Rotkäppchen (1954)

Ever since a little girl was given a red cap by her grandmother—a cap she loves to wear—everyone has called her “Little Red Riding Hood.” She lives in a cottage on the edge of the forest with her mother and five brothers. Since their father died, her brothers have worked as woodcutters to provide for the family. Little Red Riding Hood helps her mother around the house as best she can. When her grandmother becomes seriously ill, her mother has to look after her, while the girl takes care of the household chores and prepares food for her five brothers. When her mother returns, she tells Little Red Riding Hood that her grandmother would like her granddaughter to come and visit. Mother and daughter bake a cake for Little Red Riding Hood to take to her grandmother, while her brothers go fishing. Since there is still some dough left, Little Red Riding Hood gets the idea of baking a small cake for each of her brothers. The next morning, she sets off for her grandmother’s with a basket containing the cake she baked and a bottle of wine. Her brothers accompany her until they reach the place where they have to work, cutting wood. On the way, the girl meets the wicked wolf and gets into conversation with him. When he asks, she also tells him the way to her grandmother’s house. Little Red Riding Hood follows his suggestion to pick flowers for her grandmother. Although her mother has strictly forbidden her to leave the path, she wanders off to pick even prettier flowers. Meanwhile, the wolf goes to the grandmother’s house and devours the old woman, flesh, bones, and all. By the time Little Red Riding Hood has picked so many flowers that she can barely carry them, she remembers her grandmother. The girl quickly continues on her way to her. When Little Red Riding Hood enters the room, she asks in astonishment, “Oh, Grandmother, what big ears you have!” “It’s so I can hear you better,” comes the reply. “Oh, Grandmother, what big eyes you have!” “It’s so I can see you better.” “But, Grandmother, what big hands you have!” “It’s so I can grab you better,” comes the threatening answer. “But, Grandmother, what an enormous mouth you have!” “It’s so I can eat you better,” comes the voice from the bed, and then the wolf devours the poor girl. After finishing their work, the five brothers wait in vain for Little Red Riding Hood. The children had planned to walk the rest of the way home together. When they call out for the girl, they meet the hunter, who is tracking the wolf. The brothers tell him they are worried about their sister. The hunter suggests they all go to the grandmother’s house together. There they see the wolf lying in bed, snoring. He is wearing the grandmother’s nightcap. The hunter cuts open his belly, and to their great delight they see Little Red Riding Hood and the grandmother, both unharmed. The hunter has the brothers fetch heavy cobblestones, which he stuffs into the wolf’s belly before sewing it up again. The wolf wakes and goes outside, groaning, where he dies because of the many cobblestones in his belly. Everyone is glad that the villain is dead. Little Red Riding Hood and her brothers return home to their mother. They tell her nothing about the adventure they have had. When she asks how their grandmother is, the children reply that she is much better. “If that’s the case, you can all go and visit her together next Sunday,” their mother says. “She hasn’t seen you boys in ages.” The children exchange embarrassed smiles.