Red Riding Hood
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Once upon a time, in a far away country, there lived a little girl called Red Riding Hood. One day her mother asked her to take a basket of food to her grandmother who had been ill and lived alone in a cottage in the forest. Red Riding Hood was happy to go because she loved her grandmother and always enjoyed the walk through the woods.
But it happened that a wolf was lurking in the bushes and overheard the conversation. He decided to take a shortcut to the grandmother's house and get the goodies for himself. It was a beautiful day and Red Riding Hood stopped to pick some wild flowers as she went on her way. This gave the wolf a little extra time, which enabled him to kill and devour her grandmother. He then dressed in her nightgown and jumped into bed to wait for the little girl. When she arrived, he made several obscene suggestions, and then tried to grab her. But by this time the child was very frightened and ran screaming from the cottage. It happened that a woodcutter working nearby heard her cries and rushed to the rescue. He killed the wolf with his axe thereby saving Red Riding Hood's life. All the townspeople hurried to the scene and proclaimed the woodcutter a hero.
But several facts emerged at the inquest. First of all, the wolf had never been advised of his rights. Second, the woodcutter had made no warning swings before he struck the fatal blow. The Civil Liberties Union stressed the point that although the act of eating grandma may have been in bad taste, the wolf was only "doing his thing" and did not deserve the death penalty.
The SDS contended that the killing of the grandmother should be considered self-defense because she was over 30, and therefore could not be taken seriously because the wolf was trying to make love, not war. It was decided, then, that there was actually no basis for charges against the wolf. The woodcutter, however, was indicted for unaggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Several nights later the woodcutter's cottage was burned to the ground. Within a week woodcutters' cottages throughout the countryside were burned as a protest against violence. Then one morning the woodcutter's body was found torn to shreds. At first it was thought that he had been attacked by a pack of dissident wolves whose motive was revenge for their slain comrade. But the investigating committee decided that he had been overcome by massive guilt feelings and had hacked himself to death. The fact that no axe was found led to the theory that there had been an accomplice. But this was never proved.
One year from the date of the incident at grandma's, her cottage was turned into a shrine for the wolf who had bled and died there. All the village officials spoke at the dedication. It was Red Riding Hood, however, who gave the final tribute. She said that, while she had been
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As she knelt and placed a wreath in honor of the brave wolf, there was not a dry eye in the forest.
Editor's Note. The above by Frederic R. Scull, I lifted from the Restoration Herald, which in turn credits it to The Fairviewer, Carthage, Missouri.