A young girl, perhaps 13 years old, often ventured into the woods near the town where she lived with her parents.
She always carried a book, a thermos of hot tea and a Swiss Army knife. A green military jacket, a little too big for her stature, protected her from the cold of winter and mosquitoes in summer. A large camouflage hood made her face disappear from the sight of adults.
– Aren’t you going to see Grandma? – asked the mother with routine distraction before the child left the house.
– No, – Little Riding Hood always replied, – she’s always on her smartphone anyway.
The mother nodded without having listened much to Little Riding Hood.
The little girl then walked out with her loaded rucksack, heaving the hood over her forehead.
Like so many other times, at the beginning of the walk, she met people walking their dogs. One glance to the right, one to the left from under her secret hood, Little Riding Hood was taking the hidden path that only she knew. She went on quietly, almost relieved to know that on that path she would find no prying people and that only Nature was watching her. She knew that Nature does not ask stupid and inappropriate questions.
But one day as she went on, she saw footprints she had never seen.
She reached her fallen trunk where she sat, everything seemed normal but the birds were not chirping. She took her hot tea and the book out of her rucksack. But it was not until a few blinks that she heard a footstep, froze and strained her ears.
– Little girl, what are you doing here?
She turned and saw the forester.
– This is a forbidden zone, don’t you know? – said the one – The woodcutters are coming, so you’d better leave.
– But this is my forest! Why are they coming to cut? – The little girl’s face darkened.
– The municipality, – resumed the big man, – assigned this lot to a construction company… – He paused a little, avoiding going into legal details that even he did not know. – Come on, otherwise I’ll call your mother.
– How do you know who my mother is? – Little Camo Hood blurted out.
– Eh …’ replied the forester with a smile.
From behind the dishonest man suddenly leapt a gigantic beast, landed on the forester and devoured him in one gulp. The black wolf sat down next to Little Camo Riding Hood, who resumed her reading this time feeling safer.