Italo Calvino was born in Cuba 1923. He was an Italian journalist and writer who was important in 20th century literature (Wikipedia 2006). His version of Little Red Riding Hood is better known as The False Grandmother.
This tale is similar to the original 'The Story Of Grandmother' where the girl is prompted to eat her own grandmother. She escapes in both tales by pretending to relieve herself and tying the rope around another object, only to just make it home in time.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TALE
The little girl set out for her grandmothers' for a flour sifter. She took a snack - cakes and bread with oil for her journey. She came to the Jordan River who would not let her pass without giving up her cakes. So the girl gave her cakes away and the river lowered its water and let her pass. She then came to the Rake Gate who would not let her pass without giving her the bread with oil. After giving up her bread, the gate let her pass and the girl reached her grandmother's house. The grandmother was sick in bed and lowered a rope for the girl to climb up through the window.
In bed was the ogress, who had eaten the grandmother in one bite, except for the ears and teeth which were frying and stewing on the stove. The little girl wanted supper and tried the beans (which were really teeth) and the fritters, (her grandmother's ears) but couldn't eat them as they were too hard. The ogress told her to come into bed and the girl obeyed.
She asked many questions and decided it was not really her grandmother but the ogress, as her grandmother never had a tail. The little girl escaped by pretending to need to go to the toilet in the barn, and tying the rope to a goat which was hoisted back up by the ogress.
After the hairy ogress realised the girl had escaped, she jumped down after her. The ogress cried out to the Rake Gate not to let the girl pass, however the Gate remembered the girl had given her the bread and let her through. When the girl reached the River Jordan, again the ogress cried out not to let her pass. After remembering the cakes the River let her through. When the ogress tried to get through, the River didn't lower it's water and the ogress was swept away.
From the bank the little girl made faces at her.
MODIFICATIONS
This tale is somewhat different to that of Perrault and the Grimm Brothers. Like in the Grimm version, there is a happy ending for the girl, whereas in Perrault the girl and the grandmother are eaten.
The grandmother doesn't survive.
The Jordan River and the Rake Gate are included in the tale. This gives the tale a religious feel, which is different from the previous versions.
Instead of a wolf, there is a hairy ogress which is interesting. It gives an element of fantasy to the tale.
