Re: [Storyteller]
And though the wolf banged furiously on the door, the kids, though trembling with terror, refused to let him into the house, and so the door remained shut.
Then the wolf had a brainwave. He dashed off to the baker's and got a big cake dripping with honey. He hoped this would sweeten his voice. And in fact, after eating it, his voice didn't sound quite so deep.
Over and over again, he practiced imitating Mother Goat's voice. You see, he'd heard it in the woods. When he felt certain he could easily be mistaken for Mother Goat herself, he rushed back to the house and the seven kids.
"Open the door! Open the door! It's Mother! I've just come back from the market! Open the door!" he called.
This time, the kids had doubts: the voice did rather sound like mother's, and they were about to unlock the door, when the black kid suspiciously cried:
"Mother, let us see your foot!" Without thinking, the wolf raised a black hairy paw. And the kids knew that the wolf had come back.
"You're not our mother! She doesn't have horrid black paws!" cried the kids. "Go away, you wicked wolf!"
And once more, in spite of all his hard work, the wolf found the door locked against him. The wolf ran down to the mill, and found a sack of flour. He thrust his paws into it until they were pure white.
"I'll trick them this time," he said. "Mmm! My mouth's watering already! I'm hungry! My tummy's empty and my trousers are falling off! I'll swallow these tender kids whole!"
Again he knocked on the door.
"Open the door! Open the door! It's Mother! I've just come back from market! Open the door!"
The voice seemed exactly like mother's, but the wary kids quickly called out: "Mother, let us see your foot!"
The wily wolf lifted a snow white paw, and the kids, now reassured, threw open the door. What a shock they received! An enormous set of jaws with sharp fangs growled fiercely. Cruel claws reached out for their prey. The kids scattered in terror.