ATU 333 is one of the most well-known tale types and has many variations. The story of Little Red Riding Hood (this title also has many variations, such as Little Red Cap and Red Riding Hood) has its origins in old European folk tales, and may even be derived from classical Greek stories. The two most well-known and influential versions of this story were written by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm. The earliest written version was “Le Petit Chaperon Rouge” published by Charles Perrault in 1697 in his collection of fairy tales Contes de ma mère l'oye (Tales of Mother Goose). Perrault most likely adapted the story from an oral folktale. The story describes a little girl who meets a wolf in the woods on the way to her sick grandmother's house, and who gives the beast directions to it. The wolf arrives first, eats the grandmother, and waits until the girl arrives and eats her, too, after disguising himself as the old woman. Variations include a woodcutter or hunter who rescues the girl and her grandmother from the wolf's belly with his axe, and sometimes the ommission of being eaten at all.

Little Red-Riding-Hood

“Little Red-Riding-Hood.” The Fairy Book, Dinah Maria Mulock, New York: Mayflower Books, 1979, pp. 134-136.

Tale Summary There was once a pretty little village maiden who was very loved by her mother and her grandmother, who had made for her a little red hood which she wore constantly, earning her the nickname “Little Red-Riding-Hood”. One day, her mother told her that her grandmother was unwell...

Little Red-Riding-Hood

“Little Red-Riding-Hood.” The Book of Fables and Folk Stories, Horace Elisha Scudder, Boston: Houghton Mifflin; 1919, pp. 1-4.

Tale Summary There was once a little girl who was well-loved by her mother, and even more by her grandmother, who made her a red cloak that suited the child so well that everyone called her “Little Red-Riding-Hood”. One day, Red-Riding-Hood’s mother gave her a cake and some butter to...

Red Riding-Hood

“Little Red Riding-Hood.” Old French Fairy Tales, Perrault, Charles, Madame D’aulnoy, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, [1899], pp. 70-75. 

Tale Summary Red Riding-Hood’s mother asks her to go to her grandmother’s with cakes and butter. She must travel through the woods to get there and while on her way she meets a wolf. The wolf has the desire to eat her but is wary of the woodcutters nearby, so...

Little Red Riding Hood

Little Red Riding Hood. New York, D. Appleton & Co., 1867.

Tale Summary Little Red Riding Hood is sent to her Granny’s house to deliver honey and butter. On her way, she meets a wolf and convinces the hunters in the forest to spare his life. The wolf asks Little Red Riding Hood what she is doing in the forest, and...

Little Red Riding-Hood

“Little Red Riding-Hood.” Histories or Tales of Past Times Written for Children Told By Mother Goose with Morals, Charles Perrault, edited by J. Saxon Childers, London: The Nonesuch Press., 1925, pp. 19-23.

Tale Summary There was once a pretty country girl who was loved dearly by her mother and grandmother, who gifted her a red riding hood, which is how the girl’s nickname “Little Red Riding-Hood” came to be. One day, Little Red’s mother made some custards and instructed the girl to...

Little Red

“Little Red Riding-Hood.” The Blue Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London and New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1889, pp. 51-53.

Tale Summary There was once a young girl who was doted on by her mother and grandmother, who had made for her a red hood, which is how she gets her nickname ‘Little Red Riding-Hood’. Hearing that Little Red's grandmother has been ill, her mother makes some custard and instructs...

Red Riding Hood

“Red Riding Hood.” In Fairyland: Tales Told Again, Chisholm, Louey, illustrated by Katharine Cameron, New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904, pp. 1-5.

Tale Summary There once was a young girl who lived in a pretty cottage at the edge of the forest with her father, a woodsman, and her mother, who stayed at home and tended to the cow and the food. On the other side of the wood was another pretty...

Little Red Riding-Hood

“Little Red Riding-Hood.” Tales of Past Times Written for Children, Charles Perrault, illustrated by John Austen, New York: E.P Dutton and Co., 1923, pp. 6-8.

Tale Summary There was once a young girl who was doted on by her mother and grandmother, who had made for her a red hood, which is how she gets her nickname ‘Little Red Riding-Hood’. Hearing that Little Red's grandmother has been ill, her mother makes some custard and instructs...

Red Riding Hood

Crane, Walter. Little Red Riding Hood, London: John Lane, 1898.

Tale Summary This tale is a retelling, though the story clearly follows the usual Little Red Riding Hood narrative arc found in both the Perrault and Grimm versions of the tale. Little Red Riding Hood leaves her mother's house to visit her grandmother, meeting the wolf along the way. The...