not kept her promise to the little girl’s mother to watch out for her. She tried once more to get out of the closet, banging on the door and yelling as loud as she could. After tying the old grey wolf to a tree for the time being, the woodsman and the little girl raced over to the house and hearing the noise coming from the closet hurried over to open the door. "That’s what that noise was", the woodsman said, shaking his head. "We were on our way here when we heard a lot of banging". Little Red Riding Hood, fell into her Grandmother's arms, both of them exclaiming over and over again, about how happy they were, to see each other again.

Little Red Riding Hood then showed her Grandmother the basket of homemade apple cheesecake and peanut butter cookies. She invited her new friend the woodsman to have something to eat and drink with them. (Her Grandmother made the best hot chocolate this side of the country!!)

"I'll come to tea after I've taken proper care of this rascal," Mr Knight said with a wink, to Little Riding Hood, "and I'll tell your parents that you're ok. I’ll have to make a trip to the local zoo first!" "Thank-you very much!" said Little Red Riding Hood’s Grandmother happily to the woodsman. "You've been a big help to my little girl and me. I shall never forget you!" The little girl echoed her Grandmother's words, and gave the man a big hug.