Danielle VanDenHeuvel is currently a senior here at St. Norbert College. She is a native of Green Bay and is an English major. She plans to go to graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to further her education after graduating from SNC at the end of this semester. Danielle enjoys reading and watching Netflix, and spending time with her two pet cats and dog. Her fairy tale is a retelling of the classic Little Red Riding Hood and explains the true personalities of the characters involved.
Lexi Rodencal
Lexi Rodencal
The True Story of the Big Bad Wolf
By Danielle VanDenHeuvel
Once upon a time there was a girl called Little Red Riding Hood and a wolf that came to be known to as bad. I know what you are thinking—you already know this story and do not care to hear it again. You are wrong though, you think you know the story, but you only know one version of the story. These are the true events of Little Red Riding Hood and the so-called Big Bad Wolf.
Mr. Wolf, as he was called before his name was slandered, lived a modest life with his wife and pups in a cave in the woods. To his wife and family he was known to be gentle and kind; he only ever killed to feed himself and his family. Everytime he had to kill an animal to feed, he would say thanks to their sacrifice. He had never tried to eat a human being before the incidents that occurred with Little Red.
In all the versions of Little Red Riding Hood she is known to be a sweet, gentle little girl that only wants to visit her grandmother. This description is inaccurate- Little Red was actually a spoiled little brat that always got everything she wanted. Her parents could never tell her no because she would throw temper-tantrums that would last for hours on end. It was generally easier to let her have her way instead of dealing with these unpleasant outbursts. This is how she ended up walking alone to her grandmother’s house, Little Red demanded that she go and got her way as always. What the other stories do not tell you is that Little Red met the Wolf more than once.
It is a relatively warm day in Fall as Little Red makes her way to her grandmother’s house, she takes her time walking, when she notices something move in the woods near her- it is a wolf.
“Hey, you! Wolf, come here!” she abruptly yells at him.
The wolf makes his way over to her, thinking it odd that a little girl would like his company.
“Hello, little girl. I’m Mr. Wolf. What can I do for you?” Mr. Wolf asks in a kind tone.
“My name is Little Red. I’m not sure what I want from you yet. When I think of something I’ll let you know. For now you can walk with me,” she says.
Mr. Wolf did not particularly like this seemly bossy little girl, but he decided that he would walk with her. Maybe if he talked with her she would become more likable. He told her all about Mrs. Wolf and their pups, he talked about the cave that they lived in and how wonderful it was to live in the forest. Little Red did not seem to take much interest in his family, so he decided to ask her about why she was in the forest. She said that she was on the way to her grandmother’s house because her grandmother always made her the best food; out of everyone her grandmother spoiled her the most and that was why she liked going there so much. As they are talking Little Red notices a deer far off in the forest and grins mischievously.
“Mr. Wolf, I know what I want you to do for me. Kill that deer over there,” she says.
“I’m sorry Little Red, I don’t kill animals for fun. I only kill others for when I have to eat and feed my family, we have enough meat back at my cave. Are you hungry, is that why you want the deer?” Mr. Wolf asks.
“No, I just don’t like it. I want to see it die. Kill it. Now!” she says harshly.
“No. I will not.” Mr. Wolf says firmly, “I do not kill things for fun and you should be ashamed of yourself.”
By this point Little Red is fuming, even though the deer had already scampered off; she was not used to being told no by anyone.
“You are going to be sorry Mr. Wolf,” she threatens and runs down the path that leads to her grandmother’s house.
Mr. Wolf is baffled by what just happened; he cannot figure out why a little girl would want him to senselessly kill another animal. He brushes her threat aside; she is just a little girl, she can’t harm him.
As Little Red runs down the path she comes up with a plan to get revenge on the wolf for telling her no. Even though it did not seem like she paid much attention to Mr. Wolf’s recollection of his family and home, she was listening and now used that knowledge to hatch her evil plan. When she gets to her grandmother’s house she tells her that she was bothered by a wolf that tried to lure her to some cave- Little Red acts petrified and tells her grandmother she no longer feels safe knowing that the wolf is still out there. Her grandmother decides to track down the Huntsman and has Little Red recount her tale. She puts on a dramatic performance for the Huntsman, shaking and whimpering about how scared she is.
“It is okay Little Red, with your description of the cave, I will surely find it and kill any living creature that dwells there,” The Huntsman assures her.
Within hours the Huntsman is back and makes his way to Little Red’s grandmother’s house, to say that he had killed all the wolves that were in the cave. Even the pups, for surely they would have grown to be bad also. Little Red believes that she has gotten her revenge on the wolf, for surely the Huntsman killed him.
When Mr. Wolf finally gets back to his cave later that night he is devastated to find his family slaughtered—his wife, pups, and even his brother-in-law that was visiting. He howls out in pain—how could this have happened? He then realizes that he had told that little girl in the woods everything—where he lived and all about his family. He should have heeded her threat; he should have just killed the deer. No, he knows exactly what to do. He must get his revenge.
Now Little Red is feeling pretty smug and believes that she has had Mr. Wolf killed, not realizing that the Huntsman actually killed the wrong male wolf. She wanders to her grandmother’s house frequently, never believing that there may be trouble lurking in the woods. Mr. Wolf took his time, becoming angrier and angrier that this little girl could have possibly had his family killed. He cannot get the thought of revenge off of his mind. He watched her take her time walking to her grandmother’s house, with no care in the world, not realizing that he was in the shadows waiting to strike.
Finally, Mr. Wolf decided that he was going to go with his plan- he was going to kill Little Red Riding Hood, like she killed his family and anyone that got in his way. He saw her walking to her grandmother’s house and ran there to make sure he got there before her. He realized that he was going to have to eat her grandmother in order to get to Little Red. He felt a bit bad about this, but he knew it was his only way to get his revenge. He took the nightcap that she had been wearing and hopped into her bed, pulling the covers up to his chin, waiting for Little Red to arrive. After several minutes he hears her opening the door.
“Hello, grandmother,” she says, not thinking anything amiss.
“Hello, Little Red. Would you come lie down with me? I am not feeling well and would be much comforted if you joined me,” Mr. Wolf said in the softest voice he could muster to try and sound like an old woman.
“Okay. I will lie down with you for a while. Then you can make me some sweets,” Little Red bossily said and makes her way to the bed.
Once she is in the bed she realizes that her grandmother looks odd and says:
“Grandmother, what enormous arms you have!”
“All the better to hold you with.”
“Grandmother, what enormous ears you have!”
“All the better to hear you with.”
“Grandmother, what enormous teeth you have!” And this was the point that Little Red realized that this was not her grandmother, but someone else.
“All the better to eat YOU!” the Wolf exclaims, and snaps his jaws just as Little Red starts screaming.
“This is for my family!” and he gobbled her up, ignoring her screams.
The town-folk heard Little Red’s screams too late and did not want to mess with the angry wolf. Which is how the story of Little Red Riding Hood came to be told incorrectly. Mr. Wolf walked away not feeling completely satisfied because he would still never get to see his family again, but he did get his revenge. He was never seen or heard from again.
This is the true story of Little Red Riding Hood and the “Big Bad Wolf”; whether you want to believe it or not is up to you. Just remember that not all wolves start out bad and not all little girls are innocent.
Mr. Wolf, as he was called before his name was slandered, lived a modest life with his wife and pups in a cave in the woods. To his wife and family he was known to be gentle and kind; he only ever killed to feed himself and his family. Everytime he had to kill an animal to feed, he would say thanks to their sacrifice. He had never tried to eat a human being before the incidents that occurred with Little Red.
In all the versions of Little Red Riding Hood she is known to be a sweet, gentle little girl that only wants to visit her grandmother. This description is inaccurate- Little Red was actually a spoiled little brat that always got everything she wanted. Her parents could never tell her no because she would throw temper-tantrums that would last for hours on end. It was generally easier to let her have her way instead of dealing with these unpleasant outbursts. This is how she ended up walking alone to her grandmother’s house, Little Red demanded that she go and got her way as always. What the other stories do not tell you is that Little Red met the Wolf more than once.
It is a relatively warm day in Fall as Little Red makes her way to her grandmother’s house, she takes her time walking, when she notices something move in the woods near her- it is a wolf.
“Hey, you! Wolf, come here!” she abruptly yells at him.
The wolf makes his way over to her, thinking it odd that a little girl would like his company.
“Hello, little girl. I’m Mr. Wolf. What can I do for you?” Mr. Wolf asks in a kind tone.
“My name is Little Red. I’m not sure what I want from you yet. When I think of something I’ll let you know. For now you can walk with me,” she says.
Mr. Wolf did not particularly like this seemly bossy little girl, but he decided that he would walk with her. Maybe if he talked with her she would become more likable. He told her all about Mrs. Wolf and their pups, he talked about the cave that they lived in and how wonderful it was to live in the forest. Little Red did not seem to take much interest in his family, so he decided to ask her about why she was in the forest. She said that she was on the way to her grandmother’s house because her grandmother always made her the best food; out of everyone her grandmother spoiled her the most and that was why she liked going there so much. As they are talking Little Red notices a deer far off in the forest and grins mischievously.
“Mr. Wolf, I know what I want you to do for me. Kill that deer over there,” she says.
“I’m sorry Little Red, I don’t kill animals for fun. I only kill others for when I have to eat and feed my family, we have enough meat back at my cave. Are you hungry, is that why you want the deer?” Mr. Wolf asks.
“No, I just don’t like it. I want to see it die. Kill it. Now!” she says harshly.
“No. I will not.” Mr. Wolf says firmly, “I do not kill things for fun and you should be ashamed of yourself.”
By this point Little Red is fuming, even though the deer had already scampered off; she was not used to being told no by anyone.
“You are going to be sorry Mr. Wolf,” she threatens and runs down the path that leads to her grandmother’s house.
Mr. Wolf is baffled by what just happened; he cannot figure out why a little girl would want him to senselessly kill another animal. He brushes her threat aside; she is just a little girl, she can’t harm him.
As Little Red runs down the path she comes up with a plan to get revenge on the wolf for telling her no. Even though it did not seem like she paid much attention to Mr. Wolf’s recollection of his family and home, she was listening and now used that knowledge to hatch her evil plan. When she gets to her grandmother’s house she tells her that she was bothered by a wolf that tried to lure her to some cave- Little Red acts petrified and tells her grandmother she no longer feels safe knowing that the wolf is still out there. Her grandmother decides to track down the Huntsman and has Little Red recount her tale. She puts on a dramatic performance for the Huntsman, shaking and whimpering about how scared she is.
“It is okay Little Red, with your description of the cave, I will surely find it and kill any living creature that dwells there,” The Huntsman assures her.
Within hours the Huntsman is back and makes his way to Little Red’s grandmother’s house, to say that he had killed all the wolves that were in the cave. Even the pups, for surely they would have grown to be bad also. Little Red believes that she has gotten her revenge on the wolf, for surely the Huntsman killed him.
When Mr. Wolf finally gets back to his cave later that night he is devastated to find his family slaughtered—his wife, pups, and even his brother-in-law that was visiting. He howls out in pain—how could this have happened? He then realizes that he had told that little girl in the woods everything—where he lived and all about his family. He should have heeded her threat; he should have just killed the deer. No, he knows exactly what to do. He must get his revenge.
Now Little Red is feeling pretty smug and believes that she has had Mr. Wolf killed, not realizing that the Huntsman actually killed the wrong male wolf. She wanders to her grandmother’s house frequently, never believing that there may be trouble lurking in the woods. Mr. Wolf took his time, becoming angrier and angrier that this little girl could have possibly had his family killed. He cannot get the thought of revenge off of his mind. He watched her take her time walking to her grandmother’s house, with no care in the world, not realizing that he was in the shadows waiting to strike.
Finally, Mr. Wolf decided that he was going to go with his plan- he was going to kill Little Red Riding Hood, like she killed his family and anyone that got in his way. He saw her walking to her grandmother’s house and ran there to make sure he got there before her. He realized that he was going to have to eat her grandmother in order to get to Little Red. He felt a bit bad about this, but he knew it was his only way to get his revenge. He took the nightcap that she had been wearing and hopped into her bed, pulling the covers up to his chin, waiting for Little Red to arrive. After several minutes he hears her opening the door.
“Hello, grandmother,” she says, not thinking anything amiss.
“Hello, Little Red. Would you come lie down with me? I am not feeling well and would be much comforted if you joined me,” Mr. Wolf said in the softest voice he could muster to try and sound like an old woman.
“Okay. I will lie down with you for a while. Then you can make me some sweets,” Little Red bossily said and makes her way to the bed.
Once she is in the bed she realizes that her grandmother looks odd and says:
“Grandmother, what enormous arms you have!”
“All the better to hold you with.”
“Grandmother, what enormous ears you have!”
“All the better to hear you with.”
“Grandmother, what enormous teeth you have!” And this was the point that Little Red realized that this was not her grandmother, but someone else.
“All the better to eat YOU!” the Wolf exclaims, and snaps his jaws just as Little Red starts screaming.
“This is for my family!” and he gobbled her up, ignoring her screams.
The town-folk heard Little Red’s screams too late and did not want to mess with the angry wolf. Which is how the story of Little Red Riding Hood came to be told incorrectly. Mr. Wolf walked away not feeling completely satisfied because he would still never get to see his family again, but he did get his revenge. He was never seen or heard from again.
This is the true story of Little Red Riding Hood and the “Big Bad Wolf”; whether you want to believe it or not is up to you. Just remember that not all wolves start out bad and not all little girls are innocent.