Did you know that
Little Red Riding Hood did not always own her precious, red head covering? It’s
true. A long, long time ago she was just a little girl, delivering bread to her
grandmother, adorned by no pretty red hat. And guess what? The wolf wasn’t just
a wolf – he was a WEREFOLF! And he did not get a chance to eat her because she
out-tricked that old trickster.
She was a quick-thinker. She relied on nobody but herself to escape the terrible
fate of being eaten alive. No strong, male hero miraculously showed up in the
nick of time to rescue her. What about her poor grandmother? Well… she died.
And a long, long time ago, when people told the tale by word of mouth, the girl
we all know today as Little Red Riding Hood got home safe and sound. Her story ended
on a hopeful note, pretty close to happily ever after.
In
his book, The Trials and Tribulations of
Little Red Riding Hood, Jack Zipes shares that in 17th century France
many oral versions of this tale were being told. The majority of the oral
versions were found in southeast France and northern Italy. In fact, one French
folklorist collected thirteen different oral versions. In the regions where the
oral versions were popular there was actually an epidemic of werewolf trials
similar to the witch trials. Thousands and maybe be even hundreds of thousands
of men were accused and put on trial for supposedly devouring children.
Werewolf superstitions ran rampant and people were afraid to walk through
fields and forests.
The tale was told by peasant women and had a message that was twofold.
It was a warning tale to children, especially girls. But it was also a coming
of age story that celebrated a young woman’s initiation into society and her
sexual initiation. In the forest of the oral tale, a path of pins and needles
is present. The girl takes the path of needles to Granny’s house. Back when the
oral tale flourished, when a girl entered puberty, many times she became an
apprentice to a seamstress. So it is believed that needlework and the path of
needles, is symbolic of puberty. A popular oral version of this tale, told by
Paul Delarue, is “The Story of
Grandmother”. After reading this version, and some of the other oral versions
Zipes shares in his book, I hardly recognize the little girl I grew up with,
who just loved wearing her red hood. See
if you do! “The Story of Grandmother”
goes something like this:
A Woman makes bread and sends her daughter out through the woods to
deliver it to Grandmother. The little girl meets a WEREWOLF along the way. Yikes! He asks her, “Are you taking the path
of needles or pins?” She says the path of needles, so the werewolf takes the
path of pins, of course. He gets to Grandma’s house first and kills
Grandma! Yikes again!! The werewolf puts some of the meat from Grandmother’s
body in the cupboard and a bottle of her blood next to her meat. Soon the
little girl arrives at Grandma’s house and she thinks the werewolf is Grandmother.
The werewolf tells her to put her bread in the cupboard, and while she is there
to take some of the meat and wine that is on the shelf – eat it and drink it.
The girl does just that. Yikes once more!!! As soon as she finishes, a little
cat tells her, “ONLY SLUTS EAT THE FLESH AND DRINK THE BLOOD OF THEIR GRANNY!”
Next, the werewolf tells her to come lie down with him in bed. When she asks
where she should put her apron, he tells her to throw it in the fire because
she will not need it anymore. She asks about her other pieces of clothing and
he tells her the same thing each time – throw it in the fire because you won’t
need it anymore. Then the girl lies down next to him and comments about how
hairy he is, what big nails and shoulders and ears he has, and finally
what a BIG MOUTH he has! He was waiting and waiting for that comment and once
he tells her the better to EAT you with, the girl tells him that she must go
outside to relieve herself. “I have to go badly,” she says. The werewolf tells
her to do it in the bed, just do it in the bed. But she insists that she must
do it outside. Reluctantly, the werewolf ties a thick rope to her foot. He holds
onto one end and and lets her go outside. When she gets outside she uses all
her strength and determination to unknot the rope that binds her. She
does it! Yippee! She then ties the rope around a tree. In the meantime
the werewolf shouts out to her, “Are you making a LOAD out there? Are you
making a big LOAD?” When nobody answers, he jumps out of bed to check and sees
that the little girl has indeed escaped. He chases after her, but the little
girl arrives home just as he catches up. She runs into the safety of her home
and her mother’s arms. The End.
The image at the top of the post can be found here: http://poesiegrenadine.blogspot.com/2013/08/will-you-take-path-of-pins-or-path-of.html
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