Little Red Riding Hood- Comparing Two Perspectives

There are many popular folk tales that are read or told to children at a very young age. These Folk Tales that we know and love are not necessarily THE story. Throughout the world these simple stories have been told in a variety of different ways. Yes themes and characters may be different but there are many differences that could be found between not only different contestants but countries as well. 

For example I am going to take Little Red Riding Hood and compare the folk tale between the French culture and the German culture. 

We find many similarities between these two right from the start. We have our main character known as Red. She wears a little red cap with a hood and we find her walking alone through the woods. We also have the wolf who is the villain in the tale. Although both versions of the story succeeds in getting the main point across (which in my opinion would be to warn kids about the dangers of strangers and going off alone), each one is unique in the details told about main events. In fact some details can get a bit gruesome. 

Now that we have established some similarities lets move along to pointing out these differences. One of the main differences I found in these two stories is the use of another character who is the hunter. The hunter is featured in the German version and not in the French version. In fact, he plays a major role in the actual ending result of the story. You see the French went the rough route and ends the story with 1- grandma getting swallowed in whole by the wolf and 2- Red too getting swallowed by the wolf. Once these two events happen the tale almost drops off a cliff and ends. I can tell you this was not the version I was told growing up! On the other hand, we have the German version which may be a bit more relieving to some. This key character that is not found in the French version is almost like the prince coming to rescue his princess from the wicked witch. The wolf first of all did not eat grandma whole but rather tied her up and locked her in a closet. The wolf also did not succeed in eating Red because the hunter barges in slices open the wolf as he is sleeping. Now here is where it gets gruesome and leaves you wondering why this story is ever told to children. The wolf does not die from the stabbing but rather from grandma and Red filling his body with stones. As the wolf awakens and tries to get up he collapses and dies. 

So there you have it! Two versions of the same story by two different cultures. I can only imagine what other cultures have to say about the fate of the Red, grandma and the wolf!