The Little Girl and the Wolf

Oral Nivernais version of the tale of the Little Red Riding Hood, The Little Girl and the Wolf includes details, sometimes surprising, that are found in many oral versions of the tale but which Charles Perrault deliberately chose to omit in order to simplify the story in his collection ofTales of Mother Goose. The version of the tale we present here is surprising but far from being the most gruesome of those collected by Achille Millien. In one version, for example, the little girl unknowingly eats a piece of her grandmother, who has been butchered by the wolf.

« Once upon a time, there was a woman. She had a little girl. She said to her: – I’m going to make you an époigne for your grandmother, and then I’ll put a little cream in a small jar. You’ll take all of this to your grandmother. »

To reach her grandmother’s house, the little girl must cross the forest, where she encounters the wolf. The forest, as is often the case in tales, represents a hostile and wild world full of dangers that the child must face alone.

« When the little girl had gone quite far, she met a wolf who said to her: – Where are you going, little one?– I’m taking an époigne with a bit of cream to my grandmother. – Which path are you taking then?– I’m taking the Path of Needles. I’ll gather some with large eyes for my grandmother, who can’t see very well anymore.– I’ll take the Path of Pins.The wolf arrived first; he ate the grandmother, left her head, which he placed on a plate, and her blood, which he put in a bottle on the chest. »

Moral of the Story

Unlike many oral versions of this tale and the well-known version of Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault, the little girl in this story escapes the wolf’s voracity and manages to find refuge at home after tricking him by pretending she needed to step away to take care of a necessity:« When the little girl arrived: -Eat, said the wolf, then come lie down with me. Eat the meat that’s on the chest. -I don’t want your meat; it’s not cooked. -Drink the wine. -Your wine isn’t good either. -Come lie down. When she saw her grandmother in the bed, she said:
– Oh! I really need to pee; I have to go outside.
Before you go, come a little closer to me. When she approached her grandmother: – Oh, Grandmother, what big fur you have! – It’s to keep you warmer, my child. – Oh, Grandmother, what big ears you have! – It’s to hear you better, my child. – Oh, Grandmother, what big teeth you have! – It’s to eat you better, my child. – Oh, my poor Grandmother, I really need to pee. Tie a thread of wool to my foot if you’re afraid I’ll run away. When she was outside, she broke the thread and tied it to a piece of wood. Then the wolf, angry that she wasn’t coming back, got up and went into the yard. When he saw what she had done, he started running after her. She reached her mother’s house. The staircase had three steps. She was on the last step when the wolf was on the first. She fell inside (at home), the door slammed shut, and the wolf was left outside. »

The little girl’s initiatory journey, marked by rites of passage, is commonly interpreted as a symbolic transition to puberty.

The Classification of Tales

The Little Girl and the WolfThe Little Girl and the Wolf is a tale of type ATU 333**, the most famous version of which is that ofLittle Red Riding Hood. of which there are over a hundred known variations.

Paul Delarue notes in his Contes du Nivernais et du Morvan That the version he publishes is version C*** from the manuscripts of Achille Millien, who collected 8 different versions from residents of the department

According to Paul Delarue’s notes, version A of Achille Millien’s manuscripts, told by Marie Rougelot from Murlin, has a tragic ending for the heroine, as the wolf, just like in Charles Perrault’s tale, ends up devouring her.

*The word époigne In Nivernais, it refers to a small bread roll for children made with leftover bread dough. The word can also sometimes refer to a small flat cake.

**Tale-type AT 333 in the classification Aarne-Thompson.

***Told by Madame Maillot de Glux-en-Glenne en 1887.

Visuals : The oral Nivernais version of Little Red Riding Hood, The Little Girl and the Wolf, includes details—sometimes surprising—that are found in many oral versions of the tale but which Charles Perrault deliberately chose to omit in order to simplify the story for his collection Tales of Mother Goose.The version of the tale we present here is remarkable but far from being the most gruesome of those collected by Achille Millien. In one version, for instance, the little girl unknowingly consumes a piece of her grandmother, who had been butchered by the wolf.

« Once upon a time, there was a woman. She had a little girl. She said to her: – I’m going to make you an époigne for your grandmother, and then I’ll put a little cream in a small jar. You’ll take all of this to your grandmother. »

To reach her grandmother’s house, the little girl must cross the forest, where she encounters the wolf. The forest, as is often the case in tales, represents a hostile and wild world full of dangers that the child must face alone.

«When the little girl had gone quite far, she met a wolf who said to her:
– Where are you going, little one? – I’m taking an époigne with a bit of cream to my grandmother. – Which path are you taking then? – I’m taking the Path of Needles. I’ll gather some with big eyes for my grandmother, who can’t see very well anymore. – I’ll take the Path of Pins. The wolf arrived first; he ate the grandmother, left her head on a plate, and put her blood in a bottle on the chest. »

The moral of the story.

This version of the story differs from many oral retellings of the tale and the well-known version of Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault. In this account, the little girl manages to escape the wolf’s voracious intent and seeks refuge at home after cleverly deceiving him by pretending to have an urgent need: When the little girl arrived, the wolf said to her: – Eat, then come and lie down beside me. Eat the meat that’s on the chest. – I don’t want your meat; it’s not cooked. – Drink the wine. – Your wine isn’t good either. – Come lie down. When she saw her grandmother in bed: – Oh! I really need to pee; I must go outside. – Before you go to pee, come a bit closer to me. When she was near her grandmother: – Oh, Grandmother, what big fur you have! – It’s to keep you warmer, my child. – Oh, Grandmother, what big ears you have! – They’re to hear you better, my child. – Oh, Grandmother, what big teeth you have! – They’re to eat you better, my child. – Oh, my poor Grandmother, I really need to pee. Tie a piece of wool around my foot if you’re afraid I’ll run away. When she went outside, she broke the wool and tied it to a piece of wood. The wolf, angry that she hadn’t come back, got up and went into the yard. When he saw what she had done, he started chasing her. She reached her mother’s house. The staircase had three steps. She was on the last step when the wolf reached the first. She collapsed inside the house, the door closed behind her, and the wolf was left outside.”

The little girl’s initiatory journey, marked by rites of passage, is commonly interpreted as a symbolic transition to puberty.

The classification of tales

The tale of the little girl and the wolf is classified as type AT 333**, with the most well-known version being Little Red Riding Hood, of which there are over a hundred variants.

Paul Delarue notes in his Contes du Nivernais et du Morvan that the version he published is the C* version from the manuscripts of Achille Millien, who collected eight different versions from residents of the department.

According to Paul Delarue’s notes, Version A of Achille Millien’s manuscripts, as told by Marie Rougelot from Murlin, ends tragically for the heroine, as the wolf, much like in Charles Perrault’s tale, ultimately devours her.

*The word époigne in Nivernais refers to a small bread roll for children made from leftover bread dough. It can also sometimes refer to a small galette.
**Tale type AT 333 in the Aarne-Thompson classification.
***Told by Madame Maillot of Glux-en-Glenne in 1887..

Visuals : Engravings by Gustave Doré © D.R.Gustave Doré © D.R.