Little Red Riding Hood

The three stories are of a young woman who is sent to make a delivery to her old grandmother by her able mother. The little girl is sent out with directions not to divert on the way but rather make a direct journey to granny’s place.  In the woods, she meets up with an evil wolf which cunningly asks where she is going. Innocently, the girl replies telling the wolf that she is sent by the mother to take a delivery to her old and sick grandmother. In all, the girl falls for the trap and is diverted from her main purpose and wastes so much time to get to her grandmother (Andrew, 1895). The cunning wolf then runs directly to the girl’s grandmother and fakes the voice of the young girl. The sick grandmother then gives directions on how to open the door. The cunning wolf opens the door, gets in and deliciously enjoys a tasty meal of the grandmother. The wolf then in all cases gets into the grandmother’s bed and await the little girl aiming to also eat her up (Andrew, 1895).

The similarities outdo the differences in the three stories. In Charles Perrault’s story; Little Red Riding Hood, when the girl gets to grandmother’s home, she knocks and the wolf fakes grandmother’s voice. So she falls for the trap and gets to bed with the wolf. She is eaten up and her case is closed. In the second story, both the girl and the grandmother are saved from the wolf’s tummy by a hunter who has been hunting the wolf for quite some time now. They then fit stones into the tummy of the wolf who on waking up falls with a thud to his death. In the third story by the Grimms’ brothers; Little Red Cap, the girl escapes tendrils of death by whiskers when she becomes more cunning than the cunning wolf. She lies of releasing her belly where she is tied with a rope on her leg. She ties the rope outside and escapes from the place. She gets to her home by the time the wolf is catching up with her (Wetmore, 1902).

These variations change the whole focus of the tale because the 17th century version shows that its wise for children and youngsters not to talk to people they do not know. It shows that ‘wolves’ must not only be ‘wolves’ but they could be ‘wolves’ in the skin of ‘sheep’. The ‘wolves’ in sheep’s skin are most dangerous. In the second story, it is evident that children should adhere to the advice of their parents. Parents have lived longer and thus more life experience. When a parent advices a child on a certain course of action, the child should adhere to that and not go against the advice. The last story shows that children should be wise enough to discern evil and wrong and run from it. They should be taught life lessons so that when they encounter such scenarios, they will be able to discern them as wrong and abstain from getting into them (Wetmore, 1902).

Conclusion

Finally, these three stories are important life lesson because they all have individual lessons to teach to us. It is evident that children should obey and respect their parents while as well being wise enough to discern what is morally right or wrong.

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