"No! Red Riding Hood!"
"Oh yes, of course, Red Riding Hood. Well, one day her mother called and said: 'Little Green Riding Hood-"
"Red!"
"Sorry! Red. 'Now, my child, go to aunt Mary and take her these potatoes.'"
"No! It doesn't go like that! 'Go to Grandma and take her these cakes.'"
So begins the (very) short story Little Green Riding Hood by Gianni Rodari (1974). A fun little tale told by a grandfather, who we can assume is tired of telling the same story over and over again and messing with his granddaughter. Available in Jack Zipes' the Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood
Illustration by Gari Melchers
I still remember my dad telling me that Goldilocks went in an played all of Baby Bear's records on the record player and then broke them all to pieces. I objected strenuously, but then he explained that it can be fun to have some variety now and again, and I enjoyed it after that. That was my first introduction to fractured fairy tales. It was also a direct predecessor to "The Three Billy Goat Gruff Marine Biologists," which I told to my nephew because HE was bored with the usual rendition.
ReplyDeleteAll of which is to say, I think I will definitely be checking out Little Green Riding Hood.
Too funny! I definitely play with my students sometimes, sometimes just to mess with them/add humor, but other times I think I subconsciously want to give them a chance to be right and correct me for a change-sort of giving them a self-esteem boost, especially my students with special needs.
ReplyDelete