Mark is five years old. He’s at his grandparents’ house in Scotland. Tonight he can’t sleep. His grandmother sits by the bed and starts reading a tale. It’s Little Red Riding Hood.
Listen to the story:
Once upon a time, in a very small village,there was a very beautiful blond girl. She was always wearing a red hooded cloak,so all her neighbours called her Little Red Riding Hood. One day, she decided to visit her grandmother, who lived at the other side of the forest. Her mother was worried because there was a wolf in the forest.
The mother told Little Red Riding Hood not to talk to anybody. She could not be delayed. Little Red Riding Hood started to walk, while she sang a song to herself.
2
She liked to walk in the forest. There were many birds, squirrels, butterflies, flowers…
She was very happy. Her grandmother always cooked chocolate biscuits for her.
This time, she was also taking her some food: her mother gave her a basket full of cakes for granny. While she was walking in the forest, she heard some strange
noises. Suddenly, the wolf approached her.
- “What are you doing alone in this place?”- said the wolf.
- “I’m going to my granny’s house”-said Little Red Riding Hood.
The Wolf realised it was not very far away.
He turned around and left.
Little Red Hood decided to pick up some flowers for her granny.
While she was picking up flowers, the wolf got to her granny’s house.
He knocked on the door.
The grandmother opened, and the wolf ate granny up.
The wolf put on granny’s clothes and got into bed.
At that moment, Little Red Riding Hood reached the house.
3
She entered and approached the bed.
- Granny, granny, are you all right? You look different.
- My, what big eyes you have!- said Little Red Riding Hood.
- The better to see you with- said the wolf.
- Granny, granny, what big ears you have! - she said.
- The better to hear you with-replied the wolf.
- Granny, granny, what big teeth you have!-she insisted.
- The better to… eat you with!-shouted the wolf.
While he said that, he jumped over the girl and ate her up.
A woodcutter had seen the Wolf around the house.
He decided to go to the house to see if everything was all right.
When he reached the house,
he saw the door open and the wolf sleeping in the bed.
Then, he took a knife and opened the stomach of the wolf.
Little Red Riding Hood and the granny came out alive.
In order to punish the wolf,
the woodcutter filled his belly with stones and stitched it up.
4
When the wolf woke up, he was very thirsty,
so he went to the river to drink some water.
Since the stones were heavy, he fell into the river and drowned.
Little Red Riding Hood and her granny were fine.
And Little Red Riding Hood learned the lesson: she never talked to strangers again.
And that’s the end of the story.
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It’s ten o’clock at night and Mark sleeps peacefully.