Little Red Cap is a European fairy tale that has different versions in France, Germany, Italy, and other regions across the continent. The Brothers Grimm titled it Little Red Cap, but most people know this story as Little Red Riding Hood. While one of the most recognized versions is the Brothers Grimm’s (though with a different title), not all of them follow the same storyline.
Charles Perrault published one of the earliest known versions. In his version, after the wolf lays a trap for her, the story ends with the wolf eating Red Riding Hood. There is no saving her or her grandmother; it simply ends.
Other retellings of the tale change the wolf into a vampire or ogre. In one, Red Riding Hood is tricked into eating her own grandmother by the wolf. In another, Red Riding Hood figures out it’s the wolf and convinces him to let her go, and he ties a string on her finger to keep watch on her, but the girl sneaks the string around another object and flees. The death of the wolf is often different as well, showing up in forms as drowning in a river or being burned by Red Riding Hood’s magical hood. Help doesn’t always come as a huntsman—a laundress, a young boy, or Red Riding Hood by herself save the day.
These versions are quite dark, and, surprisingly, the Brothers Grimm doesn’t have the darkest tale.
The Narrator’s Favorite Versions:
Scarlet, by Marissa Meyer -- Book Scarlet Moon, by Debbie Viguié -- Book Into the Woods – Musical