Bio: Barbara writes, "My name is Barbara Ng. I am 16 years old. A junior in high school. Born and raised in New York City."
Grumble! I looked down at my stomach.
“Oh, shut it!” I said aloud. I have not eaten for two weeks so my stomach cannot be blamed for being unsettling. You see, I am not a normal wolf, I am a vegetarian wolf. You must be thinking, Hey, that’s impossible. But it is. I grew up with my mother who was a single parent. My father left me when I was a very young wolf cub. My mother knew how difficult it was to raise a growing cub by herself, so she taught me to be respectful to everyone, especially mothers. My mother also taught me to be a vegetarian because she didn’t think it was right for me to eat other people’s children. I grew up eating only veggies, fruits; stuff that grew in the woods that did not involve anything living. But recently, a lot of woodchoppers had cut down a lot of trees and they have stomped on a lot of fruit bushes, eliminating a majority of my food source. I have been trying to find a new place where I could live, but I have not been lucky so far. It has been two weeks and I have not seen anything that is close to being edible. Oh, I was awfully tired. I decided to rest for a little bit under a gigantic tree. I was close to falling asleep when I heard a noise… a girl. The girl was a teen, around 16 years old and she was wearing a red riding hood. She was humming quietly while staring at her reflection in her compact mirror. I know that girl, I thought to myself. That’s Red Riding Hood, the brat of the village where I once lived in for a short period of time.
Grumble! Oh, I am so hungry! I must eat something now or I will die. But what is there to eat? I looked around. Red Riding Hood was the only living thing in this wood. No! I can’t eat her, I thought to myself. But the grumbling from my stomach was convincing me that I had to eat her. What would mother think, I asked myself. Mother’s dead, I answered. This internal battle lasted for another five minutes. No, she’s walking away! Before I could convince myself to stop, I jumped out from under the tree and ran up to the teenager.
“Good morning, Red Riding Hood. What do you have in that basket?”
“Oh hey, Wolf. Eggs, butter, and cake. I have to bring them to my ill grandmother. But I rather just hang out with my friends. I don’t understand why I have to do it. I have a life, you know.”
“Of course you have a life. Where does your grandmother live by the way?”
“Along that path, past the wild rose bushed, then through the gate at the end of the wood. Ughh! Why does she live so far?!”
“Well, it was nice seeing you again Red Riding Hood.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
I am so hungry. It won’t matter if I eat Red Riding Hood, right? I mean no one would miss her; she’s a total spoiled brat! I raced to her grandmother’s house. When I reached the grandmother’s house, I gently knocked on the front door, which was decorated with fresh and colorful flowers.
“Who’s there?” called the grandmother.
“Red Riding Hood,” I replied using a fake high-pitched voice.
“Come right in.”
I quickly got in a sprinting position. One… two… three! I swiftly pushed open the door and tackled the grandmother. Before she could react, I tied her up with rope and covered her mouth with a handkerchief. Using one paw, I opened the closet door, and with the other paw, I shoved the grandmother inside. I quickly locked the door, and changed into the grandmother’s cap and nightgown, which I found in a trunk near the foot of the bed. I quickly crept under the bedclothes and pulled the bedclothes up to my chin.
In a little while, I heard a knock on the door and Red Riding Hood walked in.
“Hey Grandma, I brought you some eggs, butter, and cake,” Red Riding Hood said without breaking the stare she had on the compact mirror.
“Thank you, my dear. Just place the basket near my nightstand.” Red Riding Hood placed the basket on the nightstand and while she did that, she took a look at her grandmother.
“What big ears you have, grandma.”
“All the better to hear you with, my dear.”
“What big eyes you have, grandma.”
“All the better to see you with, my dear.”
“But, grandma, what a big nose you have.”
“All the better to smell with, my dear.”
“But, grandma, what a big mouth you have.”
“All the better to eat you, my dear!” I finally shouted as I sprang at Red Riding Hood and swallowed her whole.
Burppp! My hunger pains were finally satisfied. I wiggled out of the grandmother’s nightgown, took off the cap, grabbed the basket full of desserts, and strolled out the door. I felt guilty eating someone, my mother had taught me better, but I was famished. Besides, it was Red Riding Hood I ate, she was rude, and deserved what she got. But to satisfy my conscience, I made a promise to myself as I walked out of the woods. I will never eat another person again.
