Little Red Riding Hood - Wolf's Perspective

A Story by StephenMacky

The classic fairy tale narrated by the wolf.

The forest is my home. I lived in it and took great care of it. I attempted to keep it tidy and clean. Oftenly though I had to deal with a lot of rubbish left by irresponsible and careless people, or animals.

On this sunny day, I also had to deal with rubbish, as per my usual routine. One lousy camper had left some rubbish, and I was forced to clean up after him. That's when I heard footsteps, gentle footsteps, coming from afar. As an immediate natural response, I jumped to hide behind a tree and peeped from the tree with the corner of my eye. I saw a little girl walking down a trail carrying a basket filled with food, I was able to smell the delicious food from a mile away. She looked rather suspicious, her clothing was fully red, with a cloak covering her head as if she was hiding from someone. I revealed myself and stopped her in her way to see who she was, asking her:

"Good day, little girl. Could I know who you are and what's your business here?"

"Good day, wolf. They call me Little Red Riding Hood. I'm headed to my grandmother's."

"Oh, is that so? Where does your grandmother live?"

"Just further down this pathway."

Listening to her pleasant voice and kind answers, I deemed her an honest and good person.

"Listen, little girl..." - I arched my posture. - "I don't think it's very safe to be going through these parts alone. You could easily get lost. Would you like for me to accompany you?" - I offered myself as a worthy companion.

"Why do you care? That's none of your business. I'll hurry off now." - This response startled me, but I regained my posture.

"As you wish." - I said softly, eating up her rudeness and watched her continue along the trail.

I wasn't willing to forget what she said to me, though; I'm always sensitive when it comes to words. I wouldn't be able to forget what has been said to me even if I tried to.

I devised a plan during the time I spent there, standing and thinking. I jogged off to have an early head start and then sped up my pace to arrive at Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother's house before her. When I arrived, I rapped on the modest door like there's no tomorrow.

"Who is it?" - a raspy, seemingly concerned voice called from inside.

"It's me, ma'am, the wolf. I come here with no means to harm you or ruin your harmony, in any way. I stumbled across your granddaughter, Little Red Riding Hood. She's apparently on her way here. Could I please come in?" - I said in my most respectful self, in an extremely calm and pleasant manner.

I heard her say - "Oh, my dear! Yes. You may. There's a key-- (coughs) hidden under the doormat. Open the door with it."

I slipped my claw under the mat and received the key, promptly enabling my access to grandmother's house. The scent of sickness struck my attention when I wandered inside.

Sit down next to me, wolf..." The old woman coughed again, sickly.

I sat down at the bed end instead and began speaking.

"My apologies for bothering you under such circumstances. I hope you get well soon."

"Thank you... You said that my granddaughter's on her way?

"Yes. I have to tell you this urgently. I spoke to her and found out who she is and where she's headed. She seemed like a very nice girl at first, until I told her that it wasn't safe to go through the forest alone. That's when she struck me with rudeness. I believe she ought to know better."

"That doesn't seem right. Are you sure that was her?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure. She said she was on her way here."

The grandmother submitted to silence, and I was the one who broke the silence.

"Ma'am, here's what I propose. I say she should be a taught lesson. She'll grow to be a naughty and an immature woman. Or worse, excuse me for my language. A highly lusty sass."

"You might be right about that." - exclaimed the old woman briefly.

"What do you think about it?"

"There's no other option, wolf. But I-- (sneezed)

"Gesundheit."

"Thank you. (sighed briefly) I would like to know. How do you plan to do it?

"I can't teach her a lesson while I'm my same old self, so we need to roleplay it out. I could pretend that I'm you. Actually, I need to be you."

"All right. But where is my role here?"

"Well, I guess you'll need to be somewhere else. Or you could just hide somewhere around here.

"I will go with the latter." She sniffed her nose in the handkerchief.

Before I knew it, I was in the old woman's clothes, covering my real identity. Those big spectacles of hers were irritating my eyes and nose, but there was nothing I could do about it.

I was laid down under the blanket when the door banged from the outside.

I heard the girl's same old pleasant voice - "Grandma, it's me, Little Red Riding Hood!"

"Come in, my dear!" I said with a grandmother hoax voice and faked a cough.

The little girl entered slowly, she was clutching some colorful and fresh flowers as well. She was so amazed when she looked at me, that she dropped the flowers and the basket on the bed and said:

"Grandma, I haven't seen you in a while. How big ears you have!"

I wanted to count that as an insult, but I kept my cool and made up an explanation.

"The better to hear you, my dear."

At the moment when I wanted to tell her that she's a good and a clever girl, she continued to make another comment.

"Grandma, what big eyes you have!"

I kept playing ball with the girl, unwilling to blow my cover.

"The better to see you, my dear."

"Grandma, what big arms you have!"

That comment of hers was more pleasant than disrespectful, even though I knew it was just part of the game.

"The better to hug you, my dear."

"Grandma, what big teeth you have!"

The last comment hit me the most. I was surprised and in disbelief of the degree of antipathy this girl apparently so lovely hid in herself. I'm aware of my problems and disadvantages: I'm a furry figure with enormous teeth and claws, but there's nothing I can do about it. Well, that was also the last straw. I know that I should have controlled myself, but I leaped out of the bed and started to growl, shrieking:

"The better to eat you with!"

Now, to be honest, no wolf would eat a little girl. Everyone knows that. I frightened her so much that she started running around the house, shouting: "Help, help, help!"; And screaming continuously. I ran after her trying to calm her down to no avail. I took off the grandmother's clothes, but the situation got even worse. The door slammed open and a huge man with an ax appeared, he was about seven or eight feet tall. I looked at him thunderstruck and knew that I was in for it. It was a life or death situation, so since I wasn't willing to end up a prey, I recalled the open window and leaped out of the house.

I would love to say that this is the end of the story and that I lived happily after except that wasn't the case. The girl's grandmother never narrated my version. After a short while, rumors began to circulate that I am a 'big bad wolf' and everyone has known me as such since then. Everyone started to avoid me, and I submitted to isolation. I'm now also one of the most wanted beasts and I constantly live in danger, looking over my back every now and then. I did not hear from Little Red Riding Hood again. I try to keep my head up nowadays, but I know that my life won't ever be the same.

© 2019 StephenMacky

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Gamma2005

When I saw the title I wasn't sure if it would be interesting, but the more I read the more interested I got in the story. Looking forward to read more of your writing!