I don't own PJO.
AN: The credit for the idea for this chapter goes to C-Nuggets N.L. Thanks!
Once upon a time there was a sweet little girl. Everyone who saw her liked her, but most of all her grandfather Apollo, who did not know what to give the child next. Once he gave her a little sword sheath made of red velvet. Because it suited her so well, and she wanted to wear it all the time, she came to be known as Little R.E.D. Sheath.
One day her mother said to her, "Come Little R.E.D. Sheath. Here is a piece of ambrosia and a bottle of nectar. Take them to your grandfather Apollo. He is bored, and they will do him well. Mind your manners and give him my greetings. Behave yourself on the way, and do not leave the path, or you might fall down and break the glass, and then there will be nothing for your bored grandfather Apollo."
Little R.E.D. Sheath promised to obey her mother. Grandfather Apollo lived out in the woods, a half hour from the village. When Little R.E.D. Sheath entered the woods a wolf named Zeus came up to her. She did not know what a wicked animal he was, and was not afraid of him.
"Good day to you, Little R.E.D Sheath."
"Thank you, wolf."
"Where are you going so early, Little R.E.D. Sheath?"
"To Grandfather Apollo's."
"And what are you carrying under your apron?"
"Grandfather Apollo is bored, and I am taking him some ambrosia and nectar. We shopped yesterday, and they should give her strength."
"Little R.E.D. Sheath, just where does your grandfather live?"
"His house is a good quarter hour from here in the woods, under the three large oak trees. There's a hedge of hazel bushes there. You must know the place," said Little R.E.D Sheath.
The wolf thought to himself, "Now there is a tasty bite for me. Just how are you going to catch her?" Then he said, "Listen, Little R.E.D. Sheath, haven't you seen the beautiful flowers that are blossoming in the woods? Why don't you go and take a look? And I don't believe you can hear how beautifully the birds are singing. You are walking along as though you were on your way to school in the village. It is very beautiful in the woods."
Little R.E.D. Sheath opened her eyes and saw the sunlight breaking through the trees and how the ground was covered with beautiful flowers. She thought, "If a take a bouquet to grandfather, he can give them to his new lady, and then he will be very pleased. Anyway, it is still early, and I'll be home on time." And she ran off into the woods looking for flowers. Each time she picked one she thought that she could see an even more beautiful one a little way off, and she ran after it, going further and further into the woods. But the wolf ran straight to the grandfather's house and knocked on the door.
"Who's there?"
"Little R.E.D. Sheath. I'm bringing you some ambrosia and nectar. Open the door for me."
"Just press the latch," called out the grandfather. "I'm too busy being bored to get up."
The wolf pressed the latch, and the door opened. He stepped inside, went straight to the grandfather's bed, and ate him up in all of his lounging. Then he took his clothes, put them on, and put his cap on his head. He got into his couch and pulled the blanket up.
Little R.E.D Sheath had run after flowers, and did not continue on her way to grandfather's until she had gathered all that she could carry. When she arrived, she found, to her surprise, that the door was open. She walked into the parlor, and everything looked so strange that she thought, "Oh, my God, why am I so afraid? I usually like it at Grandfather Apollo's." Then she went to the bed and pulled back the curtains. Grandfather was lying there with his cap pulled down over his face and looking very strange.
"Oh, Grandfather Apollo, what big ears you have!"
"All the better to hear you with."
"Oh, Grandfather Apollo, what big eyes you have!"
"All the better to see you with."
"Oh, Grandfather Apollo, what small hands you have! I could have sworn they were twice that size!"
"All the better to…er…play piano with?"
"Oh, Grandfather Apollo, you hate piano! And what a horribly big mouth you have!"
"All the better to eat you with!" And with that he jumped out of bed, jumped on top of poor Little R.E.D Sheath, and ate her up. As soon as the wolf had finished this tasty bite, he climbed back into bed, fell asleep, and began to snore very loudly.
Artemis, who was Apollo's sister and thus Little R.E.D Sheath's great-aunt, was just passing by. She thought it strange that her brother was snoring so softly, so he decided to take a look. She stepped inside, and in the bed there lay the wolf that he had been hunting for such a long time. "He has eaten my brother, but perhaps he still can be saved. I won't shoot him," thought the huntsman. So she took a pair of scissors and cut open his belly.
She had cut only a few strokes when he saw the red sheath shining through. He cut a little more, and the girl jumped out and cried, "Oh, I was so frightened! It was so dark inside the wolf's body!"
And then the grandmother came out alive as well. Then Little R.E.D Sheath fetched some large heavy stones. They filled the wolf's body with them, and when he woke up and tried to run away, the stones were so heavy that he fell down dead.
The three of them were happy. The huntswoman took the wolf's pelt. The grandfather ate the ambrosia and drank the nectar that Little R.E.D Sheath had brought. And Little R.E.D. Sheath thought to herself, "As long as I live, I will never leave the path and run off into the woods by myself if mother tells me not to."
Huntswoman Artemis was greatly loved by those who saw the body of the wolf, and Grandfather Apollo had no lasting effects. Little R.E.D. Sheath became a huntswoman like Artemis and was called "R.E.D. with a Sheath that now Contains a Sword that Really Really Hurts." Or R.E.D. Sheath for short.
Cast:
Little R.E.D. Sheath-Rachel Elizabeth Dare
Grandfather Apollo-Apollo
Wolf-Zeus
Huntswoman-Lady Artemis
Well, there's another one done. Thanks again to C-Nuggets N.L and anyone else who reviewed. Next may be Hansel and Gretel, as suggested by alex jones. Thanks!
