Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in a village near the forest.
Every time this little girl, Sally, went out she wore a fuchsia riding cloak, and thus everyone in the village called her Little Fuchsia Riding Hood.
One morning, Sally asked her mother if she could go to visit her grandmother as it had been awhile since they'd seen each other.
"That's a good idea," her mother said. So they packed a nice basket for Sally to take to her grandmother.
When the basket was ready, the little girl put on her fuchsia cloak and kissed her mother goodbye.
"Remember, go straight to Grandma's house," her mother cautioned. "Don't dawdle along the way and please don't talk to strangers! The woods are dangerous."
"Don't worry, mommy," said Sally, "I'll be careful."
But when Little Fuchsia Riding Hood noticed some lovely flowers in the woods, she forgot her promise to her mother. She picked a few, watched the butterflies flit about for awhile, listened to the frogs croaking and then picked a few more.
Little Fuchsia Riding Hood was enjoying the warm summer day so much, that she didn't notice a dark shadow approaching out of the forest behind her...
Suddenly, a wolf appeared beside her.
"What are you doing out here, little girl?" the wolf asked in a voice as friendly as he could muster.
"I'm on my way to see my Grandma who lives through the forest, near the brook," Little Fuchsia Riding Hood replied. Then she realized how late she was and quickly excused herself, rushing down the path to her Grandma's house.
The wolf, in the meantime, took a shortcut...
The wolf, a little out of breath from running, arrived at Grandma's and knocked lightly at the door.
"Oh thank goodness dear! Come in, come in! I was worried sick that something had happened to you in the forest," said Grandma thinking that the knock was her granddaughter. The wolf let himself in. Poor Granny did not have time to say another word, before the wolf gobbled her up!
The wolf let out a satisfied burp, and then poked through Granny's wardrobe to find a nightgown that he liked. He added a frilly sleeping cap, and for good measure, dabbed some of Granny's perfume behind his pointy ears.
A few minutes later, Little Fuchsia Riding Hood knocked on the door. The wolf jumped into bed and pulled the covers over his nose.
"Who is it?" he called in a cackling voice.
"It's me!" Little Fuchsia Riding Hood called.
"Oh how lovely! Do come in, my dear," croaked the wolf.
When Little Fuchsia Riding Hood entered the little cottage, she could scarcely recognize her Grandmother.
"Grandmother! Your voice sounds so odd. Is something the matter?" she asked.
"Oh, I just have touch of a cold," squeaked the wolf adding a cough at the end to prove the point.
"But Grandmother! What big ears you have," said Little Fuchsia Riding Hood as she edged closer to the bed.
"The better to hear you with, my dear," replied the wolf.
"But Grandmother! What big eyes you have," said Little Fuchsia Riding Hood.
"The better to see you with, my dear," replied the wolf.
"But Grandmother! What big teeth you have," said Little Fuchsia Riding Hood her voice quivering slightly.
"The better to eat with, my dear," replied the wolf.
Still uncertain, Little Fuchsia Riding Hood dropped her basket cried,
"Oh, Grandmother! Why haven't you called me by my name!?"
"Because your Grandmother is NO MORE!" the wolf snarled, leaping out of the bed.
Almost too late, Little Fuchsia Riding Hood realized that the person in the bed was not her Grandmother, but a hungry wolf.
She ran across the room and through the door, shouting, "Help! Wolf!" as loudly as she could. Yet, in such a remote area of the forest, there was nobody around who could hear her. She hid quickly, and then hoping to evade the wolf, she ran back into the house when the wolf gave chase. When she entered, she fled to hide on the other side of the bed. But as she turned the corner, she saw on the ground a sight most gruesome. There were the remains of her Grandmother, lifeless and devoured, then tossed aside to make room for the wolf.
"Oh Grandma!" sobbed Little Fuchsia Riding Hood, "Why? Why did you have to be eaten by a wolf?"
The wolf, hearing the sobs of the girl in the house, returned, bearing down upon her with his fangs dripping with slobber and blood.
"Now, now, my dear" the wolf said, ridiculing her with an imitation of her grandmother's voice, "no need to cry."
"You MONSTER!" Sally exclaimed, "First you eat my Grandmother, and now you plan to eat me? You don't even know who I am!"
"Then tell me quickly, and your pain shall end!"
"I'm Sally, and I swear that I will do everything I can to make you miserable!"
The wolf, undaunted, lunged. His fangs sank deep into the flesh at her throat, and with a surprised gasp, Sally let out a whine before the wolf devoured her too.
The following day, when Sally had not returned, her mother travelled to the Grandmother's house. When she arrived, there she saw a bloodied and torn fuchsia cloak and a gown covered in hair next to a pile of bones which had been picked clean.
Realization of what had happened swept over the mother, and she let out a howl of grief. In one day, she had lost her precious daughter and her beloved mother.
Unable to stay strong in the face of such agony, she fled to the brook, and drowned herself.
In the coming days and weeks, the villagers realized that the house famed for its beautiful Little Fuchsia Hood was empty. Though they waited, neither Sally or her mother returned. Eventually, the house was cleared out, and new villagers arrived to replace Sally and her mother.
Not too long from then, everyone forgot about the girl in the Little Fuchsia Hood.
Legends told, however, of a strange wolf seen only rarely in the forest. The tale often went that if one paid attention, they might catch a glimpse of a rare sight: that of a wolf in a gown, pleasantly plump, and more savage and cunning than all.
