Little Red Riding Hood Original Story: The Dark Version Before the Huntsman
In the original Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf wins. Read how Perrault, the Grimms and an older oral tale told the story, and what the moral really means.
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In the earliest printed Little Red Riding Hood story, there is no rescue. Charles Perrault's Le Petit Chaperon Rouge (1697) ends with the wolf eating the girl, followed by a short poem warning young women about charming "wolves" who follow them home. The friendly huntsman who cuts the wolf open only appears in the Brothers Grimm version of 1812, and an even older oral tale from France has the girl unknowingly eat her grandmother's flesh.
Here is how each version unfolds and what each one is trying to teach.
The Oral Tale: "The Story of Grandmother"
Before Perrault, French peasants told a version folklorists now call "The Story of Grandmother." A version collected in the nineteenth century and published by folklorist Paul Delarue contains details Perrault left out:
- The villain is a bzou, a werewolf, rather than an ordinary wolf.
- The girl is asked at a crossroads whether she will take the path of pins or the path of needles.
- After killing the grandmother, the wolf leaves her meat and blood in the pantry. The girl, unaware, eats and drinks them while a cat calls her a slut for doing so.
- The wolf asks her to undress and throw each piece of clothing into the fire.
- In the end the girl saves herself. She says she needs to relieve herself outside; the wolf ties a string to her ankle, she ties the string to a tree, and she runs home.
Some scholars debate how old this oral form is, but it is useful because it shows a clever heroine who escapes by her own wit, not a passive victim waiting for help.
Perrault's Version (1697): The Wolf Wins
Perrault included the tale in Stories or Tales from Times Past. His plot is the one most readers recognize:
- A little girl wearing a red hood (chaperon) is sent to visit her grandmother with cakes and butter.
- She meets a wolf in the woods and tells him where she is going.
- The wolf races ahead, eats the grandmother and climbs into her bed.
- The famous dialogue follows: "What big arms you have!" "All the better to hug you with," ending with "What big teeth you have!"
- The wolf eats her. The end.
Perrault then adds a verse moral, paraphrased here: young girls should not listen to strangers, and the most dangerous wolves are the gentle, flattering ones who follow girls into houses and even into their bedrooms. The sexual subtext is deliberate. In seventeenth-century French slang, a girl who had "seen the wolf" had lost her virginity.
The Grimm Version (1812): Rescue and Revenge
The Brothers Grimm titled their tale Rotkäppchen ("Little Red Cap"). Their key changes:
- The mother warns Red Cap not to stray from the path. (This makes the tale about obedience.)
- The wolf eats both the grandmother and the girl, then falls asleep snoring.
- A huntsman hears the snoring, cuts open the wolf's belly, and both victims climb out unharmed.
- They fill the wolf's belly with stones; when he wakes and tries to run, he collapses and dies.
The Grimms also include a short sequel in which Red Cap meets a second wolf, goes straight to grandmother, and the two of them trick and drown it in a trough of sausage water. Lesson learned.
Versions Compared
| Oral tale | Perrault (1697) | Grimm (1812) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Villain | Werewolf (bzou) | Wolf | Wolf |
| Cannibal meal | Girl eats grandmother | No | No |
| Ending | Girl escapes by trick | Girl eaten | Huntsman rescues both |
| Main lesson | Cleverness saves you | Beware seductive strangers | Obey your mother, stay on the path |
Where Did the Red Hood Come From?
The red hood seems to be Perrault's addition. Oral versions don't always mention it. Red was a striking, fashionable color, and it makes the girl instantly visible, a target in the green forest. Later interpreters have read it as a symbol of youth, passion or approaching womanhood.
Folklorists classify the story as ATU 333, "Little Red Riding Hood." A 2013 study by anthropologist Jamshid Tehrani used methods from evolutionary biology to compare dozens of versions and suggested that Red Riding Hood and the related tale "The Wolf and the Kids" share a common ancestor, with East Asian variants such as "Grandaunt Tiger" belonging to the same family.
What Is the Moral of Little Red Riding Hood?
It depends on the version:
- Perrault: a warning about predatory men disguised as charming gentlemen.
- Grimm: a lesson about obedience and staying on the safe path.
- Oral tradition: a celebration of a resourceful girl who outwits danger herself.
That flexibility is why the story keeps being retold, from Angela Carter's "The Company of Wolves" to countless modern novels. For more of these unsettling originals, browse our list of dark fairy tales, or see how the forest functions as a symbol in our guide to fairy tale symbolism.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Little Red Riding Hood die in the original story?
In Charles Perrault's 1697 version, yes. The wolf eats her and the story ends there with a moral.
Who added the huntsman?
The Brothers Grimm, in their 1812 tale Rotkäppchen. The huntsman cuts the wolf open and rescues both Red Cap and her grandmother.
What is "The Story of Grandmother"?
It is a French oral version of the tale in which a werewolf tricks the girl into eating her grandmother's flesh, but the girl escapes by pretending she needs to go outside.
What does the wolf symbolize?
In Perrault's version the wolf clearly represents a predatory man. In other versions he is simply the danger of the wild world outside the safe path.
What tale type is Little Red Riding Hood?
It is ATU 333 in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther classification system.
