Chapter 1st

Once upon a time there lived in a certain quaint village a little foreign girl. She was the shyest creature who was ever seen. Her mother was excessively fond of her; but her best friend doted on her even more still. Together the two maidens were such friends, that one's mother had a little blue cape sewn specially for her, so that it would match her friend's and still distinguish them quite in accordance to their opposing natures, for one was fiery, adventurous by nature and fearless at heart, while the other was bashful and serene. Together they pranced about the village with their matching capes day in and day out. The Little Foreign Girl's mother was happy her daughter had adjusted so well to life in this new country, and glad she had such a close companion as people seldom have. And the blue cape suited the foreign girl so extremely well that she never went out without it.

One day, her mother having cooked a disastrous tray of cookies, the little foreign girl stole some in secret and said "I'm gonna go see how my friend is doing, for I suspect she has gotten herself into trouble". Her mother being stern, replied: "Go, but don't wonder too far, and don't take her any sweets either, for I hear there's a wolf around the woods who preys on little girls for their sweets".

The little foreign girl nodded, concealed the cookies inside a basket and wandered off to find her best friend.

Knock, knock, knock - she knocked on the door at the end of the street. Smoke came out of the chimney like big black fluffy balls, and the smell of fresh baked pie escaped through the open lattice window.

"Oh, hello, my darling girl!" A sweet lady answered the door, recognizing the girl for her blue cape.

"I'm looking for my best friend, Blanchette!" Replied the little foreign girl.

"Ah, Blanchette? I'm afraid she's not home!"

"Oh, I am so very sorry to hear that! But where could she be? We had great plans for the afternoon, and I haven't heard a word from her in such a long time!"

"She is rather tardy, but you see" began the sweet lady "She set off last night to visit her granny. Granny is very ill..." she justified "And Blanchette was so kind as to take her some sweets and honey for her breakfast."

"And yet Breakfast has long since come and gone. Where is my best friend?" The little foregin girl pursued, thinking her mother very irresponsible and careless indeed! Why, didn't her mother ever tell her it was dangerous to wander off into the woods, carrying sweets of all things?

"Hum, where indeed..." The mother simply wandered aloud "...Perhaps granny wanted company."

Perhaps Blanchette had been gobbled up by a wolf and was in dire need of saving - thought the little foreign girl to herself, and though she felt no fit to save a fledgling from a pussycat, she knew she had to look for her friend.

"Well, where does her grandmother live?" Asked the wide-eyed little foreign girl.

"Ah why, you wish to keep her granny company too? How very sweet! She dwells In a Wooden Cabin just beyond those woods!"

"How very dangerous, ma'am! I've heard there's a wolf around the woods who prey on little girls for their sweets"

"How foolish, my dear..." The sweet lady smiled "No wolf that I know of likes sweets! Besides... Blanchette is no fool of a girl! She knows how to scare off wolves, we have lived in this village her whole life. My Blanchette wouldn't be as old as she is now if she didn't know how to scare off some silly hungry animals..."

"Is that so?! Why, how brave she is! There are no wolves where I come from – what do they look like?" The little foreign girl inquired innocently.

"They're hairy..." said the sweet lady with a disgusted grimace "...And ugly!" she added. "Aggressive!", she mused. "Snarling Brutes! And they smell bad, too."

The little foreign girl stood there, creating a mental picture of said wolf, before excusing herself and walking off to her new self-appointed quest. She felt safer to go into the woods and find Blanchette, and bring her granny some stolen disastrous cookies now that she knew what a wolf looked like. She did, however, forget to ask how to defeat them. Looking back, she was already too deep into the forest to waste time turning around – it might be safer to press on forward and find Grandma Blanchette's cabin before the wolf might show up than to turn back around and risk meeting him on the way back. If she could find Blanchette in time, the way home would be much safer with her wolf-slaying companion. But looking ahead... the woods were dense and shadowy. Who knew what those stirring leaves concealed?