Once Upon a Time

Intro

Once Upon a Time

Opening

In the beginning, this was a quiet world of water and darkness. Nothing was seen, only heard, and only felt.

But then a sound broke through the silence,

"Who are you talking to, old girl?"

That was the beginning.

This was the beginning of all the stories.

Story 1: Little Red Riding Hood

"I'm going to tell you the story of Little Red Riding Hood"

"Have we heard that one before?"

"Everyone's heard that one before, but never like this"

"Never like what?"

"Never like this. Listen."

"Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Ruby"

"Ruby? Not Little Red Riding Hood?"

"Well, her friends called her Little Red Riding Hood"

"Why?"

"Because she always wore this red hooded cloak that matched her bright red hair"

"Wait, did they call her Little Red Riding Hood because of the cloak or the hair?"

"Both"

"Ah, okay"

"One day, Ruby's mother said, 'Ruby, take this basket of cupcakes to your grandmother's cottage, she's feeling ill.'"

"Why the cloak then?"

"Because there was fog in the woods. It was hard to see and the cloak was bright red"

"Was the fog thick?"

"As thick as pea soup"

"As thick as pea soup... okay. Go on"

"As Ruby walked through the woods, she met a wolf"

"A wolf!"

"He was the biggest wolf anyone had ever seen"

"Did he eat her?"

"No, not yet. First, he spoke to her in a very loud, very friendly voice"

"What did he say?"

"'Hello, Little Red Riding—'"

"Wait, did he know her name?"

"He didn't know her name, but that's what he called her"

"Oh, okay. I thought maybe he'd been following her"

"He had, but that's not important"

"Right, sorry"

"'Hello, Little Red Riding Hood, where are you going in such a hurry?'"

"What did Ruby say?"

"She didn't know who he was, but he seemed friendly, so she told him - 'I'm going to my grandmother's house with these delicious cupcakes'"

"Wait, didn't she know that wolves eat grandmothers?'"

"She did, but she never met a wolf before"

"Oh, right. Go on"

"The wolf was very hungry for cupcakes, so he asked for one."

"Did she give him one?"

"She did. And while she was eating a cupcake herself, the wolf ran ahead to her grandmother's cottage"

"And then what?"

"He trapped the grandmother in the cupboard, took her spare nightdress and nightcap, and jumped into bed"

"And that's when Ruby arrives?"

"Exactly. She knocked on the door, the wolf said, 'Come in, dear, I'm in bed.'"

"And then the famous part?"

"Yes. Ruby looked at her grandmother and said, 'Oh, what big ears you have!'"

"And the wolf said, 'The better to hear you with, my dear.'"

"And then Ruby said, 'But grandmother, what big, scaly eyes you—'"

"Wait, scaly?"

"Well, you see, this wasn't an ordinary wolf. He had been cursed by a mountain witch and was slowly turning into a dragon"

"Oh! I didn't know that"

"Neither did Ruby. And as the wolf was turning into a dragon, he accidentally breathed a cloud of fire over the bed, and—"

"And then?"

"And then Ruby's father, a famous dragon slayer, burst through the door and saved the day."

"Phheeeeew!"

"That's the end of the story."

Intro

Little Red Riding Hood. A classic. Well, nearly a classic.

That was the first story.

You'd better get ready for the next one.

This is Once Upon a Time.

There will be more stories later.