The classic folk tale “Little Red Riding Hood” tells the story of a young girl who travels through the forest with a basket of food for her grandmother. Upon meeting a wolf in the woods, she naively tells him where she is headed. The wolf uses this information against her and hurries to her grandmother’s house, where he promptly devours the old lady, then hops into her clothes and bed. Disguised as Granny, the wolf awaits the arrival of Little Red, but when she arrives, he eats her, too! Luckily, a huntsman is nearby and hears the young girl’s cries for help. He tears open the wolf’s belly and Little Red and her grandmother emerge safely. To really do the Big Bad Wolf in, they load heavy stones into his stomach, and he dies.

However, the story didn’t always have this resolved, happy ending. The origins of “Little Red Riding Hood” can be traced back to oral traditions shared in France, Italy, and other European countries as far back as the 14th century. A wolf was not always the enemy; other monstrous creatures that might dwell in a dark forest were often featured as the antagonist. Most of these early tales were much more violent and explicit than the version most well-known today.

“Little Red Riding Hood” has often been analyzed in feminist terms in modern day, and in such an interpretation, it would be important to note that in the earliest versions of the tale, Little Red manages to escape through her own accord, with no help from a man (or anyone, for that matter). It was not until later that the “helpful huntsman” was added in to rescue Little Red and her grandmother.

In the 17th century, Charles Perrault was the first to put a version of “Little Red Riding Hood” into writing. This tale still did not have the happy ending. Instead, Perrault unambiguously spells out the moral of his story: don’t talk to strangers. And some might add, that women should be careful to avoid the advances of men.

It wasn’t until the 19th century that the Grimm brothers heard a few different versions of “Little Red” and produced their own version; their 1857 edition is the story most well-known today. It is much more child-friendly in comparison to the darker themes of earlier versions. Today, it remains a popular folk tale, is widely studied, and has been used as the basis for a bevy of pop culture endeavors such as plays, art, movies, and books!