At the outskirts of a village, the teenage girl known as Little Red‑Cap reaches the edge of a dark forest and spots a wolf standing in a clearing. The wolf is reciting poetry in a “wolfy drawl,” holding a paperback and a glass of red wine that stains his bearded jaw. He notices Little Red‑Cap, who is described as a sweet sixteen, and offers her a drink. She follows him into the woods, her stockings ripped and her red blazer torn, losing both shoes along the way. The wolf leads her to his lair, a cavern lit by owls’ eyes, with walls shimmering crimson and gold and crowded with books. Inside, he devours a white dove that Little Red‑Cap throws to him. After the wolf falls asleep, she sneaks to the back of the lair, discovers a wall of books that seem alive, and reflects on cryptic lessons she has learned over ten years in the forest. She then takes an axe, chops the sleeping wolf—cutting his throat—and finds the pale, virgin white bones of her grandmother inside his belly. She fills the wolf’s empty stomach with stones, stitches him up, and finally emerges from the forest alone, carrying flowers and singing.