TOULOUSE
We feel a sense of dread as the charming Little Red Riding Hood encounters the big bad wolf because, even without ever having read the story, we sense that it will end badly. Although that does depend on the version. The version made famous by the renowned writer of the Grand Siècle, Charles Perrault, has an unhappy ending: Little Red Riding Hood strayed from her path and the wolf ate her. In short, little girls, do not disobey! And all will be well.
On the other hand, the version by the German Romantic storytellers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, written down in the early 19th century, has a happy ending, for, like a deus ex machina, a hunter cuts open the belly of the sated and sleeping wolf and rescues Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. The big bad wolf is even punished and meets his end. All’s well that ends well!
