LITTLE RED

Bees were buzzing!

In Hublersville, things were humming. A few days ago, the countdown began. Calendars were marked. School supplies purchased. With each passing day, the sunset arrived earlier and earlier. Another school year was about to start.

During Summer break, Little Red assisted her mom and granny. Little had a kind sweet heart. She enjoyed participating and helping Mama Red and Granny Rojo with projects and chores.

In a few days, Little's routine would change. Filled with mixed emotions. Little had her radio's volume turned up and on full blast. Music enveloped the neighborhood. Dancing around the house, Little Red dusted, swept, and tidied up her bedroom and living room.

Turning down the radio, Little Red prepared an albacore tuna salad wrap for lunch. Before Little could take a bite of her wrap, the ping startled her. Mama Red's photo appeared on Little's cell phone. Opening up the text message, Little Red sighed.

"Little, there is a pint of blueberries in the refrigerator. Please deliver the pint to your granny's house. Granny Rojo is baking cookies and making blueberry pies. She needs a pint of blueberries. Be sure to stay on the shortcut trail. According to granny, warm chocolate chip cookies and chocolate milk are waiting for you at the cottage," her mother's message said.

Finishing her lunch, Little Red placed the pint of blueberries in her basket and set off to Granny Rojo's.

Skipping out of the house, Little Red was looking forward to the treat that awaited her at her granny's cottage. Stopping in her tracks on the shortcut trail, Little heard something.

"Cheer! Cheer! Cheer!" The red cardinal sang.

Smiling, Red looked over to her right shoulder seeing the cardinal hop from branch to branch.

She whispered, "Birdie, birdie, birdie, I am in a hurry and off to granny's cottage. No time to stop and play."

Continuing to walk along the trail, Little spotted Larry Lumberman's buffalo plaid shirt. A hundred feet away, Larry was busy cutting down trees. Little Red didn't have time to chat. Instead of stopping, she waved to Larry. Seeing Little Red from a distance, Larry Lumberman waved back.

Hopping, skipping, and jumping down the trail, Little Red sensed that she was being watched, followed, and stalked. Hurring along, she walked at a faster pace. Little could see Granny's cottage a few feet away.

Once there, using her key, Little Red opened the door and called out, "Hello Granny!"

Granny replied, "Hello my dear! Your cookies and chocolate milk are on the table. I'm ready for the blueberries for the pie filling. You made it just in time."

Naturally, Granny was overjoyed to see Little Red.

After Little ate a cookie and had a few sips of chocolate milk, she told Granny that she felt like she was being watched, followed, and stalked on her way to the cottage.

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Granny.

Granny placed the pies in the oven and set the timer for 40 minutes. Sitting at the table, Granny shared some cookies and chocolate milk with Little Red.

Before they had a chance to discuss Little Red's classes, the pies were ready.

Shortly after taking the pies out of the oven, there was a knock at the door. While the buffalo print shirt looked familiar, Little instinctively knew it wasn't Larry Lumberman.

Knowing it wasn't Larry, Little Red instructed Granny Rojo to hide in her bedroom closet. Donning Granny's house dress and granny glasses, Little approached the door.

In her best imitation of Granny's voice,"Who's there?" asked Little Red.

Wearing Larry Lumberman's shirt, the weird wolf replied, "Why, it's Larry Lumberman."

Again, imitating Granny's voice, "You don't sound like Larry!" exclaimed Little.

The weird wolf exclaimed, "I have a cold! Granny, please let me in!"

"Why are you here?" Little asked.

Pretending to be Larry Lumberman, the weird wolf said, "I have some firewood to keep you warm during the Winter."

"No thank you, I have plenty of firewood," she said.

Louder, KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Weird wolf growled, "I can smell blueberry pie."

"What an impressive nose and sense of smell you have," she said.

He boomed, "The better to smell fresh blueberry pies."

Peeking through the small window in the door, "What big hairy hands you have," Little said.

He snorted, "The better to hold my food, my dear."

"Oh, my, what large teeth you have!" she exclaimed.

Coyly, weird wolf said, "The better to eat blueberry pie. Please share your blueberry pie with me."

"Okey dokey," Little Red said.

Using her left hand, Little Red opened the door a small crack keeping the security chain on. With her right hand, Little sprayed mace in weird wolf's face. Blindly, he ran into the forest.

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Writer's notes: This story was written for the Tales Retold Challange.

This challenge:

The Prompt

Retell a classic fairy tale with a twist.

Have you ever envisioned Little Red Riding Hood's encounter with the Big Bad Wolf in a dystopian future? Or an alternate spine-chilling horror ending to Rapunzel? Perhaps you've always imagined the Seven Dwarfs as a team of detectives in a noir-style mystery, solving the case of Snow White? This is your opportunity to explore these narratives, and many more.

The challenge is to take a beloved fairy tale - whether universally known or specific to one culture - and retell it in your own unique way. We are open to any genre - modern, fantastical, horror, or sci-fi for example - the world is your oyster, the fairy tales are your pearls.

Your story must be a reimagining or a retelling of an existing fairy tale, not a completely new creation. Aside from that, there are no boundaries to the unexpected spins you can put on these timeless tales.

Thank you for reading! You are appreciated!

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Aloha