It's Not about the Hunter! Read online

  Chen didn’t believe it.

  Those didn’t feel like thorns–

  they felt like animal claws!

  He thought fast.

  “You must be hungry, Grandma.

  Let me bring you some peanuts.

  They’re just outside the door,”

  said Chen.

  “Bring some,” the wolf agreed.

  When Chen was outside,

  he ran across the yard

  to the kitchen and took a kettle

  of boiling oil from the fire.

  Then he climbed a tree with it.

  Inside, the wolf waited and waited.

  “What’s taking you so long?”

  he called.

  When there was no answer,

  the wolf jumped out of bed

  and went to search for the boy.

  He looked all around,

  until he found Chen in the tree.

  “What are you doing up there?

  Come down right now

  and bring me the nuts!”

  “I will throw them down to you,”

  Chen said. “Stand under the tree.

  Now, close your eyes

  and open your mouth!”

  Chen told the wolf.

  When the wolf opened his jaws,

  Chen poured the boiling oil

  down his throat, and the wolf died.

  The next day, Mother returned, and

  Chen told her all about the wolf

  who pretended to be his grandma.

  HALLOWEEN COSTUME PART 2

  “I feel bad for the wolf.

  He dies three times,” said Jake.

  “But it’s always a different wolf,”

  said Lily.

  “Still, wolves aren’t bad.

  They are like wild dogs.

  The wolf was just hungry,

  that’s all,” said Jake.

  “Well, he shouldn’t eat

  grandmothers and children,”

  said Lily.

  “That’s right,” said Ben.

  “He should eat wolf food.

  If you feel that sorry for wolves,

  you could try to clear

  their bad name,” Ben suggested.

  “I know what I’ll do,” said Jake.

  “I’ll get dressed like a wolf

  for Halloween.

  That’s way better than a robot.

  And I will carry a sign:

  I’m not a bad wolf.

  I’m just a very hungry one.

  Please feed me lots of candies!”

  “Good idea!” said Ben and Lily.

  ABOUT THE STORIES

  The Little Red Hood story is inspired by The True History of Little Golden Hood, written by Charles Marelle in 1888.

  False Grandmother is based upon the earliest recorded versions of the Little Red Riding Hood tales that were found in Italy and France.

  Grandmother Wolf has its roots in many versions of the Chinese tale, Grandaunt Tiger. It is often regarded as the Chinese Little Red Riding Hood because its plot is similar. In that story, a tiger pretends to be a human, although in some versions the animal is a wolf.

  Do YOU know some other Little Red Riding Hood stories?