Red Riding Hood - Grimms' Version
German Translation from Red Riding Hood Multimedia
(Ursinus College)
Once upon a time there was a sweet little maiden. Whoever laid eyes upon her could not
help but love her. But it was her grandmother who loved her most. She could never give the
child enough. One time she made her a present, a small, red velvet cap, and since it was
so becoming and the maiden insisted on always wearing it, she was called Little Red Cap.
One day her mother said to her, "Come, Little Red Cap, take this piece of cake and
bottle of wine and bring them to your grandmother. She's sick and weak, and this will
strengthen her. Get an early start, before it becomes hot, and when you're out in the
woods, be nice and good and don't stray from the path, otherwise you'll fall and break the
glass, and your grandmother will get nothing. And when you enter her room, don't forget to
say good morning, and don't go peeping in all the corners."
"I'll do just as you say," Little Red Cap promised her mother.
Well, the grandmother lived out in the forest, half an hour from the village, and as soon
as Little Red Cap entered the forest, she encountered the wolf. However, Little Red Cap
did not know what a wicked sort of an animal he was and was not afraid of him.
"Good day, Little Red Cap," he said.
"Thank you kindly, wolf."
"Where are you going so early, Little Red Cap?"
"To Grandmother's."
"What are you carrying under your apron?"
"Cake and wine. My grandmother's sick and weak, and yesterday we baked this so it
will help her get well."
"Where does your grandmother live, Little Red Cap?"
"Another quarter of an hour from here in the forest. Her house is under the three big
oak trees. You can tell it by the hazel bushes," said Little Red Cap.
The wolf thought to himself, This tender young thing is a juicy morsel. She'll taste even
better than the old woman. You've got to be real crafty if you want to catch them both.
Then he walked next to Little Red Cap, and after a while he said, "Little Red Cap,
just look at the beautiful flowers that are growing all around you! Why don't you look
around? I believe you haven't even noticed how lovely the birds are singing. You march
along as if you were going straight to school, and yet it's so delightful out here in the
woods!"
Little Red Cap looked around and saw how the rays of the sun were dancing through the
trees back and forth and how the woods were full of beautiful flowers. So she thought to
herself, If I bring Grandmother a bunch of fresh flowers, she'd certainly like that. It's
still early, and I'll arrive on time. So she ran off the path and plunged into the woods
to look for flowers. And each time she plucked one, she thought she saw another even
prettier flower and ran after it, going deeper and deeper into the forest. But the wolf
went straight to the grandmother's house and knocked at the door.
"Who's out there?"
"Little Red Cap. I've brought you some cake and wine. Open up."
"Just lift the latch," the grandmother called. "I'm too weak and can't get
up."
The wolf lifted the latch, and the door sprang open. Then he went straight to the
grandmother's bed without saying a word and gobbled her up. Next he put on her clothes and
her nightcap, lay down in her bed, and drew the curtains.
Meanwhile, Little Red Cap had been running around and looking for flowers, and only when
she had as many as she could carry did she remember her grandmother and continue on the
way to her house again. She was puzzled when she found the door open, and as she entered
the room, it seemed so strange inside that she thought, Oh, my God, how frightened I feel
today, and usually I like to be at Grandmother's. She called out, "Good
morning!"
But she received no answer. Next she went to the bed and drew back the curtains.
There lay her grandmother with her cap pulled down over her face giving her a strange
appearance. "Oh, Grandmother, what big ears you have!"
"The better to hear you with."
"Oh, Grandmother, what big hands you have!"
"The better to grab you with."
Grandmother, what a terribly big mouth you have!"
"The better to eat you with!"
No sooner did the wolf say that than he jumped out of bed and gobbled up poor Little Red
Cap. After the wolf had satisfied his desires, he lay down in bed again, fell asleep, and
began to snore very loudly.
The huntsman happened to be passing by the house and thought to himself: "The way the
old woman's snoring, you'd better see if anything's wrong." He went into the room,
and when he came to the bed, he saw the wolf lying in it.
"So I've found you at last, you old sinner," said the huntsman. "I've been
looking for you for a long time."
He took aim with his gun, and then it occurred to him that the wolf could have eaten the
grandmother and that she could still be saved. So he did not shoot but took some scissors
and started cutting open the sleeping wolf's belly. After he made a couple of cuts, he saw
the little red cap shining forth, and after he made a few more cuts, the girl jumped out
and exclaimed, "Oh, how frightened I was! It was so dark in the wolf's body."
Soon the grandmother came out. She was alive but could hardly breathe. Little Red Cap
quickly fetched some large stones, and they filled the wolf's body with them. When he
awoke and tried to run away, the stones were too heavy so he fell down at once and died.
All three were quite delighted. The huntsman skinned the fur from the wolf and went home
with it. The grandmother ate the cake and drank the wine that Little Red Cap had brought,
and soon she regained her health. Meanwhile, Little Red Cap thought to herself, Never
again will you stray from the path by yourself and go into the forest when your mother has
forbidden it.
Alternate Ending:
There is also another tale about how Little Red Cap returned to her grandmother one day to
bring some baked goods. Another wolf spoke to her and tried to entice her to leave the
path, but this time Little Red Cap was on her guard. She went straight ahead and told her
grandmother that she had seen the wolf, that he had wished her good day, but that he had
had such a mean look in his eyes that "he would have eaten me up if we hadn't been on
the open road." "Come," said the grandmother. "We'll lock the door so
he can't get in." Soon after, the wolf knocked and cried out, "Open up,
Grandmother. It's Little Red Cap, and l've brought you some baked goods."
But they kept quiet and did not open the door. So Grayhead circled the house several times
and finally jumped on the roof. He wanted to wait till evening when Little Red Cap would
go home. He intended to sneak after her and eat her up in the darkness. But the
grandmother realized what he had in mind. In front of the house was a big stone trough,
and she said to the child, "Fetch the bucket, Little Red Cap. I cooked sausages
yesterday. Get the water they were boiled in and pour it into the trough." Little Red
Cap kept carrying the water until she had filled the big, big trough. Then the smell of
sausages reached the nose of the wolf. He sniffed and looked down. Finally, he stretched
his neck so far that he could no longer keep his balance on the roof. He began to slip and
fell right into the big trough and drowned. Then Little Red Cap went merrily on her way
home, and no one harmed her.
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Barthesian Notes
Title - CON: anticipates character
- HER: Why this name? Who is subject?
Paragraph 1:
"Once.." - CUL: fairy-tale formula, indicates fantastic and fictional
nature of the tale.
"sweet little...." - HER: Who won't love her?
CON: girl favored, by female relatives; CUL: stereotypical spoiled child?; CON:
grandmother spoils her.
"it was so becoming and the maiden insisted..." - HER: Answer to
name; CON: girl is vain and used to being indulged; CUL: maiden indicates sexual
innocence; CUL: red associated with sexuality;
Paragraph 2:
"One day..." - PRO: task proposed - travel to grandmother;
Her: why cake and wine? CON: grandmother in need; CON: mother an instructor, insisting on
manners; CON: girl, likely to stray or indulge in 'peeping' etc.; SYM: the path, a moral
journey?; CUL: uses of paths, journeys as transformative events; CUL: age often brings
illness and dependence of old upon young;
Paragraph 3:
"I'll do..." CON: girl, dutiful; HER: will girl behave?
Paragraph 4:
CON: girl's innocence; CON: wolf's character, wicked; CUL: tradition of despising wolves;
SYM: forest as place of evil; HER: who will NOT love her, wolf?!
P5, 6:
CUL: formal greeting, reflecting manners
P7, 8,9,10
PRO: trip to grandmothers; possible companion; possible impediment; HER:
what is wolf's interest?; who will NOT love girl? CON: wolf's nature,
voracious; CUL: "under your apron" - sexual innuendo;
P11, 12:
PRO: journey to grandmother's, getting directions; HER: wolf's interest; CON:
girl, innocent or foolish
P13:
PRO: wolf to journey, wolf to eat both; HER: wolf's interest to eat girl and
grandmother; HER: will he succeed?; CON: wolf's craftiness;
etc.................
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