Perspective Demo

Everyone knows the story of Red Riding Hood, right? And most of us would agree that the wicked wolf meets a deservingly horrible end. But what if I told you this version of events instead?

(credit to Richard Oxenham for the ending paragraphs!)

Maximus’ stomach growled viciously, for all the rabbits had been caught in the humans’ snares, and there was little left for an old wolf to eat. He’d eaten so little, in fact, that his ribs showed through his unkempt fur.

He’d tried rooting through the waste-bins of the people’s cottages, for the food they didn’t want, but he was spotted, and one of them aimed a gun at him. The shot had made such a racket that Maximus’ heartbeat was racing for hours. He’d avoided their buildings for quite a while after that, but it was getting to the point that, if he didn’t eat something, he would surely die.

He wandered along with his nose low to the ground, desperately sniffing for a tasty morsel, but there was none. Until, that is, he caught a whiff of something sweet and juicy. Instinct kicked in, and his snout followed the trail, weaving in and out of the trees until he reached a clearing.

Maximus skidded to a halt; in front of him stood a charming little cottage, with roses trailing over the doorway, and a thickly thatched roof. And on the windowsill, sat a steaming pie, with gravy bubbling from the top. Oh, it smelt good. Maximus’ mouth watered, as he cowered behind a particularly large tree. There could be a man with a gun in there. For ages, Maximus slunk around the edge of the clearing, getting hungrier and hungrier until he could bear it no longer.

Quickly, he darted out from the trees and leapt at the window-ledge to snatch the pie in his teeth.

Clonk.

A heavy pan swung out of nowhere at the wolf’s head, and he crashed to the floor in a heap

“That’ll teach you, coming after my pie!” the old woman exclaimed, shaking her fist at him angrily.

Dazed, the wolf tried to crawl away, but the old woman had hitched up her skirt and launched herself towards him, raining him with blows as she chased him towards the ring of trees.

Now, Maximus would have preferred to slip away, tail between his legs, even if it meant giving the old lady the satisfaction of victory, but that was not going to be an option; she had murder in her eyes.

Maximus weaved in-between trees, avoiding her heavy swings and soon enough, the overweight woman began to tire. She began to wheeze and Maximus slowed and turned around.

“I’ll get you!” The old woman belched.

Maximus wondered how many pies she had ate to get that large. He wondered how many she could have shared. Maximus felt something snap inside him and the old woman began to resemble a giant, steak pie. Maximus barred his teeth, snarled and paced forward.