The True History of Little Golden-Hood

"The True History of Little Golden-Hood,"

A Version of Red Riding Hood,

France, AD 1888,

Adapted from the story “La véritable histoire du Petit Chaperon d'Or” by Charles Marelles.

You have heard the story of Little Red Riding-Hood, but the true story is quite different. First, the little girl was and is still called little Golden-Hood. Second, it does not end with the wolf living happily having eaten the grandmother and the little girl.

There once was a little peasant girl named Blanchette and she wore a cloak with a hood of gold that was given to her by her grandmother to bring her luck. Due to the color, the people of the village called her Little Golden-Hood. Her grandmother told her it was made of a ray of sunshine. Many in the village believed the grandmother was a witch, and that the hood was enchanted. It was! One day Blanchette’s mother sent her to her grandmothers with a piece of cake as a Sunday treat for the next day. Blanchette was to go straight to her grandmothers, give her the cake, ask her how she was doing, and come back home immediately without talking to anyone else. Blanchette said she understood and went on her way to her grandmother’s house. While going through the forest to reach the next village, a wolf came from behind a tree. The wolf had been following her since she left the village and was waiting to get her alone so he could eat her. He came up to Blanchette and said, “Tis you! My nice little Golden-Hood.” Blanchette was shocked that she was known by the wolf, and he asked her what she was doing. She told him she was heading to her grandmother’s house with the cake for a treat. The wolf asked where the grandmother lived, and Little Golden-Hood told him that she lived on the other side of the wood near a windmill. The wolf told her that he was heading there as well, but that he would reach the house before she would, and he’d let her grandmother know she was on the way. The wolf then ran ahead toward the next village. When he arrived at the grandmother’s house, he knocked at the door and no one answered, he knocked louder, and still no one answered. The grandmother had risen early and gone to sell herbs in town. The wolf decided he would get into the grandmother’s bed and put the nightcap on. Blanchette took her time getting to her grandmother’s house and picked daisies, watched the birds and the butterflies, and finally arrived at the house. She knocked on the door and the wolf, trying to disguise his voice, asked who was there. Little Golden-Hood told who she believed to be her grandmother that she was bringing her a piece of cake for a Sunday treat. The wolf told her to open the latch. Blanchette realized the voice was different but thought that maybe her grandmother had a cold. The wolf said he just needed to rest a little and told Blanchette to join him and rest from her journey. When she saw the wolf dressed as her grandmother she said, “Oh! How like you are to friend wolf, Grandmother!” “That’s on account of my nightcap, child,” replied the wolf. “Oh! What hairy arms you’ve got, Grandmother!” “All the better to hug you, my child.” “Oh! What a big tongue you’ve got, Grandmother!” “All the better for answering, child.” “Oh! What a mouthful of great white teeth you have, Grandmother!” “That’s for crunching little children with!” Then the wolf opened his jaws wide to swallow Blanchette. She cried and put her head down and instead of getting her he caught her golden-hood and started screaming as it felt as though he was swallowing red-hot coals. The hood was magic and could also make someone invisible or invulnerable. The wolf began running toward the door. When the grandmother opened it, she caught him in her bag. She tied it and dropped it down the well to drown. She told Blanchette that the next day they would make muffs for her, and he would become the one that was crunched. Her grandmother gave her the piece of cake to help calm her and took her inside. When she finally returned home, her mother scolded her for what had happened, and she promised that she would never stop to listen to a wolf again.