Once upon a time there was a sweet little girl. Everyone who saw her liked her, but most of all her grandmother, who did not know what to give the child next. Once she gave her a little cap made of red velvet. Because it suited her so well, and she wanted to wear it all the time, she came to be known as Little Red Riding Hood. One day her mother said to her: "Come Little Red Riding Hood. Here is a piece of cake and a bottle of wine. Take them to your grandmother. She is sick and weak, and they will do her well. Mind your manners and give her my greetings. Behave yourself on the way, and do not leave the path, or you might fall down and break the glass, and then there will be nothing for your sick grandmother."
Der var engang en sød, lille pige, som alle mennesker holdt meget af, men ingen elskede hende som hendes bedstemor, der slet ikke vidste, hvor godt hun skulle gøre det for hende. En gang gav hun hende en lille rød fløjlshue, der klædte hende så godt, at hun altid gik med den, og derfor blev hun kaldt Rødhætte. En dag sagde hendes mor til hende: "Se her, lille Rødhætte, her har du et stykke kage og en flaske vin, kan du bringe det hen til bedstemor. Hun er syg og svag, så det vil nok styrke hende. Du må helst gå med det samme, før det bliver alt for varmt, men gå nu pænt den lige vej og pas på, du ikke falder og slår flasken itu. Og husk så at sige goddag straks, når nu kommer ind i stuen, og stå ikke først og se dig om."
Little Red Riding Hood promised to obey her mother. The grandmother lived out in the woods, a half hour from the village. When Little Red Riding Hood entered the woods a wolf came up to her. She did not know what a wicked animal he was, and was not afraid of him. "Good day to you, Little Red Riding Hood." - "Thank you, wolf." - "Where are you going so early, Little Red Riding Hood?" - "To grandmother's." - "And what are you carrying under your apron?" - "Grandmother is sick and weak, and I am taking her some cake and wine. We baked yesterday, and they should give her strength." - "Little Red Riding Hood, just where does your grandmother live?" - "Her house is a good quarter hour from here in the woods, under the three large oak trees. There's a hedge of hazel bushes there. You must know the place," said Little Red Riding Hood. The wolf thought to himself: "Now there is a tasty bite for me. Just how are you going to catch her?" Then he said: "Listen, Little Red Riding Hood, haven't you seen the beautiful flowers that are blossoming in the woods? Why don't you go and take a look? And I don't believe you can hear how beautifully the birds are singing. You are walking along as though you were on your way to school in the village. It is very beautiful in the woods."
"Jeg skal nok huske det altsammen," sagde Rødhætte og gav sin mor hånden på det. Bedstemoderen boede ude i skoven, en halv times gang fra landsbyen. Da Rødhætte kom ind i skoven mødte hun ulven, men hun var slet ikke bange, for hun anede ikke, hvor slem den er. "Goddag, Rødhætte," sagde den. "Goddag," svarede hun. "Hvor skal du hen så tidlig?" - "Jeg skal til bedstemor." - "Hvad er det, du har under forklædet?" - "Det er kager og vin. Vi har bagt i går, og nu skal stakkels, gamle bedste også have noget med." - "Hvor bor din bedstemor, lille Rødhætte?" - "Åh, det er vel et kvarters gang herfra. Hendes hus ligger under de tre store egetræer, du ved nok." - "Dét er én rigtig lækker lille mundfuld*," tænkte ulven ved sig selv, "hun vil nok smage bedre end den gamle. Nu vil jeg bære mig rigtig snildt ad, så jeg får fat i dem begge to." Den fulgte nu Rødhætte et lille stykke på vej, og lidt efter sagde den til hende: "Se engang de dejlige blomster, Rødhætte, du ser dig slet ikke om. Du hører vist ikke engang, hvor kønt fuglene synger. Du skynder dig ligeså meget, som om du skulle i skole, og der er dog så dejligt herude i skoven."
Little Red Riding Hood opened her eyes and saw the sunlight breaking through the trees and how the ground was covered with beautiful flowers. She thought: "If a take a bouquet to grandmother, she will be very pleased. Anyway, it is still early, and I'll be home on time." And she ran off into the woods looking for flowers. Each time she picked one she thought that she could see an even more beautiful one a little way off, and she ran after it, going further and further into the woods. But the wolf ran straight to the grandmother's house and knocked on the door. "Who's there?" - "Little Red Riding Hood. I'm bringing you some cake and wine. Open the door for me." - "Just press the latch," called out the grandmother. "I'm too weak to get up." The wolf pressed the latch, and the door opened. He stepped inside, went straight to the grandmother's bed, and ate her up. Then he took her clothes, put them on, and put her cap on his head. He got into her bed and pulled the curtains shut.
Rødhætte så sig om. Solstrålerne skinnede mellem bladene ned på de mange kønne blomster, og hun tænkte: "Bedstemor ville sikkert blive glad for en buket blomster. Det er så tidligt, så jeg kan godt nå at plukke nogle." Hun gik nu ind mellem træerne og begyndte at plukke, men når hun havde plukket en, syntes hun, at der stod nogle meget kønnere længere borte, og på den måde kom hun dybere og dybere ind i skoven. Ulven gik imidlertid den lige vej til bedstemoderens hus og bankede på: "Hvem er det," spurgte hun. "Det er mig, lille Rødhætte, med kager og vin til dig," svarede ulven. "Tryk på klinken," råbte bedstemoderen, "jeg er så dårlig, at jeg ikke kan stå op." Ulven trykkede på klinken, så døren gik op, og uden at sige et ord gik den lige hen til sengen og slugte den gamle bedstemor. Så tog den hendes klæder på, lagde sig i sengen og trak forhænget for.
Little Red Riding Hood had run after flowers, and did not continue on her way to grandmother's until she had gathered all that she could carry. When she arrived, she found, to her surprise, that the door was open. She walked into the parlor, and everything looked so strange that she thought: "Oh, my God, why am I so afraid? I usually like it at grandmother's." Then she went to the bed and pulled back the curtains. Grandmother was lying there with her cap pulled down over her face and looking very strange. "Oh, grandmother, what big ears you have!" - "All the better to hear you with." - "Oh, grandmother, what big eyes you have!" - "All the better to see you with." - "Oh, grandmother, what big hands you have!" - "All the better to grab you with!" - "Oh, grandmother, what a horribly big mouth you have!" - "All the better to eat you with!" And with that he jumped out of bed, jumped on top of poor Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her up.
Rødhætte havde imidlertid plukket lige så mange blomster, hun kunne bære, og kom langt om længe hen til huset. Hun kunne ikke forstå, at døren var åben, og da hun kom ind i stuen, blev hun så underlig til mode, og det kunne hun slet ikke begribe, for hun holdt ellers så meget af at være hos sin bedstemor. "Goddag," sagde hun, men der var ingen, som svarede. Hun gik så hen til sengen og trak forhænget til side, og der lå bedstemoderen med natkappen trukket dybt ned i panden og så så underlig ud. "Sikke lange ører du har, bedstemor," sagde Rødhætte. "Det er for at jeg bedre kan høre, hvad du siger." - "Og sikke store øjne du har, bedstemor." - "Det er for at jeg bedre kan se dig." - "Men sikke store hænder du har, bedstemor." - "Så kan jeg bedre holde på dig." - "Men, bedstemor, sikken en forfærdelig stor mund du har." - "Det er for at jeg bedre kan æde dig," sagde ulven, og i samme øjeblik sprang den ud af sengen og slugte den stakkels lille Rødhætte.
As soon as the wolf had finished this tasty bite, he climbed back into bed, fell asleep, and began to snore very loudly. A huntsman was just passing by. He thought it strange that the old woman was snoring so loudly, so he decided to take a look. He stepped inside, and in the bed there lay the wolf that he had been hunting for such a long time. "He has eaten the grandmother, but perhaps she still can be saved. I won't shoot him," thought the huntsman. So he took a pair of scissors and cut open his belly. He had cut only a few strokes when he saw the red cap shining through. He cut a little more, and the girl jumped out and cried: "Oh, I was so frightened! It was so dark inside the wolf's body!" And then the grandmother came out alive as well. Then Little Red Riding Hood fetched some large heavy stones. They filled the wolf's body with them, and when he woke up and tried to run away, the stones were so heavy that he fell down dead.
Da ulven nu havde fået sin lyst styret, lagde den sig igen i sengen og snorkede så huset rystede. Jægeren gik netop forbi og tænkte: "Det er dog løjerligt, så den gamle kone snorker. Det er bedst, jeg går ind og ser, om der er noget i vejen." Han gik ind i stuen og fandt ulven liggende i sengen. "Nu har jeg dig da endelig, din gamle synder," sagde han, "jeg har rigtignok længe søgt efter dig." Han skulle lige til at skyde den, da han kom i tanker om, at ulven kunne have slugt den gamle bedstemor, og at hun måske var levende endnu. Han tog derfor sin kniv og begyndte at skære ulvens bug op. Da han havde gjort et par snit, så han den røde hue skinne, og lidt efter sprang den lille pige ud og råbte: "Nej, hvor jeg var bange. Der var så mørkt i ulvens mave." Den gamle bedstemor kom også ud, men hun var meget forpustet og kunne næsten ikke få vejret. Rødhætte hentede i en fart nogle store sten og puttede dem ind i maven på ulven, og da den vågnede og ville løbe sin vej, faldt den om og var død med det samme.
The three of them were happy. The huntsman took the wolf's pelt. The grandmother ate the cake and drank the wine that Little Red Riding Hood had brought. And Little Red Riding Hood thought to herself: "As long as I live, I will never leave the path and run off into the woods by myself if mother tells me not to."
De var alle tre meget glade. Jægeren trak skindet af ulven og tog det med sig hjem, bedstemoderen spiste kage og drak vin og kom igen til hægterne, og lille Rødhætte lovede sig selv, at hun aldrig mere ville løbe ind i skoven, når hendes mor havde forbudt hende det.
They also tell how Little Red Riding Hood was taking some baked things to her grandmother another time, when another wolf spoke to her and wanted her to leave the path. But Little Red Riding Hood took care and went straight to grandmother's. She told her that she had seen the wolf, and that he had wished her a good day, but had stared at her in a wicked manner. "If we hadn't been on a public road, he would have eaten me up," she said. "Come," said the grandmother. "Let's lock the door, so he can't get in." Soon afterward the wolf knocked on the door and called out: "Open up, grandmother. It's Little Red Riding Hood, and I'm bringing you some baked things." They remained silent, and did not open the door. The wicked one walked around the house several times, and finally jumped onto the roof. He wanted to wait until Little Red Riding Hood went home that evening, then follow her and eat her up in the darkness. But the grandmother saw what he was up to. There was a large stone trough in front of the house. "Fetch a bucket, Little Red Riding Hood," she said. "Yesterday I cooked some sausage. Carry the water that I boiled them with to the trough." Little Red Riding Hood carried water until the large, large trough was clear full. The smell of sausage arose into the wolf's nose. He sniffed and looked down, stretching his neck so long that he could no longer hold himself, and he began to slide. He slid off the roof, fell into the trough, and drowned. And Little Red Riding Hood returned home happily and safely.
Man fortæller også, at da Rødhætte en anden gang ville bringe sin bedstemor nogle kager, mødte hun igen en ulv, som ville lokke hende ind i skoven. Men Rødhætte tog sig vel i agt og gik lige hen og fortalte sin bedstemor, at hun havde mødt en ulv. "Den så så ond ud," sagde hun, "så jeg er vis på, den havde spist mig, hvis det ikke havde været på den vej, hvor der kommer så mange mennesker forbi." - "Lad os lukke døren, så den ikke kan komme herind," sagde bedstemoderen. Kort efter bankede ulven på døren og sagde: "Luk op, bedstemor, det er Rødhætte der kommer med kager til dig." De svarede ikke, og ulven listede sig nogle gange rundt om huset, men sprang til sidst op på taget for at vente der, til Rødhætte gik hjem om aftenen, og så snige sig efter hende og æde hende i mørket. Men bedstemoderen mærkede nok, hvad den havde i sinde. Udenfor huset stod der et stort stentrug, og hun sagde nu til pigen: "Jeg har kogt pølser i går, lille Rødhætte. Tag det vand, jeg har kogt dem i, og hæld det ud i truget." Rødhætte gjorde det, og lugten af pølserne trængte op til ulven. Den snusede og kiggede ned, og strakte til sidst hals, så den tabte ligevægten og gled ned ad taget, lige i det store trug og druknede. Men Rødhætte gik glad hjem, og der var ingen, som gjorde hende noget.