Little Red Riding Hood - The Clean Version

A woman came up to me a couple of weeks ago and asked me to find her some books with Little Red Riding Hood in them. Before I could even get up she went on to explain further that she had a woman in her ESOL class that had told her a version of the fairy tale;

Little Red Riding Hood goes to visit her grandmother. The wolf beats her there and swallows her grandmother whole, steals her clothes, and lies in wait. LRRR and the Wolf have their witty banter and the wolf swallows her whole too. A woodsman hears screams, comes to investigate, administers a C section on the wolf and out pop Grandmother and LRRR safe and sound. The woman who spoke to me now was appalled at the graphic nature of the story and I used Wikipedia to further explore the story and tell her that this was how it was originally written by Perrault and later Grimm. She went on to say that her student claimed that this was the original story too but the woman wanted a cleaner version to show her to prove that in America, the wolf isn't bisected.

"The theme of the ravening wolf and of the creature released unharmed from its belly is reflected in the Russian tale Peter and the Wolf, and the other Grimm tale The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids, but its general theme of restoration is at least as old as Jonah and the whale. The Theme also appears in the story of the life of Saint Margaret, where the saint emerges unharmed from the belly of a dragon." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_red_riding_hood).

I didn't go into this much detail with the woman but instead we went over to the children's non fiction shelves and went through several books of Little Red Riding Hood, trying to find one that would suit her. Ironically nearly every book I picked up had some version of the wolf being cut open by the hunter. I swear in one book it had the hunter "snipping the wolf open with scissors" like one would undo a stitch. There are cleaner versions of the story as stated in the wikipedia article:

(Sanitized versions of the story have had the grandmother shut in the closet instead of eaten, and some have Little Red Riding Hood saved by the hunter as the wolf advances on her, rather than after she is eaten.)

I was able to find one clean version, published by Random House, that has the grandmother attacking the wolf and running away into the Forest. Little Red Riding Hood comes to visit the wolf in grandma's clothing and the hunter comes and bops the wolf on the head with his axe (double tap) and saves the day.

I ended the reference interview by telling the woman I was just as surprised as she that the children's books would maintain the original version of the story and yet we don't see Cinderella's stepsisters cutting off their toes to fit into the glass slipper as portrayed in Grimm's version.

Alison's Garden

NaPoWriMo Day 7#

Alison’s Garden

In Alison’s Garden a young boy lies.

His hands are pressed tightly against his eyes.

He counts aloud as seconds pass (one…two…),

his stocking absorbing the grass’s hue.

Alison waits behind a tree nearby.

Her light grey eyes reflect the cloudy sky.

She focuses her mind upon her plan

to try and catch a cricket in her hand.

She concentrates to keep questions at bay

such like those that plagued her nurse every day.

Once Nurse had had enough she bade her, “Go

to the garden and watch the flowers grow.

Some silent meditation will do you good.

Just do not wander off into the wood.”

(three…four…) Alison ceased becoming bored

once she’d unearthed the garden’s treasured store.

Here she could speak freely amongst the birds

and not fear if she had been overheard.

The rocks never minded her queries like,

“What is love?” and “How does the sun alight?”

She thought she heard her mother’s chiming voice

calling to her upon the wind, “Rejoice

my love for every single dawn.

And do not believe those who say you’re wrong.”

Alison oft retold tales from the past

whispered by her ill mother to the last.

By her bedside Alison listened rapt

as her mother unspun yarns so long trapped.

“There was a girl called Alice the Mighty

who lived with your grandparents by the sea.

She loved to sit in her garden and read

And dream of different worlds inside her head.

One day her cat, Dinah, saw a rabbit

and this one had a very nasty habit.

He could never keep time so he was late.

She followed him to the wood (seven…eight…)

She fell down a hidden hole, long and dark.

She grasped for purchase but only felt bark.

She stopped, unlocking a door in the tree.

Oh, my daughter, what worlds there were to see.”

Her mother’s tales comforted Alison

when nights were long after her Mum had gone.

The girl had always thought that she would find

her mother past the world she’d left behind.

A place filled with wonders:  red and white queens,

the most mad tea party you had ever seen,

hatters, mice, Cheshire cats, croquet, glass vials,

singing flowers, changing sizes, and trials.

(nine…ten…) “Here I come!” the white-haired boy cried.

Alison, snapped from her daydreams, replied,

“Cabbot, I’m late!” through the trees she’s running.

The woods were calling and rain was coming.