Little Red Cap

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

　　Once upon a time there was a sweet little girl. Everyone who saw her liked her, but most of all her grandmother, who did not know what to give the child next. Once she gave her a little cap made of red velvet¹. Because it suited her so well, and she wanted to wear it all the time, she came to be known as Little Red Cap.

　　One day her mother said to her, "Come Little Red Cap. Here is a piece of cake and a bottle of wine. Take them to your grandmother. She is sick and weak, and they will do her well. Mind your manners and give her my greetings. Behave yourself on the way, and do not leave the path, or you might fall down and break the glass, and then there will be nothing for your grandmother. And when you enter her parlor², don't forget to say 'Good morning,' and don't peer³ into all the corners first."

　　"I'll do everything just right," said Little Red Cap, shaking her mother's hand.

　　The grandmother lived out in the woods, a half hour from the village. When Little Red Cap entered the woods a wolf came up to her. She did not know what a wicked⁴ animal he was, and was not afraid of him.

　　"Good day to you, Little Red Cap."

　　"Thank you, wolf."

　　"Where are you going so early, Little Red Cap?"

　　"To grandmother's."

　　"And what are you carrying under your apron⁵?"

　　"Grandmother is sick and weak, and I am taking her some cake and wine. We baked yesterday, and they should be good for her and give her strength."

　　"Little Red Cap, just where does your grandmother live?"

　　"Her house is good quarter hour from here in the woods, under the three large oak⁶ trees. There's a hedge⁷ of hazel bushes there. You must know the place," said Little Red Cap.

　　The wolf thought to himself, "Now that sweet young thing is a tasty bite for me. She will taste even better than the old woman. You must be sly⁸, and you can catch them both."

　　He walked along a little while with Little Red Cap, then he said, "Little Red Cap, just look at the beautiful flowers that are all around us. Why don't you go and take a look? And I don't believe you can hear how beautifully the birds are singing. You are walking along as though you were on your way to school. It is very beautiful in the woods."

　　Little Red Cap opened her eyes and when she saw the sunbeams dancing to and fro through the trees and how the ground was covered with beautiful flowers, she thought, "If a take a fresh bouquet⁹ to grandmother, she will be very pleased. Anyway, it is still early, and I'll be home on time." And she ran off the path into the woods looking for flowers. Each time she picked one she thought that she could see an even more beautiful one a little way off, and she ran after it, going further and further into the woods. But the wolf ran straight to the grandmother's house and knocked on the door.

　　"Who's there?"

　　"Little Red Cap. I'm bringing you some cake and wine. Open the door."

　　"Just press the latch¹⁰," called out the grandmother. "I'm too weak to get up."

　　The wolf pressed the latch, and the door opened. He stepped inside, went straight to the grandmother's bed, and ate her up. Then he put on her clothes, put her cap on his head, got into her bed, and pulled the curtains shut.

　　Little Red Cap had run after the flowers. After she had gathered so many that she could not carry any more, she remembered her grandmother, and then continued on her way to her house. She found, to her surprise, that the door was open. She walked into the parlor, and everything looked so strange that she thought, "Oh, my God, why am I so afraid? I usually like it at grandmother's."

　　She called out, "Good morning!" but received no answer.#p#副标题#e#

　　Then she went to the bed and pulled back the curtains. Grandmother was lying there with her cap pulled down over her face and looking very strange.

　　"Oh, grandmother, what big ears you have!"

　　"All the better to hear you with."

　　"Oh, grandmother, what big eyes you have!"

　　"All the better to see you with."

　　"Oh, grandmother, what big hands you have!"

　　"All the better to grab¹¹ you with!"

　　"Oh, grandmother, what a horribly big mouth you have!"

　　"All the better to eat you with!"

　　The wolf had scarcely¹² finished speaking when he jumped from the bed with a single leap and ate up poor Little Red Cap. As soon as the wolf had satisfied his desires, he climbed back into bed, fell asleep, and began to snore very loudly.

　　A huntsman was just passing by. He thought, "The old woman is snoring so loudly. You had better see if something is wrong with her."

　　He stepped into the parlor, and when he approached the bed, he saw the wolf lying there. "So here I find you, you old sinner," he said. "I have been hunting for you a long time."

　　He was about to aim his rifle¹³ when it occurred to him that the wolf might have eaten the grandmother, and that she still might be rescued. So instead of shooting, he took a pair of scissors and began to cut open the wolf's belly¹⁴. After a few cuts he saw the red cap shining through., and after a few more cuts the girl jumped out, crying, "Oh, I was so frightened! It was so dark inside the wolf's body!"

　　And then the grandmother came out as well, alive but hardly able to breathe. Then Little Red Cap fetched some large stones. She filled the wolf's body with them, and when he woke up and tried to run away, the stones were so heavy that he immediately fell down dead.

　　The three of them were happy. The huntsman skinned the wolf and went home with the pelt¹⁵. The grandmother ate the cake and drank the wine that Little Red Cap had brought. And Little Red Cap thought, "As long as I live, I will never leave the path and run off into the woods by myself if mother tells me not to."

　　They also tell how Little Red Cap was taking some baked things to her grandmother another time, when another wolf spoke¹⁶ to her and wanted her to leave the path. But Little Red Cap took care and went straight to grandmother's. She told her that she had seen the wolf, and that he had wished her a good day, but had stared at her in a wicked manner. "If we hadn't been on a public road, he would have eaten me up," she said.

　　"Come," said the grandmother. "Let's lock the door, so he can't get in."

　　Soon afterward¹⁷ the wolf knocked on the door and called out, "Open up, grandmother. It's Little Red Cap, and I'm bringing you some baked things."

　　They remained silent, and did not open the door. Gray-Head crept¹⁸ around the house several times, and finally jumped onto the roof. He wanted to wait until Little Red Cap went home that evening, then follow her and eat her up in the darkness. But the grandmother saw what he was up to. There was a large stone trough in front of the house.

　　"Fetch a bucket, Little Red Cap," she said to the child. "Yesterday I cooked some sausage. Carry the water that I boiled them with to the trough." Little Red Cap carried water until the large, large trough was clear full. The smell of sausage arose into the wolf's nose. He sniffed¹⁹ and looked down, stretching his neck so long that he could no longer hold himself, and he began to slide. He slid off the roof, fell into the trough, and drowned. And Little Red Cap returned home happily, and no one harmed her.#p#副标题#e#

        　　从前有个可爱的小姑娘，谁见了都喜欢，但最喜欢她的是她的奶奶，简直是她要甚么就给她甚么。一次，奶奶送给小姑娘一顶用丝绒做的小红帽，戴在她的头上正好合适。从此，姑娘再也不愿意戴任何别的帽子，於是大家便叫她「小红帽」。
　　一天，妈妈对小红帽说：「来，小红帽，这里有一块蛋糕和一瓶葡萄酒，快给奶奶送去，奶奶生病了，身子很虚弱，吃了这些就会好一些的。趁着现在天还没有热，赶紧动身吧。在路上要好好走，不要跑，也不要离开大路，否则你会摔跤的，那样奶奶就甚么也吃不上了。到奶奶家的时候，别忘了说’早上好’，也不要一进屋就东瞧西瞅。」
　　「我会小心的。」小红帽对妈妈说，并且还和妈妈拉手作保证。
　　奶奶住在村子外面的森林里，离小红帽家有很长一段路。小红帽刚走进森林就碰到了一条狼。小红帽不知道狼是坏傢伙，所以一点也不怕它。
　　「你好，小红帽，」狼说。
　　「谢谢你，狼先生。」
　　「小红帽，这么早要到哪里去呀？」
　　「我要到奶奶家去。」
　　「你那围裙下面有甚么呀？」
　　「蛋糕和葡萄酒。昨天我们家烤了一些蛋糕，可怜的奶奶生了病，要吃一些好东西才能恢复过来。」
　　「你奶奶住在哪里呀，小红帽？」
　　「进了林子还有一段路呢。她的房子就在三棵大橡树下，低处围着核桃树篱笆。你一定知道的。」小红帽说。
　　狼在心中盘算着：「这小东西细皮嫩肉的，味道肯定比那老太婆要好。我要讲究一下策略，让她俩都逃不出我的手心。」於是它陪着小红帽走了一会儿，然后说：「小红帽，你看周围这些花多么美丽啊！干吗不回头看一看呢？还有这些小鸟，它们唱得多么动听啊！你大概根本没有听到吧？林子里的一切多么美好啊，而你却只管往前走，就像是去上学一样。」
　　小红帽抬起头来，看到阳光在树木间来回跳荡，美丽的鲜花在四周开放，便想：「也许我该摘一把鲜花给奶奶，让她高兴高兴。现在天色还早，我不会去迟的。」她於是离开大路，走进林子去採花。她每採下一朵花，总觉得前面还有更美丽的花朵，便又向前走去，结果一直走到了林子深处。
　　就在此时，狼却直接跑到奶奶家，敲了敲门。
　　「是谁呀？」
　　「是小红帽。」狼回答，「我给你送蛋糕和葡萄酒来了。快开门哪。」
　　「你拉一下门栓就行了，」奶奶大声说，「我身上没有力气，起不来。」
　　狼刚拉起门栓，那门就开了。狼二话没说就冲到奶奶的床前，把奶奶吞进了肚子。然后她穿上奶奶的衣服，戴上她的帽子，躺在床上，还拉上了帘子。
　　可这时小红帽还在跑来跑去地採花。直到採了许多许多，她都拿不了啦，她才想起奶奶，重新上路去奶奶家。
　　看到奶奶家的屋门敞开着，她感到很奇怪。她一走进屋子就有一种异样的感觉，心中便想：「天哪！平常我那么喜欢来奶奶家，今天怎么这样害怕？」她大声叫道：「早上好！」，可是没有听到回答。她走到床前拉开帘子，只见奶奶躺在床上，帽子拉得低低的，把脸都遮住了，样子非常奇怪。
　　「哎，奶奶，」她说，「你的耳朵怎么这样大呀？」
　　「为了更好地听你说话呀，乖乖。」
　　「可是奶奶，你的眼睛怎么这样大呀？」小红帽又问。
　　「为了更清楚地看你呀，乖乖。」
　　「奶奶，你的手怎么这样大呀？」
　　「可以更好地抱着你呀。」
　　「奶奶，你的嘴巴怎么大得很吓人呀？」
　　「可以一口把你吃掉呀！」
　　狼刚把话说完，就从床上跳起来，把小红帽吞进了肚子，狼满足了食欲之后便重新躺到床上睡觉，而且鼾声震天。一位猎人碰巧从屋前走过，心想：「这老太太鼾打得好响啊！我要进去看看她是不是出甚么事了。」猎人进了屋，来到床前时却发现躺在那里的竟是狼。「你这老坏蛋，我找了你这么久，真没想到在这里找到你！」他说。他正准备向狼开枪，突然又想到，这狼很可能把奶奶吞进了肚子，奶奶也许还活着。猎人就没有开枪，而是操起一把剪刀，动手把呼呼大睡的狼的肚子剪了开来。他刚剪了两下，就看到了红色的小帽子。他又剪了两下，小姑娘便跳了出来，叫道：「真把我吓坏了！狼肚子里黑漆漆的。」接着，奶奶也活着出来了，只是有点喘不过气来。小红帽赶紧跑去搬来几块大石头，塞进狼的肚子。狼醒来之后想逃走，可是那些石头太重了，它刚站起来就跌到在地，摔死了。
　　三个人高兴极了。猎人剥下狼皮，回家去了；奶奶吃了小红帽带来的蛋糕和葡萄酒，精神好多了；而小红帽却在想：「要是妈妈不允许，我一辈子也不独自离开大路，跑进森林了。」
　　人们还说，小红帽后来又有一次把蛋糕送给奶奶，而且在路上又有一只狼跟她搭话，想骗她离开大路。可小红帽这次提高了警惕，头也不回地向前走。她告诉奶奶她碰到了狼，那傢伙嘴上虽然对她说「你好」，眼睛里却露着凶光，要不是在大路上，它准把她给吃了。「那么，」奶奶说，「我们把门关紧，不让它进来。」不一会儿，狼真的一面敲着门一面叫道：「奶奶，快开门呀。我是小红帽，给你送蛋糕来了。」但是她们既不说话，也不开门。这长着灰毛的傢伙围着房子转了两三圈，最后跳上屋顶，打算等小红帽在傍晚回家时偷偷跟在她的后面，趁天黑把她吃掉。可奶奶看穿了这傢伙的坏心思。她想起屋子前有一个大石头槽子，便对小姑娘说：「小红帽，把桶拿来。我昨天做了一些香肠，提些煮香肠的水去倒进石头槽里。」小红帽提了很多很多水，把那个大石头槽子装得满满的。香肠的气味飘进了狼的鼻孔，它使劲地用鼻子闻呀闻，并且朝下张望着，到最后把脖子伸得太长了，身子开始往下滑。它从屋顶上滑了下来，正好落在大石槽中，淹死了。小红帽高高兴兴地回了家，从此再也没有谁伤害过她。