Little Red

Wolf started to pace. Startled by his confession, I didn’t have a chance to speak before he began spilling the gory details. "Two days ago while out hunting rodents, the main staple of my repulsive diet, I heard the sweetest song echoing through the forest. It crossed my mind that maybe the Great Phoenix was giving me a sign. Princesses are known for singing, right? I thought, ‘Maybe she’s unclaimed? Maybe her lips contain a kiss that can undo spells!’ So I followed the music. Imagine my disappointment when it was not a princess I found, but rather a red caped little girl. I should have left right then, but the most wonderful smells were wafting from her picnic basket. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had real food.” “So I erred on the side of bad judgement and stepped out of the woods. I will never forget her wide eyes as she turned them toward me. They were like olives in two pools of milk. I instantly felt bad for what I was about to do. I could see that she wanted to run, her Mother's words of warning ringing in her ears. I knew I had to act quickly. So I did what any of the courtyard dogs would have done. I rolled over on my back. But it wasn't until she'd wound her tiny fingers in the soft coat of my belly that I knew I had succeeded. 'Sweet pup.' She cooed to me. 'Sweet indeed' I thought as I eyed her basket of food. She called herself 'Little Red'. Red, like the color of the cape her Grandmother had knit her. Red, like the color that spilled out when the woodcutter took my tail.” “For thirty minutes I portrayed myself as the witless pet that she wanted me to be, magicked with the gift of speech. I gave her ‘doggy rides’ and played fetch with each stick and stone she sent whizzing past me. The only payment I ever expected for my time was a little taste of her food. The girl was busy looking for flowers when I decided to nose my way into her basket. I was a hair away from tasting pie when something swung down hard across my muzzle. I swiveled my head around, snarling. Little Red stood above me with her hand raised and her face drawn up in a scowl. ‘NO!’ she scolded. ‘That’s not for you.’ She talked to me like I was the child! ‘Then who is it for?’ She gave me some sob story about her Grandmother being sick, all the while swinging that basket in front of my face.” “‘Why don’t I meet you at your Grandmother’s house? I hear talking wolves are very lucky. Maybe I could help her get well!' The gullible child nodded her head, eagerly giving me directions. I said my good-byes and then ran off on my own route. When I arrived at the old woman’s house, hours before the kid, I imagined a cupboard full of food that I could raid. I imagined the near blind woman taking me for a dog and giving me some meaty bones to chew. What I didn’t expect was for her to run away. She seemed healthy enough as she fled from the house. Her lungs certainly weren’t ill. I could hear her shouting ‘Wolf! Wolf!” for nearly ten minutes after she’d left.” “Incidentally, Red’s Grandmother ran right into the very same village where that dreadful little Shepard lived. You know the one. The one who always cried, ‘Wolf?’ His parents had sent him off to military school not even two weeks prior. So you can imagine the kind of greeting Grandma received. The town’s people were just beginning to enjoy their peace and quiet when she arrived. ‘Wolf! Wolf!” She shouted, and they strung her up by her toes in front of the town jail. But that’s neither here nor there. I searched the cottage in her absence, finding nothing but bare cupboards. I wasn’t worried though, I knew Little Red would soon be at the door. Ten minutes before Little Red showed up, I realized there was a serious flaw in my plan.” “I had assumed the little girl would give me food simply for meeting her at the old woman's cottage. But what would happen once she realized the house had been abandoned? There wouldn't be any breaking of bread with the monster that had scared off her dear, sweet Grandmother. So I formulated a plan. I would pretend to be the old woman. It seemed like such a good idea at the time. Her closet was full of cotton nightgowns, eight sizes too small for a wolf my size of course. I remedied that by ripping into the back of one until it was loose enough for me to squeeze into. I had just thrown the blanket over my feet when there was a knock on the door. 'Come in!' Little Red walked into the cottage, grinning like the fool child that she was.” “Anyone else would have seen through my ruse. 'Are you well Grandmother?' 'As well as can be expected.' 'What's wrong with your eyes, Grandmother?' 'Pink eye my Darling.' 'What happened to your ears, Grandmother?' ‘Earmuffs my sweet. Could you please turn up the heat?' 'What awfully big teeth you have, Grandmother!' It was then that I realized, the girl hadn't fallen for my trick at all. I leapt from the bed, lunging for the basket in Little Red's hands. She screamed and the door of the house burst open. If I hadn't shielded my eyes from the dust and splinters, I might have seen the Woodcutter and been able to avoid him. As it was, I smelled him a second before he brought his axe down on me.” “Losing my tail wasn't as painful as you’d think. It was there. Then it wasn't. But the blood. All that blood made me queasy! If there’d been any food in my stomach I might have gotten sick. Instead, I dodged the Woodcutter as he swung for me a second time and ran toward the door. I would have made it too, had that brat not been blocking the way. 'MOVE!' I screamed. Little Red stood defiant, no longer cute and innocent. She pointed a tiny finger at me and called out to the Woodsman, 'He ate my Grandmother! Now gut him open and get her out.' I tried to protest. I tried to reason with them. But I saw the longing in their eyes. All heroes need an enemy. On that day, I was it.” “So I did the only thing I could. I ate the girl. It wasn't like I enjoyed it. Although I was hungry enough to find a little bit of pleasure in the deed. With her gone I had the means of escaping. It wasn't until I reached the heart of the forest that I realized her cape was caught on one of my teeth. It had been flapping behind me like a sail the whole time. I would have tossed it, but I wanted the reminder of what I’d done. Besides, wearing it makes me feel a bit more… human." With his story told, Wolf laid down and folded his paws one on top of the other. “So?” He asked. I swallowed hard. “That’s a pretty twisted story.” “I know,” he looked down for a moment. “I’ve been waiting a long time to tell it to someone.” I rubbed a hand across my face. “How did you manage to eat her whole?” “She really wasn’t very big. Possibly even half dwarf.” “I see. And the Woodcutter?” “I haven’t seen him since. But that doesn’t mean he’s not out there.” I stood up on the branch and stretch my wings. “You could publish a story like that.” “You think so?” “No, I was just humoring you.” I looked up toward the sky, noting the falling position of the sun. “So what will you do now?” I asked him. “I don’t know. I guess continue my search for a princess.” I nodded, suddenly tired of pretending he and I were old friends. “Well, now that your story is done, it’s time for you to uphold your part of the bargain. Then I’ll be on my way.” “Oh?” He asked. We locked eyes for a minute. I couldn’t tell if he was questioning my decision to leave or if he’d forgotten our deal. “Yes, Wolf. You promised to tell me which way those children went. Don’t you remember?” Our eyes never broke contact as he shook his head slowly from side to side. “I don’t have any information.” My mouth opened and closed a few times as I struggled to maintain composure. “Oh really?” was about all I could get out. After a moment of heavy silence I launched myself into the air to leave. “I was just beginning to believe your story about being human too. But now I see you’re nothing but an animal. Thanks for nothing.”