The Wolf and The Seven Little Kids

Once upon a time, there was an old goat who had seven little kids. She loved them very much. One day, she needed to go into the forest to find food. Before she left, she called her children together and said, "Dear children, I have to go into the forest. Be careful of the wolf. If he comes, he will eat you all. He often tries to trick us, but you can tell it's him by his rough voice and black paws."

The little kids promised, "We will be careful, Mother. Don't worry about us." Then the mother goat left with a peaceful mind.

Soon after, there was a knock at the door. "Open the door, dear children. It's your mother, and I have something for each of you," said a voice. But the kids knew it was the wolf because of his rough voice. "We will not open the door. You are not our mother. She has a soft, kind voice. Your voice is rough. You are the wolf!" they cried.

The wolf went away, but he came up with a plan. He went to a store and bought a piece of chalk. He ate it to make his voice soft. Then he returned to the house and knocked on the door again. "Open the door, dear children. It's your mother, and I have something for each of you," he said in a softer voice. But the kids saw his black paws through the window and cried, "We will not open the door. Our mother doesn't have black paws. You are the wolf!"

The wolf was very angry. He went to a baker and said, "I hurt my paws. Can you put some dough on them for me?" The baker did this. Then the wolf went to the miller and said, "Can you put some white flour on my paws?" The miller thought, "The wolf wants to trick someone." But the wolf said, "If you don't do it, I will eat you!" The miller was scared, so he made the wolf's paws white.

The wolf went back to the house for the third time. He knocked and said, "Open the door, dear children. It's your mother, and I have something for each of you." The kids heard a soft voice and saw the white paws, so they thought it was their mother. They opened the door, and the wolf came in. The kids were very scared and tried to hide. One hid under the table, another in the bed, the third in the stove, the fourth in the kitchen, the fifth in the cupboard, the sixth under a bowl, and the seventh in the clock-case. But the wolf found and swallowed them all, except for the one in the clock-case.

The wolf, now full, went outside, lay under a tree, and fell asleep. Soon after, the mother goat came home. She saw the door open and everything in the house was a mess. She couldn't find her children and called out to them. Finally, the youngest kid, hiding in the clock-case, answered, "Mother, I am here." She pulled him out, and he told her everything that had happened.

The mother goat cried for her children. Then, she and the youngest kid went out and found the wolf sleeping under the tree. She saw something moving inside his belly and thought, "Maybe my children are still alive." She ran home and got scissors, a needle, and thread. She cut open the wolf's stomach, and out came her six other kids, alive and unharmed. They hugged their mother with joy.

The mother goat said, "Now, children, find some big stones. We will fill the wolf's stomach with them." The kids did as she said, and then she sewed up the wolf's stomach. The wolf did not wake up.

When the wolf finally woke up, he was very thirsty. He tried to walk to the well to drink, but the stones in his stomach made him heavy. As he moved, the stones knocked together. The wolf said, "What is this noise inside me? I thought it was six kids, but it just feels like big stones."

When he reached the well and bent over to drink, the stones were so heavy that he fell into the water and drowned.

The mother goat and her seven kids were very happy and safe. They danced around the well, celebrating their victory.