The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats

Once upon a time, there was a mother goat. She had seven little goats and loved them very much.

One day, the mother wanted to go into the forest to find food. Before she left, she warned her children:
“Dear children, be very careful! The wolf might come. He often tries to trick others. You can recognize him by his rough voice and his black paws.”

The little goats answered: “Dear Mother, we will be careful. You can go without worrying.”

The mother went into the forest. Soon, someone knocked on the door.
“Open the door, dear children! Your mother is back and has brought something for you.”

But the little goats heard the rough voice and shouted:
“You are not our mother! Our mother has a soft and friendly voice. You are the wolf!”

The wolf went to a shopkeeper and bought some chalk. He ate the chalk to make his voice softer. Then he returned and knocked on the door again.
“Open the door, dear children! Your mother is back.”

But the wolf put his black paw on the window. The little goats saw it and shouted:
“You are not our mother! Our mother does not have black paws. You are the wolf!”

The wolf went to a baker and asked him to put some dough on his paw. Then he went to a miller and asked him to cover his paw with white flour.

At first, the miller did not want to help him. But the wolf threatened him, so the miller made the wolf’s paw white.

For the third time, the wolf went to the little goats’ house and knocked on the door.
“Open the door! Your dear mother is back and has brought something for you from the forest.”

The little goats shouted: “Show us your paw first!”

The wolf put his white paw on the window. Now the little goats believed that their mother was outside, so they opened the door.
But suddenly, the wolf came in!

The little goats were frightened and quickly hid. One hid under the table, one in the bed, one in the oven, one in the kitchen, one in the cupboard, one under the washbasin, and the youngest hid inside the clock case.

The wolf searched everywhere. He found six of the little goats and swallowed them one after another. He could not find the youngest goat hiding in the clock.

After that, the wolf went to a meadow. He lay down under a tree and fell asleep.

When the mother came home, she saw the open door and the terrible mess inside the house. She looked everywhere for her children and called their names.

At first, nobody answered. Then she heard a little voice:
“Dear Mother, I’m hiding inside the clock!”

The youngest goat came out and told her everything that had happened. The mother was very sad.

Together, they went outside and found the wolf sleeping under a tree.

The mother noticed something moving inside his big belly.
“Maybe my children are still alive!”

The youngest goat quickly brought scissors, a needle, and some thread. The mother carefully cut open the wolf’s belly.

One little goat jumped out, and then another! Soon, all six little goats came out. They were still alive and were not hurt because the wolf had swallowed them whole.

Everyone was very happy and hugged their mother.

Then the mother said:
“Quickly, bring me some big stones!”

The seven little goats brought heavy stones. They put the stones inside the sleeping wolf’s belly. Then the mother sewed his belly closed again.

When the wolf woke up, he was very thirsty. He walked to a well. As he walked, the stones moved and rumbled inside his belly.

The wolf wondered:

“What is rumbling and bumping
inside my belly?
I thought they were six little goats,
but now they are heavy stones!”

The wolf leaned over the well to drink some water. The heavy stones pulled him down, and he fell into the well and drowned.

When the seven little goats saw what had happened, they shouted:

“The wolf is dead! The wolf is dead!”

The seven little goats and their mother were very happy. They danced together around the well.