SAM THE SHAM AND THE PHARAOHS wrote a song titled “Lil’ Red Riding Hood.” The first verse of the song, which is the wolf’s voice, goes as follows:
Owoooooooo
Who's that I see walkin' in these woods
Why, it's Little Red Riding Hood
Hey there Little Red Riding Hood
You sure are looking good
You're everything a big bad wolf could want
Listen to me
The rest of the piece has to do with how the Wolf likes Little Red Riding Hood’s looks and how he is going to go about deceiving her regarding his real nature and intentions; whatever they may be.
There are many different kinds of wolves. This brings me to the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper and Talent Show, an annual event at church. I was going to tell a story. I could not decide which one, nothing seemed to feel right. Then right before, I decided on a version of “Little Red Riding Hood.” I wanted to tell the version of the story my Grandmother told me. It is most closely based on the 1812 Grimm story of “Little Red Cap.”
There were lots of children there and I did not really know who they were and what kind of stories their parents deemed appropriate. I got nervous and started asking people I trusted what they thought about “Little Red Riding Hood.” Of course we had to discuss which version they were familiar with and if Little Red gets eaten by the wolf or not. Does the wolf in the version you know get cut open with scissors, a knife, or simply get his head cut off? It made for interesting pre-pancake conversation. One person thought the story was ok, but not sure about the wolf getting killed, perhaps this is not what we do today. Another person thought the wolf needed to die.
So this conversation of pros and cons and not knowing the parents went around and around. Then one gentleman just flat out said, “There are wolves in this this world and children need know that they exist. Better let them know sooner than later. Tell the story.”
So I did.
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