"Lil' Red in the Hood"
- Gabrielle Marie Kelley
- Mar 19
- 12 min read
Updated: Mar 25
I am delighted to present to you, Lil’ Red in the Hood, a fairy tale remix of the classic story, Little Red Riding Hood that reveals African American culture in decorum, food, and diction while sabotaging stereotypes so often depicted with black characters.
What if Little Red Riding Hood was a little African American girl with southern roots and a head full of curls and wit? What if the big bad wolf wasn’t so cunning after all? I wrote Lil’ Red in the Hood with African American culture and language in my heart and mind.
I wanted to pay respects to a brand that treated African American employees as equal to their white counterparts and sponsored a team in the Negro Baseball League in the 1930's. Lil' Red's cousins, Neri and Asali, are the names of my two little nieces; I think they will enjoy being part of the story. Lil’ Red in the Hood will enchant you, give you a bit of nostalgia with a twist, and reveal just how culture can retell a tale.
(TAP PLAY TO LISTEN)
Once upon a time, there was a smart and witty little girl who was loved by everyone who looked at her; they marveled as the sun kissed her golden skin and as the wind bounced her coal-colored coils, but the one who admired her the most was her father who would give the child anything she asked for. Once, he gifted her a golden whistle and a red knit sweater. She was to blow the whistle anytime she felt unsafe in the woods and the red knit sweater kept her warm when she played in the forest. The red knit sweater had a hood. She wore it wherever she walked. In fact, the hoodie fit her so perfectly that she would hardly ever wear anything else, so she was always called Lil' Red in the Hood. Red being short for redbone, that is.
Hood being short for hoodie. Not the hood, of course, for Lil' Red knew nothing about the ghetto. A fancy home deep in the forest bush is all that she knew. And Lil' Red loved her pretty house in the woods. One day her mother called down to her from the kitchen, "Red! Oh, Red! Come see Mama, please!" Lil' Red jumped up from playing with her toys and bounced down the winding staircase to find her mother standing in the kitchen holding a basket with a red, green, and yellow bow on the handle. Lil' Red's mother said, "Lil' Red, here is a basket full of everything Madea loves. In this basket are collard greens, hot water cornbread, and sweet tea. If only I had time to make her some meat stew! But hurry now and take these to her. She is sick and weak, and they will give her strength. Grab your hoodie to stay warm and pick up your cousins, Neri and Asali, along the way.
"You three walk together. One of you should look towards the front, the other should look towards the sides, and the last should look behind you. Keep as quiet as can be on the path and don't leave the path or you may get lost and become dinner for one of those sneaky wolves and then your grandmama will be sick, hungry, and also sad for her grandbabies, you hear me?"
Lil' Red nodded and said, "Yes ma'am, I hear you." As Lil' Red's mother handed her the basket, Lil' Red got a whiff of the savory greens, the buttered cornbread, and the sweet tea. Lil' Red thought, "Ooh-wee! Grandmama sure gon' love this. If only she had meat stew to go with it!"
Lil' Red started on the winding path that led to Neri and Asali's house. Neri and Asali were sisters and they lived in a big blue house about 5 steps up the path. Lil' Red looked down at her feet and she began to count, "1-2-3-4-5..."
"Red, Babygirl, where are you going?" Lil' Red looked up and saw her father standing in front of her dressed in his hunting clothes. "Mama told me to bring this basket full of collard greens, hot water cornbread, and sweet tea to grandmama. Mama didn't have time to make meat stew. She said to take Neri and Asali with me and to stay on the path so that the big bad wolves don't get us. I am headed to my cousin's big blue house now, daddy."
"Greens, cornbread, and tea! Madea gon' love that! Well, go on your way then, Babygirl. If you need anything, Lil' Red, remember, use your whistle and daddy will come help you, you hear me?"
"Yes sir, I hear you", said Lil' Red in the Hood, and she continued counting her steps on the path: ...6-7-8-9-10! When Lil' Red looked up, there she saw Neri and Asali's big blue house. She walked up to the porch and rang the doorbell. Neri and Asali came running out with their curls bouncing this way and that way. They joined Lil' Red on her walk to their grandmother's house. Lil Red, Neri, and Asali made sure to keep an eye in front of them, on the sides of them, and behind them, just like Lil' Red's mother said and they walked and talked and laughed all the way along the path to their grandmother's house. Lil' Red in the Hood told smart and funny jokes to make Neri and Asali laugh louder and louder.
Their grandmother lived deep in the woods, so many steps away from Lil' Red's house that she could never keep track of how many steps there were. Lil' Red, Neri, and Asali had taken a lot of steps before they heard a rustling in the bush alongside the path. Lil' Red cut her eye at Neri and Neri cut her eye at Lil' Red. Lil' Red cut her eye at Asali and Asali cut her eye at Lil' Red. All the little girls looked at the moving bush wondering what could be making it shake from the front, back, and then side to side.
"What is it?", mumbled Neri. "I'm scared.", whispered Asali. "Come on out, we can already see you!", yelled Lil' Red in the Hood. Then at once, out jumped a grey and white wolf with mischievous eyes and a sneaky grin. "Oh, I'm sorry, little mamas, I was just taking a nap in this here bush and your laughter woke me up!', said the wolf.
Lil' Red cut her eye at Neri and Neri cut her eye at Lil' Red. Lil' Red cut her eye at Asali and Asali cut her eye at Lil' Red. Then Lil' Red said, "We're sorry for waking you but we don't want any trouble. We are on our way to our grandmama's house to take her this basket full of collard greens, hot water cornbread, and sweet tea. My mama didn't make any meat stew. We'll be on our way now." Lil' Red waved to Neri and Asali to continue on the path. While passing the wolf, Neri quietly asked Lil' Red, "Why did you tell the big bad wolf where we were going? He gon' follow us and eat us up! Then, we will never get grandmama's food to her so that she can feel better!" Lil' Red grinned and whispered, "Don't worry, we will be safe and get grandmama her food." So, the little girls kept walking past the wolf and onto the path to their grandmother's house.
The wolf watched the girls as they talked quietly together and thought, "What foolish little girls they are. They don't even know what a wicked creature I am! Their mother doesn't even cook meat stew, but I do. And I will surely have them, their grandmother, and that basket full of greens, cornbread, and tea as a feast for dinner tonight. I will walk with them to their grandmother's house and as soon as their grandmother opens the door for them, I will pounce on them all! What a delicious treat they'll all be!"
The wolf drooled as he watched their sun-kissed golden skin, and their coal-colored coils bounce in the wind. He shook his head to break his daydream and noticed that Lil' Red and her cousins were already 15 steps ahead of him. The wolf skipped towards Lil' Red in the Hood, Neri, and Asali. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15 and then he said, "Excuse me little mamas, this forest is a really scary place for three little girls. I am a very nice and a very good wolf. Allow me to walk with you to your grandmother's house to make sure you get there safe." The wolf's eyes seemed big and innocent, but his sneaky grin revealed his sharp teeth.
Asali began to say, "N..." but before she could get the word out, Lil' Red in the Hood said, "Sure!". Asali cut her eye at Neri and Neri cut her eye at Asali. The wolf's eyes became wide with excitement and his grin became bigger with greed. Lil' Red in the Hood, Neri, Asali, and the wolf continued to walk down the path to grandmother's house. The wolf walked in front of the little girls turning his head from side to side, to the front, and to the back.
Lil' Red in the Hood nudged Neri and Asali and whispered, "Watch this." Lil' Red called out to the wolf and said, "Do you see, Mister Wolf, why don't you take a look around? You walk ahead so seriously; do you not see those beautiful flowers by the pond? Shouldn't we go pick some to give to grandmama?" The wolf rolled his eyes. Surely, he did not want to waste time to pick flowers for the old lady that he would have for dinner, but he couldn't give away his secret, so he said, "Why sure, you're right! We should pick some pretty red, green, and yellow flowers to match the bow on the basket." So, Lil' Red, Neri, Asali, and the wolf went down towards the pond to pick some flowers. While picking flowers, Lil' Red pretended to trip over a rock and pushed the wolf into the pond. The wolf fell into the water with a loud SPLASH! When he slowly came to the surface, he saw Lil' Red in the Hood, Neri, and Asali pointing and bursting into laughter. "I'm so sorry Mister Wolf, I tripped over this here rock and I accidentally pushed you in the pond", said Lil' Red.
The wolf was very angry and wanted to eat the little girls right away, but he did not want to miss out on having the grandmother also for dinner, so he said, "It is ok, my dear, let's just continue on the path so that we can hurry to your grandmother's house."
So, Lil' Red in the hood, Neri, Asali, and the wolf continued walking on the path to grandmother's house. When Lil' Red and her cousins looked at the wet wolf, they were able to better notice his features. The girls noticed his ears, dripping wet and Asali said, "Oh my! What big ears you have!", and the girls burst again into laughter. The wolf grunted and forced a smile to turn to face the girls. He said, "The better to hear you with, my children." But the wolf was really angry and growing more and more impatient to eat the naughty little girls.
Then, Neri noticed the wolf's eyes, droopy from the pond's water, and she said, "Oh my! What big eyes you have!" And again, Lil' Red and her cousins burst into laughter while pointing at the wolf.
The wolf growled but turned around to face the girls, with a smile, saying, "The better to see you with my little ones." By then, the wolf was hot with anger and could only think of gobbling the little girls up once and for all.
As they walked along the path, the wolf kept patting himself dry and Lil' Red noticed the wolf's hands and she yelled, "Oh my! What big hands you have!" Lil' Red and her cousins laughed again at the wolf and pointed their fingers at his big hands.
The wolf stopped walking and kept his back to Lil' Red and her cousins while they laughed. He could hardly fix his snarl to turn around to face them. Finally, he was able to put a grin on his face and turn around to say, "The better to protect you with, my d-ARRG-lings."
Lil' Red could see that the wolf was growing impatient and that he could not take any more teasing. So, she quickly said, "Oh my! What big ugly mouth you have!", and the girls burst into even greater laughter.
The wolf's eyes became red, and he snarled showing all of his teeth while letting out a loud growl. He could not hold his anger in any longer, so he howled, "THE BETTER TO EAT YOU WITH!". The wolf lunged towards Lil' Red and her cousins for he surely wanted to eat them in one bite. Neri and Asali screamed. Lil' Red turned to them and said, "Quick! Run back to the pond!" So, the girls ran with great speed back down the path towards the pond. They ran as fast as they could, and the wolf kept up right behind them.
Once Lil' Red and her cousins reached the pond they turned to face the wolf who had slowed. He smirked and thought, "Surely these bad little girls are trapped! They have no choice but to jump into the pond that they pushed me into or be eaten!" The wolf continued to walk slowly towards Lil Red, Neri, and Asali with an evil in his eyes and a grin that became wider and wider with each step.
Asali and Neri turned to Lil' Red and yelled, "What now, Red? This was your idea!" Lil' Red in the Hood confidently pulled the golden whistle hanging around her neck from out of her knit hoodie. She put the whistle to her lips and blew as hard as she could. The whistle's sound pierced the forest and rose above the trees high into the sky. The sound was carried by the wind all the way to Lil' Red's father's ears. He was hunting in the forest when he heard the whistle and knew that Lil' Red was in trouble.
Lil' Red's father jumped in his truck and drove as fast as he could toward the sound of the whistle. He drove so fast that he cleared a new path in the forest trying to get to Lil' Red and her cousins.
The wolf only had 20 steps more to take before Lil' Red, Neri, and Asali would be in his stomach. His stomach growled from excitement, and he began to count his steps. 1-2-3-4-5...
Lil' Red kept blowing her whistle as Neri and Asali looked back and forth from the wolf and to Lil' Red with fear in their eyes. 6-7-8-9-10...
Asali cried, "Lil' Red, what are we going to do!" Lil' Red kept looking at the wolf and blowing her whistle and Neri yelled, "Lil' Red, all you gon' do is blow that whistle? We 'bout to get eat!" ...11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20. The wolf stopped right in front of Lil' Red in the Hood, Neri, and Asali. He crossed his paws and said, "Do you really think a whistle is going to stop me from having you three bad little girls for dinner? Prepare to be eaten!" The wolf opened his mouth wide and lunged towards Lil' Red to swallow her in one bite.
Just then, a truck came rolling out of the woods as fast as can be. It was Lil' Red's father! He drove straight for the wolf, knocking the wolf clear off his feet. The wolf flew 25 feet into the air; 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20-21-22-23-24-25 and then BANG! The wolf hit a tree and fell down to the ground. THUMP! His eyes were big XX's, and his tongue hung to the side of his big ugly mouth.
Lil' Red in the Hood and her cousins were relieved that they weren't eaten alive. They jumped up and down and thanked Lil' Red's father for coming to save them from the big bad wolf. Lil' Red's father threw the wolf in the back of the truck and drove the girls the rest of the way to grandmother's house. Their grandmother was so happy to see them; she hugged and kissed them and took the basket to the kitchen. When grandmother opened the basket, she saw the collard greens, hot water cornbread, and sweet tea but she did not see any meat stew. So, she said, "Ooh-wee, this all looks so good, but I would have surely liked some meat stew to go with it." Lil' Red in the Hood said, "Daddy and I can make you some meat stew, grandma!" Puzzled, Lil' Red's father looked down at her and said, "We can?"
Lil' Red cut her eye at her cousins and Neri and Asali smiled and cut their eyes at Lil' Red. Then Lil' Red said, "Yes, daddy, we sure can! We can make some very nice and very good meat stew, and we can call it Wolf Brand Chili!" They all exploded in laughter and went to the truck to pick up the wolf who still lay on the truck's bed. They prepared the wolf chili with all the fixings over a wood burning fire and ate it with the savory collard greens, the buttered hot water cornbread, and the sweet tea. As grandmother ate the meal, she felt stronger and better, and she was very satisfied. When it was time for them to go back home, grandmother made a plate to give to Lil' Red's mother and sent them on their way. And Lil' Red in the Hood continued to be a smart and witty little girl with sun kissed golden skin and coal-colored coils that bounced in the wind.
Discussion: Did you enjoy reading Lil' Red's personality? What difference from the original did you appreciate? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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