92 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
92 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
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Once upon a time . . . in the middle of a thick forest stood a small
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cottage, the home of a pretty little girl known to everyone as Little Red
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Riding Hood. One day, her Mummy waved her goodbye at the garden gate, saying:
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"Grandma is ill. Take her this basket of cakes, but be very careful. Keep to
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the path through the wood and don't ever stop. That way, you will come to no
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harm."
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Little Red Riding Hood kissed her mother and ran off. "Don't worry,' she
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said, "I'll run all the way to Grandma's without stopping."
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Full of good intentions, the little girl made her way through the wood, but
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she was soon to forget her mother's wise words. "What lovely strawberries! And
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so red . . ."
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Laying her basket on the ground, Little Red Riding Hood bent over the
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strawberry plants. "They're nice and ripe, and so big! Yummy! Delicious! Just
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another one. And one more. This is the last . . . Well, this one . . . Mmmm."
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The red fruit peeped invitingly through the leaves in the grassy glade, and
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Little Red Riding Hood ran back and forth popping strawberries into her mouth.
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Suddenly she remembered her mother, her promise, Grandma and the basket . . .
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and hurried back towards the path. The basket was still in the grass and,
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humming to herself, Little Red Riding Hood walked on.
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The wood became thicker and thicker. Suddenly a yellow butterfly fluttered
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down through the trees. Little Red Riding Hood started to chase the butterfly.
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"I'll catch you! I'll catch you!" she called. Suddenly she saw some large
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daisies in the grass.
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"Oh, how sweet!" she exclaimed and, thinking of Grandma, she picked a large
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bunch of flowers.
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In the meantime, two wicked eyes were spying on her from behind a tree . .
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a strange rustling in the woods made Little Red Riding Hood's heart thump.
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Now quite afraid she said to herself. "I must find the path and run away
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from here!"
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At last she reached the path again but her heart leapt into her mouth at
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the sound of a gruff voice which said: "Where ' . . are you going, my pretty
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girl, all alone in the woods?"
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"I'm taking Grandma some cakes. She lives at the end of the path," said
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Little Riding Hood in a faint voice.
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When he heard this, the wolf (for it was the big bad wolf himself) politely
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asked: "Does Grandma live by herself?"
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"Oh, yes," replied Little Red Riding Hood, "and she never opens the door to
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strangers!"
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"Goodbye. Perhaps we'll meet again," replied the wolf. Then he loped away
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thinking to himself "I'll gobble the grandmother first, then lie in wait for
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the grandchild!" At last, the cottage came in sight. Knock! Knock! The wolf
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rapped on the door. --~ "Who's there?" cried Grandma from her bed.
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"It's me, Little Red Riding Hood. I've brought you some cakes because
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you're ill," replied the wolf, trying hard to hide his gruff voice.
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"Lift the latch and come in," said Grandma, unaware of anything amiss, till
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a horrible shadow appeared on the wall. Poor Grandma! For in one bound, the
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wolf leapt across the room and, in a single mouthful, swallowed the old lady.
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Soon after, Little Red Riding Hood tapped on the door.
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"Grandma, can I come in?" she called.
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Now, the wolf had put on the old lady's shawl and cap and slipped into the
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bed. Trying to imitate Grandma's quavering little voice, he replied: "Open the latch and come in!
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"What a deep voice you have," said the little girl in surpnse.
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"The better to greet you with," said the wolf.
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"Goodness, what big eyes you have."
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"The better to see you with."
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"And what big hands you have!" exclaimed Little Red Riding Hood, stepping
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over to the bed.
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"The better to hug you with," said the wolf.
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"What a big mouth you have," the little girl murmured in a weak voice.
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"The better to eat you with!" growled the wolf, and jumping out of bed, he
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swallowed her up too. Then, with a fat full tummy, he fell fast asleep.
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In the meantime, a hunter had emerged from the wood, and on noticing the
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cottage, he decided to stop and ask for a drink. He had spent a lot of time
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trying to catch a large wolf that had been terrorizing the neighbourhood, but
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had lost its tracks. The hunter could hear a strange whistling sound; it
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seemed to be coming from inside the cottage. He peered through the window ...
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and saw the large wolf himself, with a fat full tummy, snoring away in
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Grandma's bed.
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"The wolf! He won't get away this time!"
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Without making a sound, the hunter carefully loaded his gun and gently
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opened the window. He pointed the barrel straight at the wolf's head and . . .
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BANG! The wolf was dead.
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"Got you at last!" shouted the hunter in glee. "You'll never frighten
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anyone agaln.
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He cut open the wolf's stomach and to his amazement, out popped Grandma and
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Little Red Riding Hood, safe and unharmed.
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"You arrived just in time," murmured the old lady, quite overcome by all
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the excitement. ~
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"It's safe to go home now," the hunter told Little Red Riding Hood. "The
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big bad wolf is dead and gone, and there is no danger on the path.
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Still scared, the little girl hugged her grandmother. Oh, what a dreadful
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fright!"
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Much later, as dusk was falling, Little Red Riding Hood's mother arrived,
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all out of breath, worried because her llttle girl had not come home. And when
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she saw Little Red Riding Hood, safe and sound, she burst into tears of joy.
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After thanking the hunter again, Little Red Rldlng Hood and her mother set
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off towards the wood. As they walked quickly through the trees, the little
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girl told her mother: "We must always keep to the path and never stop. That
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way, we come to no harm!"
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