No fairy tale collection would be complete without the story of Little Red Cap, otherwise known as Little Red Riding Hood. Its beloved title character has captured the imagination of generations of little girls and taught them not to trust the big bad wolf.

The story has been reinvented over and over again, often with the goal of “softening” the darker details or painting it with a more secular brush. The Brothers Grimm would have had none of that, however. Their version is “dark” by today’s standards precisely because they wanted to paint a gripping picture of what could happen if one wanders off the path.

PLOT ANALYSIS

Exposition – Background

Once there was a good little girl who was loved by everyone. Her grandmother especially doted on her and made her a little red velvet cap, which she wore so much that everyone called her Little Red Cap.

Inciting Incident – The Problem

Her life takes an unexpected twist one day when she is sent on what would seem a rather benign task. Her mother says, “Come, Little Red-Cap, here is a piece of cake and a bottle of wine; take them to your grandmother. She is ill and weak, and they will do her good. Set out before it gets hot, and when you are going, walk nicely and quietly and do not run off the path…”

Little Red Cap’s story unfolds from there. Her challenge is to stay on the path and complete her errand safely.  

Rising Action – The Build-up

Along the way, she meets a sly wolf who pretends to be good. He tricks Little Red Cap into straying from the path to pick wild flowers so that he can run ahead to Grandmother’s cottage.

Once there, the wolf knocks on the door and pretends to be Little Red Cap. Grandmother is deceived and invites him to “lift the latch” and enter her cottage. The wolf then goes to her bedroom and swallows her whole. He wastes no time disguising himself as Grandmother and lays in wait for Little Red Cap, whom he intends to eat next. 

Climax – The Breaking Point

When Little Red Cap arrives, she senses that something is not right, but she still walks into the back bedroom expecting to find Grandmother. Thus ensues the famous “Grandmother, Grandmother…” lines wherein Little Red Cap notes how different the wolf’s ears, eyes, hands, and mouth look than those of her real grandmother. No sooner does she realize that it’s the wolf, then he goggles her up. 

Falling Action – The Unraveling

Luckily, the wolf is so full from his two-course meal that he falls asleep in Grandmother’s bed and begins snoring loudly. A nearby huntsman hears the loud snoring and decides to check on Grandmother, thinking she may be ill. When he goes inside, he sees the wolf and shouts, “So here I find you, you old sinner.” He gets ready to shoot the wolf but thinks better of it and decides to cut his stomach open instead.

Resolution – Lesson Learned

Out pops Little Red Cap and Grandmother. Though they’re both a little worse for the wear, they eat the basket of goodies and feel much better.

MOTIFS

Journey through the Woods

Woods are dark and scary places. Just ask any little child to venture deep into the woods on his own, and see how he responds.

Little Red Cap does not seem afraid, however, when her mother tells her to walk through the woods to Grandmother’s house. Ironically, she’s too young to get scared. She doesn’t know, or at least doesn’t understand, that danger awaits. She has grown up in the safety of her mother’s home and expects that safety to stay with her in the woods. But, of course, it doesn’t. The wolf greets her almost immediately and plans to devour her.

So, too, in life does danger always lurk. The woods, then, is a metaphor for life’s figurative journey from beginning to end. It starts in the safety, certainty, and comfort of one’s own home with parents who, like Little Red Cap’s mother, try to teach the ways of the world. In its most primitive sense, those teachings are designed to heighten a child’s chances of survival. One day, ready or not, that same child must face the world alone.

Many, like Little Red Cap, wander off the path and even get devoured. Sure, Little Red Cap gets a second chance when the huntsman cuts her out of the wolf’s belly, but that’s hardly something she could have counted on.

By extension, the woods also symbolize our earthly journey to Heaven, with sin as the ever-present danger.

The Big Bad Wolf

This brings us to the infamous big bad wolf who metaphorically represents sin. He’s no stranger to this role either, as there are seemingly endless stories with wolves as bad guys. Even Christ used this metaphor in His Parable of the Good Shepherd.

If the wolf’s so big and bad, though, why doesn’t he just eat Little Red Cap right away and then go gobble up Grandma?

The answer to this question reveals much about the nature of sin. Thanks to free will, we can either invite sin into our life or turn it down. Likewise, the wolf cannot do anything to Little Red Cap without her participation. For that matter, he cannot even get into Grandmother’s house without permission. Remember—the wolf opens the door himself but only after Grandmother invites him to do so.

Of course, both Little Red Cap and Grandmother are tricked by the wolf. He’s a liar and a master of disguise, feigning to be good and dressing as someone he’s not. Sin is the same way. It, too, pretends to be good, or at least not that bad. After all, Little Red Cap was trying to do something nice for her grandmother when she stopped to pick flowers. Nevertheless, by doing so she disobeyed her mother and gave the wolf his chance.

Once he has it, he takes as much as he can. He isn’t satisfied with one meal. He has to have two. And so his appetite would have grown had the huntsman not come along. Likewise, sin always gets bigger and hurts more people unless it is killed entirely.

To do so, we must see it for what it is—sin. The huntsman immediately sees through the wolf’s disguise, notably calling him “sinner,” and that’s why he is able to kill him.     

CONCLUSION

One of the nice things about Little Red Cap is that it can be read at so many different levels. At its most basic, it reminds children to listen to their parents and not to trust strangers. That’s a pretty good point by itself. Indeed, my students often think that’s what it boils down to.

“We know where this one’s going,” they seem to think when I pass out the story.

After we unpack the metaphors, however, they suddenly look at the story differently, almost like they’re hearing it as little children for the first time. They once again fear for Little Red Cap when she walks into Grandmother’s room and examines the wolf’s ears, eyes, hands, and mouth. They can imagine themselves in her shoes, realizing too late that sin has crept into the most treasured corners of their lives.

In truth, we have all been in Little Red Cap’s shoes when we would rather be in the huntsman’s.