CHAPTER 1
In the colorful woods off of Highway 90 in Luling, Louisiana, lived Mr. Blue and his three pigs, Monty, Bobby and Danny. They were getting too big for the blue and white trailer, so Mr. Blue decided it was time for them to go and build their own house and live their lives. Mr. Blue warned the three pigs to be careful and make sure their house was strong, because somewhere in the woods lurked the Gray Wolf. He told them to stay close to the gravel road and don't cross the canal because people were now building houses on the paved road. The three pigs promised to be careful and safe, then started off down the gravel road to look for a place to build their houses.
Monty was lazy and didn't want to walk very far from Mr. Blues farm house. He saw bales of hay lying by the road and decided to build his house with the hay. The three of them hugged, then Bobby and Monty continued on down the road.
Monty felt proud that he built his house so quickly and was ready to settle in for the evening. Not only was his house built, but he could always snack on the hay whenever he got hungry. How smart and clever he was to use hay, he thought to himself. He laid down on his straw floor and relaxed, satisfied that he was safe from the Gray Wolf.
As Bobby and Danny walked farther down the gravel road, Bobby began gathering sticks and branches that had fallen from the oak trees. A patch of sunlight burst through the trees and shined brightly on the beautiful pink, purple and white daisies and the yellow dandelions. Behind the patch was a pile of logs cut from one of the oak trees. Bobby thought it was such a beautiful spot, and he could pick the daisies and wildflowers every day. He decided to build his house there. Danny gave him a hug and Bobby started piling the logs on top of each other to build his house.
Danny continued on as the road became smooth and he came to the canal. Danny turned and looked back at the woods. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw a pile of bricks in a clearing. He smiled to himself and decided he would build his house there. He felt he was far enough from the Gray Wolf and not too close to the people. Then Danny couldn't believe his luck when he saw silver minos swimming in the canal. Food too, he thought to himself. Mr. Blue would be so proud of him. He began stacking the bricks and started rappin',
"Yep, I'm gonna build this house brick by brick ... umhm ... brick by brick I'm gonna build my house. Oh yeah ... brick by brick my house is gonna be suuppperrr thick mmhmm. ... Yeah brick by brick ..." with a bebop sound he continued rappin' and building.
Not far from Danny's house across the canal lived the Red family in a big, sturdy, red, brick house. The Red family moved from Covington, Kentucky a year before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. They moved from Kentucky to be close to Mrs. Red's mother, Ms. Brown.
Raven, their youngest daughter always wore the color red. Her thick, black plaits adorned bright red ribbons and her chesnut, brown eyes glowed. Raven loved wearing red so much that everyone called her 'Little Red'. She thought it was so cool that her last name was Red and it was also her favorite color.
Mrs. Red came home one day and brought Little Red a sparkling red hoodie with tiny red sequence on the sleeves and around the hood. Her smooth walnut skin radiated from the sequences surrounding her plump, round, face.
"Oh Mama, it's beautiful, yeah!" The hoodie hung off her small waist and spilled over her her blue jeans. Little Red looked down at her red converse, "It even makes my red 'chucks' shine". She smiled, then ran her fingers along the red sequence on the sleeves and around the red sequence that surrounded the hood,
"Mama, now everybody might start calling me Little Red Riding Hoodie!" She exclaimed. Her mother laughed and put the hood over her thick plaits and smiled,
"That's for true. You are my Little Red Riding Hoodie, and I love you." The two of them hugged, and Little Red said,
"Mama it's so beautiful and I really want to go and show Mawmaw Brown how pretty I look. Mrs. Red hesitated, but Little Red whined and begged to go.
Then her mother remembered Mawmaw's purple basket that she hadn't returned to her.
"Okay, Little Red, you can take Mawmaw's basket back to her. I want you to promise you'll stay on the path and not talk to strangers. Call me when you get there too," Little Red eagerly nodded,
"Okay, I promise." Little Red said. Mrs. Red put her carmel hands on Little Red's cheeks and stared into her pecan, almond shaped eyes and said calmly,
"Raven. ... Little Red Hoodie, or whatever you call yourself, I want you to be careful and safe. The builders said that they seen a Gray Wolf lurkin' around in the woods. So don't talk to strangers, and stay on the path." Little Red nodded and the two of them embraced in a warm hug. Mrs. Red gently kissed her on the cheek and smiled lovingly at her.
Little Red promised to careful and safe, then picked up the purple basket. She gave her mother a quick hug and skipped out the door singing,
"I'm not afraid of the Gray Wolf lurkin, la la la la. I'm not afraid of the Gray Wolf lurkin' in the woods. Cause if I see him I'm gonna knock him out for good. La la la lalahhhh! She started giggling and skipping down the road.
CHAPTER 2
With all the rumbling and tumbling of trees falling and big heavy equipment stirring around, Gray Wolf couldn't sleep at all. His ears hurt from all the noise, and his throat felt sore from all the sawdust that surrounded his home. He needed water and a place to rest. Since all of the noise and racket, he hadn't had a good sleep in days. He stretched, yawned and kicked his heels in the green grass and looked around. His throat felt scratchy and dry, and he needed a drink of water. He stared straight ahead and noticed a small pile of hay. It looked like a house, and Gray Wolf was sure he hadn't seen it there before. After all, everyday new houses were popping up all around him. The wood was getting scarce with all the trees being chopped down, and it was getting harder to find a place for him to rest and call home.
"Water!" Gray wolf thought to himself, and coughed. He started trotting towards the house built of hay.
Monty was lying down, and the sweet smell of hay filled the room. The aroma was so strong it was too much for him to ignore. Monty reached over and pulled a big a plug of straw from the wall and began eating it. Chomp, chomp, crunch, crunch. Knock, knock. Monty stopped chewing in time to hear the knocking sound again. Knock knock. Monty stood up and backed away from the door and asked nervously,
"Who Dat knockin' on my door?"
Gray Wolf huffed and puffed to clear his throat, and the small house shook. Monty looked towards the back door and slid over to it shouting,
"I know it's you Gray Wolf. You can't come in. No, no, you can't have a hair off my chinny chin chin. I will not let you in!"
Gray Wolf shook his head and tried to clear his throat again. He huffed and puffed then out came loud, thundering coughs. The little house collapsed and fell on the Gray Wolf and Monty ran for his life.
Gray wolf stood up and shook himself, but the straw stayed almost completely covering him. He looked around for water, but not finding any, he walked down the gravel road.
Minutes later, Little Red came along and saw the scattered hay not too far from the smooth paved road. She wanted to put some of the hay in Maamaw's purple basket to make it look prettier. After all purple and gold was LSU's colors, which was Mawmaw's favorite college team. Little Red ran over to the pile and began spreading the yellow hay around in the basket. Then she turned around and saw that the smooth road was farther off the path than she had thought. She had strayed from the path, and didn't keep her promise to her mother.
She started skipping and walking fast to make up for the lost time by picking the hay. She started singing her song,
"I'M NOT AFRAID OF THE Gray Wolf lurkin' la la lalain, ... I'm not afraid if he's lurkin' in the woods cause if I see him I'm gonna knock him out for good. La la la lala......"
Gray Wolf saw something bright red bouncing through the woods. Her voice sounded so beautiful, even though he couldn't make out the words. He crouched down behind the prickly blackberry bushes just in time to see Little Red skipping by singing. Gray wolf crouched lower and whispered,
"Nice song." Little Red stopped and peeked through the thick bushes. Squinting her eyes, she could only see the yellow hay. "Your red hoodie is beautiful." Gray Wolf mumbled.
Little Red beamed with pride and spouted,
"Oh yes it is beautiful isn't it, yeah? "She twirled and said confidently, "That's why I'm going to Mawmaw Brown's orange cottage at the edge of the woods to show her! Oops!"
Little Red flung her hand over her mouth, but it was too late. She had told the stranger too much. Gray Wolf slunk to the ground to hide himself lower behind the blackberry bushes and said,
"Be careful little girl. There's a gray wolf lurkin' in the woods." Little Red shrugged her shoulders and said,
"I'm not afraid of the Gray Wolf Lurkin'. Lalal la la!" Then she practically ran away from the bushes and back down the road.
Monty was running so fast, he almost passed up his brother Bobby picking the beautiful pink, purple and white daisies and yellow dandelions surrounding his house. Monty skidded to a sudden stop and bellowed,
"The wolf! The Gray Wolf is coming this way! We must get inside and hide!" He was breathing so hard the words jumbled together. Bobby looked at him skeptically and asked,
"What are you hollerin' about, Monty?" He inhaled deeply and slowed his voice down,
"The Gray Wolf is coming. He's headin' our way." Bobby smirked, and Monty put his hoof on his shoulder, and said again, "We've got to get inside and hide. The Gray Wolf just huffed, puffed then coughed my house down. We must get inside now!" Bobby grabbed the flowers and the two of the scurried in his house of logs.
Soon there was a knock on the door. Monty and Bobby looked at each other's large, pink, frightened eyes. There was another knock on the fragile oak door and it trembled. Bobby found his voice first and asked,
"Who Dat knocking on my door?" Gray Wolf huffed and huffed then puffed to clear his throat and the house shook.
Monty led Bobby to the back door and said,
"I know it's you Gray Wolf, and you can't come in. Go away Gray Wolf. Then Bobby began shouting,
"Go away Gray Wolf, you can't come in! You can't have a hair off our chinny chin chins. You can Not come in!"
Gray Wolf huffed and he puffed, then he huffed and he puffed again and out came a loud sneeze,
"Haaaccheewwww!" The house of wood came tumbling down. Monty and Bobby ran as fast they could leaving the Gray Wolf in a pile of logs.
Gray Wolf rubbed his head and felt the small lump. He moaned and groaned and out came a loud howl. He looked around at the mess and pondered why the pigs were so frightened of him and the Little Red Hoodie girl was kind and friendly towards him. He decided to go to the orange house where Mawmaw lived. He hoped she would be kind too and give him something to drink and eat. So, off went Gray Wolf trotting through the woods to find Mawmaw Brown's orange house.
CHAPTER 3
Little Red was so busy hoppin' and skippin' that she almost fell on the broken pieces of wood. She steadied herself and noticed the patch of pink, purple and white daisies and scattered yellow dandelions. She carefully walked over and began picking the flowers. She placed them over the hay and gathered a few twigs to add to the basket. She stretched it out in front of her and admired her handy work.
"It is so beautiful! Mawmaw Brown's gonna love it as much as she's gonna love my red hoodie!" Little Red smiled and twirled around with the purple basket filled with the beautiful flowers. She looked up through the trees and could barely see the dulling sun. She started running through the woods to the gravel road near the canal and starting singing,
"I'm not afraid of the Gray Wolf lurkinl la la la la.. I'm not afraid if he's lurkin' in the woods, cause if I see him I'm gonna knock him out for good, la la lalala ..."
Danny finally finished his brick house just as the sun paled in the sky. He stepped back to admire his handy work and craftsmanship. He started bobbing his head and began his rap,
"Mmmhhmmm .. brick by brick I built my house .. Umhum yeah. Brick by brick my house so fly. ... I build it sturdy and strong .. oh yeah it's thick, It's fly.....gonna get me a....." All of a sudden he heard loud hoofs and squealing barreling down behind him.
Monty and Bobby were fiercely running towards him.
Together Monty and Bobby yelled,
"Hurry hurry, the Gray Wolf is coming. We gotta get inside and hide!"
Danny stood tall and folded his arms over his hairy chest.
Monty told him how the Gray wolf had coughed his house down, and had sneezed Bobby's house down.
Danny laughed,
"Well you didn't use brick and your houses weren't thick. I'm not afraid of the wolf blowing my house down." He said smugly.
Just then they heard footsteps and sticks breaking nearby. The three pigs looked at each other and together than ran into the brick house.
Mawmaw Brown was so excited the Little Red was coming by that she put some water in the tea kettle and cooked some beignets. She put three green cups on the table, because she was expecting Mr. Blue to pass by to chop some wood for the fireplace and have a quick visit too. Mawmaw Brown put the beignets on a golden platter and sprinkled the white powdery sugar on top.
Gray wolf could smell the sweet aroma of the beignets and slowly crept up to the front porch. Mawmaw filled the cups with the hot water and turned around and washed her wrinkled, walnut colored hands in the sink.
As she unwrapped the frilly pink apron and tried to hang it on the pantry door, she heard a soft knock on the front door.
Mawmaw Brown figured it was Little Red or Mr. Blue and said without turning around,
"Who Dat,? Is it you, Little Red? Come in Boo."
Gray Wolf was so excited to hear those kind words, he jumped and pounced on the door. He let out a howl as the door flung wide open. Mawmaw Brown turned to see Gray Wolf as he walked into the kitchen.
With one quick motion, she grabbed the tea kettle off the stove and banged the wolf on his head.
He fell down in pain and the frilly pink apron fell on top of him as Mawmaw ran out the door screaming,
"The Wolf! I've seen the Gray Wolf!!!"
Monty, Bobby and Danny sat quiet in the brick house, when suddenly they heard someone running to their door. Then there was loud banging on the door. The three pigs shouted,
"Go away Gray Wolf! You can't come in! You can't have a hair off our chinny chin chins. We will not let you in!
Mawmaw Brown yelled back,
"I am not the Gray Wolf, I'm Mawmaw Brown, a friend of Mr. Blue's. The wolf is at my house. Please let me in! I promise not to harm a hair on your chinny chin chins. Please let me in!" Danny ran to the door and quickly opened it to let Mawmaw Brown in.
After Mawmaw Brown ran out of her house, Gray Wolf felt the lump on his head. He slowly got up from the floor and the sweet smell from the beignets filled the air. Gray Wolf hobbled to the table and gobbled up the beignets on the golden platter and slurped the warm water from the green cups.
His throat finally felt better and he was finally not hungry. He became sleepy and caught sight of Mawmaw Brown's bed peeking out from the bedroom.
He trotted over to it and hopped in the bed dragging the apron on him. He snuggled under the thick, pink, frilly blanket and lay back on the cushiony, soft, frilly, pink pillow. He let out a sleepily howl and closed his eyes.
Then out of the silence he heard the soft, sweet familiar voice singing,
"I'm not afraid of the Gray Wolf lurkin' la la lala.. I'm not afraid of him lurkin' in the woods. Lalala laahhhh. ... I'm not....." Her voice trailed off as she noticed that the lights were off in Mawmaw Browns cottage.
Gray Wolf shifted farther down in under the blanket and grinned.
CHAPTER 4
Little Red stopped singing as she approached the steps to the porch. She noticed that the lamp in the bedroom was dimly lit. She yelled,
"Mawmaw Brown it's me Little Red!" She crept up the steps and asked, "Mawmaw Brown can you hear me? It's me Little Red. Ima come on in. "She tiptoed up to the door and it was already open. She slowly walked in asking,
"Mawmaw Brown where are you? Can you see me? Where are you?"
Gray wolf whispered,
"In here, Boo." He slunk down a little farther under the blanket.
Little Red twirled into the room holding out the purple basket filled with the beautiful flowers and hay. Then she stopped and posed to show off her beautiful red hoodie.
