Red Riding Hood

A girl in a red hooded cape walks through the woods to bring her sick grandma a basket of bread and butter. A sneaky wolf is waiting. This story has been told for hundreds of years in many countries, and it always teaches the same big lesson: listen to grown-ups, and be careful about who you trust.

- What happens in the story, in order - Why the wolf tricks Red Riding Hood - New words: cottage, disguise, woodcutter - The lesson the story teaches about safety

Red Riding Hood's mother tells her to walk straight to Grandma's cottage and not stop to talk to strangers. In the woods, a wolf asks where she is going. She tells him! The wolf races ahead, gets to the cottage first, and swallows Grandma whole. Then he puts on Grandma's nightcap and hides in her bed, waiting for Red Riding Hood.

Cottage: a small, cozy house, usually in the countryside. Disguise: to dress up or change how you look so people don't recognize you. The wolf wears a disguise so Red Riding Hood thinks he is Grandma. Woodcutter: a person whose job is chopping down trees for wood. In most versions of the story, a woodcutter hears Red Riding Hood's cry for help and saves her.

When Red Riding Hood reaches the cottage, she notices something is very wrong. "Grandma, what big eyes you have!" she says. "The better to see you with," the wolf answers. "Grandma, what big ears you have!" "The better to hear you with!" "Grandma, what big teeth you have!" "The better to eat you with!" And the wolf jumps out of bed. In the most well-known version, a woodcutter working nearby hears the noise and rushes in just in time to save Red Riding Hood and Grandma.