Brick Fairy Tales: Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Hansel and Gretel, and More (47 page)

“Well,” said the grandmother, “we will shut the door, that he may not come in.”

Soon afterwards the wolf knocked, and cried, “Open the door, grandmother, I am little Red-Cap, and am fetching you some cakes.”

But they did not speak, or open the door, so the grey-beard stole twice or thrice round the house,

and at last jumped on the roof, intending to wait until Red-Cap went home in the evening, and then to steal after her and devour her in the darkness.

But the grandmother saw what was in his thoughts. In front of the house was a great stone trough, so she said to the child, “Take the pail, Red-Cap; I made some sausages yesterday, so carry the water in which I boiled them to the trough.”

Red-Cap carried until the great trough was quite full.

Then the smell of the sausages reached the wolf, and he sniffed and peeped down,

and at last stretched out his neck so far that he could no longer keep his footing and began to slip,

and slipped down from the roof straight into the great trough,

and was drowned.

But Red-Cap went joyously home, and never did anything to harm any one.

Little Briar-Rose (Sleeping Beauty)

A long time ago there were a King and Queen who said every day, “Ah, if only we had a child!” but they never had one.