The first installment of the fairy tales posts! In these, we'll discuss how we all it, the original story and then some reflection on some prompt ideas from it!
How we all may it
I'm sure we've all heard the story of little red riding hood. A little girl in a red hood is sent to take a basket of goodies to her grandma. But on her way there, she encounters a wolf. She naively tells the wolf where she's going and the wolf tells her a short cut. (It's actually longer than the path she's taking.) Once she leaves, the wolf gets to the grandmas house and eats her. He then dresses up as the grandma and takes her place until the girl arrives. The girl realizes there's something a bit off and questions her "grandmas" appearance, but figured it out too late and is attacked. This ends with a woodsman cutting the wolf open and saving them both.
The truth
Now in the original there is no woodsman to actually save the girl and her grandma. As you can imagine, most of these Grimm fairy tales ended... well grimly. In the original they're just eaten and that's the end. Pretty gruesome. There are several other versions of the ending depending on which country you look at. Some say the woodsman was able to only save the girl. Or in some versions the girl runs away once she sees through the wolfs disguise. Almost always, the original version was much more horror inducing then the version you may have heard as a child.
Thoughts and prompts
Now many people would like to think the lesson of this story is "don't talk to strangers." Or that you sometimes DO have to judge based on looks when it's more obvious. (Even thought that's more of a controversial message.) but since the premise itself is rather open ended, it can be rewritten in many ways.
prompt idea #1
Little red riding hood is a werewolf hunter who's basket is filled with silver weapons instead of treats.
prompt idea #2
Little red riding hood is a little girl who can talk to animals and befriends a monstrous wolf that helps her find her family.
prompt idea #3
Red riding hood was a famous explorer but disappeared one day in the world forest during an expedition. Now her son must take up her magic cape to find her.
Do you have any ideas of how little red riding hood could be re written? Let me know in the comments! And if your interested in ing the fantasy committee, check out the application below!
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