The Story Of The Slandered Wolf That Nobody Wanted To Hear

The tale of Little Red Riding Hood is one of the best known and most told ever. The original version is told from the child’s point of view and tells of a terrible and ferocious wolf that threatens her life and that of her grandmother.

Whenever we’ve heard the story, we’ve taken the Red Riding Hood version for real. No one ever wondered what the wolf would have to say about all this. Ultimately, as the alleged culprit in this story, he certainly would have had something interesting to add.

In 1988 Lief Feran decided to twist the story and to tell it from the wolf’s point of view, showing us his version of fatt i . His version helps us to understand that very often it is good to listen to both sides before rushing to judge someone.

The story of the slandered wolf

The forest was my home. I lived there and took care of it. I tried to always keep it clean and well arranged. One sunny day, as I was picking up the dirt that some boys had left lying around, I heard footsteps. I ran to hide behind a tree and saw a little girl coming down the path, with a basket in her hand.

Of course I stopped to figure out who she was and asked her what her name was, where she was going and things like that. He told me he was bringing his grandmother lunch and he seemed like an honest person. In any case she was in my woods and she looked suspicious with that strange hood, so I simply told her that it could be dangerous to go through the woods without asking permission and, moreover, with such flashy clothes.

I let her continue along the path and then ran a shortcut to get to her grandmother’s house before her. When I saw that nice old lady, I explained what had happened and she too agreed with me: her niece needed a good lesson. So, she decided to hide under the bed while I put on her nightgown and got under the covers.

When the little girl arrived, I invited her to come in. He sat down beside the bed and the first thing he said was a lame comment about my big ears. Even before she had told me some unpolite things, but I did what I could to defend my ears and told her that thanks to them I could hear her better.

I also told her that I liked her voice very much and that I wanted her to tell me a story. But she didn’t listen to me, and immediately made another comment about my too bulging eyes. As you can imagine, that little girl with such a polite look, who nevertheless did nothing but insult me, began to be a bit unpleasant. But since it was my habit to turn the other cheek, I told her I needed my big eyes to see her better.

The next insult, however, really hurt me. I know my teeth aren’t beautiful, but his comment was really annoying. So, even though I tried my best to control myself, I ended up jumping out of bed to furiously tell her that I needed my teeth to eat her better!

Now, let’s be honest, everyone knows that no wolf would ever eat a little girl. But that crazy little girl started running around the house screaming, while I went after her to try to calm her down. Until suddenly the door swung open and I saw that there was a forester outside with an ax in his hand.

I would like to say that it all ended like this, but unfortunately Granny never made up her mind to tell the truth. Soon after, rumors started going around that labeled me a nasty, mean guy, and everyone started avoiding me. I don’t know what happened to that wacky little girl in a little red riding hood, but I’ve never lived in peace since that day.

The art of listening

As happens in the story of Little Red Riding Hood, very often we take a given version of events as true, without asking ourselves what the other people involved would have to say. In fact, everyone can perceive and experience the same episode in a different and unique way.

In order to know the other’s version, one must be interested in knowing it and taking the time to listen to it. Not taking things for granted and being cautious when judging others can help us avoid many misunderstandings.

Asking and knowing how to listen is much more difficult than speaking and criticizing. Many times we listen with the sole purpose of responding and not to understand. But before we fill our mouths with words, we should fill our ears with what the other has to say.

Ask first, then judge

Ignored and slandered, the wolf was found guilty with no one ever interested in his version. Certainly if someone had asked him what had happened or given him a chance to explain it, people would have known his point of view and would not have condemned it so quickly.

There are many wolves that we condemn in our lives without having bothered to listen to what they had to say. And, in the same way, for sure some of you have happened to have been judged as “wolves” in the eyes of those who have only listened to someone else’s version of the story, but not yours.

Remember that there are as many points of view in stories as there are people involved. Listening to the different versions, always asking all parties and not judging ahead of time will help you ensure a fairer life for the wolves in your life.