In 2013, it was revealed from scientific research that the tale originated in the 1st century in the Middle East and not, as previously assumed, in China. Furthermore, the wolf was also known to ask her to remove her clothing and toss it into the fire. The wolf usually leaves the grandmother’s blood and meat for the girl to eat, who then unwittingly cannibalizes her own grandmother. The antagonist is not always a wolf, but sometimes an ogre or a ‘bzou’ (werewolf), making these tales relevant to the werewolf-trials (similar to witch trials) of the time. These early variations of the tale differ from the currently known version in several ways. It is also possible that this early tale has roots in very similar Oriental tales (e.g. It has also been called “The Story of Grandmother”. In Italy, the Little Red Riding Hood was told by peasants in the fourteenth century, where a number of versions exist, including La finta nonna (The False Grandmother), written among others by Italo Calvino in the Italian Folktales collection. It was told by French peasants in the 10th century and recorded by the cathedral schoolmaster Egbert of Liege. The origins of the Little Red Riding Hood story can be traced to versions from various European countries and more than likely preceding the 17th century, of which several exist, some significantly different from the currently known, Grimms-inspired version. They fill the wolf’s body with stones, and when he tries to flee, the stones cause him to collapse and die. Little Red and her grandmother emerge unharmed. In later versions, a woodcutter comes to the rescue and cuts open the wolf. In Perrault’s version, the tale ends here. She says, “What a deep voice you have!” (“The better to greet you with”, responds the wolf), “Goodness, what big eyes you have!” (“The better to see you with”), “What big hands you have!” (“The better to hug you with”), and lastly, “What a big mouth you have” (“The better to eat you with!”), at which point the wolf jumps out and eats her. When the girl arrives, she notices that her grandmother looks strange.
In the meantime, the wolf goes to the grandmother’s house and swallows her whole, then waits for the girl in disguise. She tells him, and he suggests that she pick some flowers, which she does. Little Red Riding Hood is walking through the woods to visit her grandmother when a wolf approaches and asks where she’s going.