Little Red Riding Hood

In bold: key vocabulary. Tap any word in the text to see its definition.

A little girl lived near a big forest. She always wore a red hood, so everybody called her Little Red Riding Hood. One winter morning, her mother gave her a basket with bread and honey. "Take this to your grandmother," she said. "She is sick. Walk on the path, and don't talk to strangers."

In the forest, the girl met a wolf. "Good morning," he said with a soft voice. "Where are you going?" She forgot her mother's words. "I'm going to my grandmother's cottage," she answered. "It's behind the three big oaks." The wolf smiled. "Why don't you pick some flowers for her?" he said. The girl left the path and ran after the prettiest flowers.

Meanwhile, the wolf ran to the cottage. He knocked on the door. "Who is it?" asked the grandmother. "Little Red Riding Hood," said the wolf. "Pull the string, and the door will open." She pulled it, and the wolf jumped in. He put the old woman in the cupboard, put on her nightgown and her cap, and got into her bed.

When the girl arrived, the door was open. The room was dark and strange. "Grandmother, what big ears you have!" she said. "All the better to hear you with, my dear." "What big eyes you have!" "All the better to see you with." "What big teeth you have!" "All the better to eat you with!" The wolf jumped out of bed, and the girl screamed.

A hunter was walking past the cottage. He heard the scream and ran inside. With one big shout, he chased the wolf away, and the wolf ran into the forest and never came back. Then the hunter found the grandmother in the cupboard, safe and only a little afraid.

They all ate the bread and the honey together, and the grandmother slowly felt better. The girl looked at the path outside the window. "I will never leave the path again," she said quietly. "Not even for the prettiest flowers."