Christine A. Elmore
Debra Mitts-Smith explains in her book,
Picturing the Wolf in Children's Literature,
before the mid-20
th
century "most of what was know about wolves was based on folklore and anecdotal bounty hunters' tales" (p. 44) and served to justify their indiscriminate killing. In this section we will look at some of the folklore that shaped people's views of wolves.
I have selected two popular fairy tales for use in this unit:
Little Red Riding Hood
and
The Three Little Pigs
, both of which employ the wolf as a compelling main character. Starting with the traditional versions will provide a solid basis for the later readings of revisions and fractured tales.
Questions to prompt retelling of the main elements of a story will include:
Who is the story about?
What was the problem?
When and where did the story take place?
How was the problem solved?
Why did things turn out the way they did in the end?
Little Red Riding Hood
As far as fairy tales go, the tale of
Little Red Riding Hood
"has had more influence than any other in creating the image of wolves as bad creatures" (Marvin, p. 64). The wolf is the villain in this tale and Grandma and Little Red Riding Hood are the naïve and innocent victims. This moralizing tale warns young girls against venturing into the wild where they will likely encounter deceitful, rapacious and depraved wolves that dress and speak like humans and whose sole purpose is to rape, kill and eat them.
In the traditional versions of this fairy tale the wolf is characterized by such terms as 'wicked beast', 'old sinner', 'scoundrel', and 'wicked wolf'. He meets his fate—death—in a variety of ways: tumbling out of a window, beheaded by a hunter, pierced with an arrow by the Green Archer after being stung on the nose by a bee, stabbed, and having his belly cut open with shears or an ax and then filled with rocks and sewn up again. It is interesting to speculate why such brutal means were used to dispatch the wolf. According to Mitts-Smith, his violent end is justified and celebrated because his behavior "transgresses acceptable human conduct and poses as a threat to society" (Mitts-Smith, p. 22).
In each version both Grandma and Little Red Riding Hood are portrayed as poor unsuspecting souls while the villainous wolf, through his deceptively polite and well-spoken manner, is able to entrap and eat them both. True to form, in this western-European folktale "the wolf represents human predation and gluttony" (Mitts-Smith, p. 4).
Through the use of the following matrix I will chart our findings taken from the read-alouds of several traditional versions and revisions of
Little Red Riding Hood
:
In an effort to broaden students' perception of the wolf image I will then begin the reading aloud of several revisions and fractured tales of
Little Red Riding Hood
where the wolf's role "varies from villain to benign character and even to victim" (Mitts-Smith, p. 76). Apparent will be the change in the wolf's characterization as he becomes a character to laugh at or sympathize with rather than to fear or abhor.
As each revision is read aloud we will continue to chart descriptions under the same matrix headings. In these retellings both Red Riding Hood and Grandma now possess more assertive and strong personalities and they are more prepared to take control of the situation they find themselves in. We will also see more harmless (even virtuous?) intentions on the part of the wolf as he approaches these two female characters. In one version,
Little Red Riding Hood: A Newfangled Prairie Tale
by Lisa Campbell Ernst he becomes the chief baker in Granny's muffin shop. In another,
Carmin: A Little More Red
by Melissa Sweet, he just filches soup bones from Grandma and brings them home to feed his pups. In
Wolf
by Becky Bloom he is simply looking for companionship and is finally accepted as a peer by the farm animals after he learns to read well.
In
What Really Happened to Little Red Riding Hood: The Wolf's Story
by Toby Forward the wolf tells the story from his point of view, describing how initially he had done a number of odd jobs for Grandma—putting up shelves, shopping, gardening and doing alterations on her clothes. One day he rushed off to Grandma's house to warn her of the sticky toffee that her granddaughter was bringing over that could wreck her teeth. Once inside, the wolf explained, that he was simply trying to help Grandma reach for her dress when there was an accident and she fell unconscious inside the wardrobe after hitting her head. Afraid of being accused of hurting Grandma, the wolf quickly disguises himself by putting on her dress and jumps into bed just as Red Riding Hood enters the room. The chase began in the house when the girl attempted to pop a toffee in his mouth but the woodsman rushes in and chops off part of his tail as he jumps out of the window. His dodgy justification for his actions leaves the reader wondering if his account is true or not. The wolf is portrayed as untrustworthy but not vicious and the story is presented in a very humorous way.
The Wolf On Trial
In an effort to continue to consider things from the wolf's perspective, this simple role-play will involve one student at a time playing the wolf and the rest of the class will ask him questions, some of which are listed below:
What were you doing in the woods that day?
Was anyone else there with you?
Why did you stop and talk to Little Red Riding Hood?
What did you think of her?
Why did you go ahead to her grandmother's house?
Did anyone bully you where you were young?
Where did you learn to talk like a human?
What should you try to do better?
Picturing the Wolf
Some students comprehend better in the visual mode than in the verbal or written mode and so I plan to create a display of the wolf character in both the traditional and fractured versions using xeroxed copies of book illustrations. After close examination and rich discussion I will record the differences that my students note in the visual portrayal of the wolf on a Venn diagram. I will also encourage my students to draw their own versions of the wolf.
The Three Little Pigs
The second fairy tale that we will examine is
The Three Little Pigs
and when we listen to the traditional versions we will quickly notice there is little variation in story-line in this tale. The wolf destroys the homes of two pigs, eats them up, is unable to blow down the 3
rd
pig's house and ultimately lands in a pot of boiling water where he is subsequently eaten by the surviving pig. In each case the wolf is portrayed as a cold-hearted, ravenous villain who meets a just end.
There is much more diversity in plot in the revisions of this fairy tale. Through the use of role reversal in
The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas
the wolves are portrayed as the helpless victims of a very mean, home-wrecking pig who, at the story's end in transformed by the sweet smell of the wolves' flowers into a moral and compassionate porker. In
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
by Jon Scieszka change of perspective is employed and the wolf feigns innocence, claiming that the killing of the 2 pigs during his quest to get a cup of sugar for the cake he was baking for his granny was purely accidental. At the end of the story he blames the media for framing him in order to sell a more sensational story. In
The Three Horrid Little Pigs
by Liz Pichon the wolf's generosity and compassion transform the lazy pigs into law-abiding and hard-working citizens. In
Wait No Paint
by Bruce Whatley the wolf's efforts to attack the 3 little pigs is foiled and he is left in the very humorous position of being re-costumed by the illustrator as Goldilocks at the end of the story. In these last two fractured tales the wolf suffers humiliation rather than a violent death as seen in the classic versions. In
the Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf
by Mark Teague the wolf, unable to blow the brick house down, comes in the house and is offered potato chips and sody-pop by the first two pigs and then a healthy meal by the third pig. The wolf decides to move in with the pigs and final scenes show him lounging around the pool with his porcine friends.
In modern children's literature the wolf has been rehabilitated in a number of other ways. Through the use of slapstick events in
Bad Boys Get Cookies
by Margie Palatini the two fumbling 'bad boy' wolves end up without catching the gingerbread boy and instead find themselves in the candy house where Hansel and Gretel almost met their fate. The end of the story shows them standing near the old woman opening her stove, unsuspecting of any impending danger. In
The Wolf's Chicken Stew
by Keiko Kasza the wolf starts out having his stomach rule his actions as he devises a plan to eat a family of chicks but at the story's end he is transformed by the loving doting attention of the cute little chicks who call him uncle. His heart melts and he stays for dinner and plans to bake scrumptious treats for the little ones later.
The wolf is portrayed as very helpful in
Big Bad Wolf Is Good
by Simon Puttock when he successfully finds Mrs. Duck's missing 5
th
duckling and returns him safely to his home. In
Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf
by Judy Sierra
an aging wolf who resides in a senior center does his very best to demonstrate good manners as he sits at a tea party to which he was invited by a children's librarian along with many of the storybook characters that he has antagonized in the past. In
the Story of the Kind Wolf by Peter Nickl
the stereotype of the cold-hearted wolf is broken. In this story the wolf becomes an animal doctor who befriends all the animals in the forest and helps them when they get sick with his healthy herbal medicines and good advice. In
Wolf's Coming
by Joe Kulka the young reader is completely disarmed at the unexpected ending when all the forest animals, thought to have been fleeing the mean wolf, in fact had planned a surprise birthday party for their canine friend.
In addition to using a visual display of text illustrations, I will use a highly interactive strategy: a Venn diagram to compare and contrast wolf depictions. After acting out a second courtroom role-play which will arm my students with ideas the wolf has about himself and his actions, I will ask my students to write a letter to Mr. Wolf where they can ask him questions, offer him advice and opinions and give him suggestions. Below are possible questions to include in the courtroom scene.
Wolf on Trial
Where were you the day the pig's straw house was blown down?
Why did you pick on these pigs?
You are a home wrecker! How would you feel if someone destroyed your home?
What were your thoughts when you could not blow down the brick house?
What advice would you give to other wolves and pigs?
Have you ever considered becoming a vegetarian?
What community service do you plan to do to make up for your crime?