to work with the feet first. It was not easy to cut the long and hard nails, although they had softened a lot in the warm lather.
When Red Riding Hood finished cutting the toenails and the fingernails of the old woman, she stood up and said, “Before I trim your nails you should let them dry a little.”
The old woman was very pleased.
“Excellent job, my dear,” the old woman said. “Now it’s my turn to give you something in return.”
“Oh no, I didn’t do this for money. I did it because I like you. You remind me of my grandmother,” Red Riding Hood said and her eyes filled with tears.
“I know, dear,” the old woman said and dipped her feet back into the thick lather. She moved them from side to side as if she was trying to feel the cut nails with her feet. Red Riding Hood could hear the scratching sound of the nails on the bottom of the dishpan.
The old woman removed her feet from the dishpan and said, “Dear, remove all hard objects from the dishpan and put them in this pouch.”
The old woman took a dark brown pouch out of her pocket and Red Riding Hood put her hands in the thick lather. She touched a number of hard objects at the bottom of the dishpan but they didn’t feel like the nails she had cut.
“Oh my God!” Red Riding Hood cried. “I think this is a nugget of gold!” she said as she pulled out one of those hard objects.
“There are many more in the dishpan and in the bowl,” the old woman said.
Red Riding Hood removed all the pieces of gold from the dishpan and the bowl, and put them in the pouch.
“Now, this gold is yours,” the old woman said.
Red Riding Hood remained speechless. Her father had often told her stories of pirates and of hidden chests filled with gold, so she had a fairly good idea of the value of this precious metal.
“Thank you very much, granny,” Red Riding Hood said.
“Take the pouch to your father. I’m sure he’ll make good use of the gold and you’ll never be hungry or short of anything for as long as you live.”
“How about you?” Red Riding Hood asked. “Don’t you need any of this gold? Aren’t you poor, too?”
The old woman took the magic wand out of her pocket and touched its tip on her left shoulder. She immediately changed form.
“Oh my goodness,” exclaimed Red Riding Hood, “You’re so beautiful!”
“I’m the forest fairy, my dear, and this gold will be of no use to me where I’m going.”
“Going?” Red Riding Hood murmured in surprise. “Where are you going, forest fairy?”
“I’m going to the big city,” the fairy replied. “I’m going to live with my sister for a while.”
“Your sister’s a fairy, too?“
“She was the fairy of the stream,” the forest fairy replied.
“You mean she’s not a fairy anymore?”
“No, she lost her wings and her powers as soon as she arrived at the big city. You see, the big city changes anyone who comes from the magic forest. We, the fairies, are the most sensitive of all creatures. We change even before we set foot in the big city. It also changes the gold of this forest into coal.”
“The wolf will change, too?” Red Riding Hood asked.
“Yes, he will change but not as fast as we do. Fairies change by the air they breathe and the water they drink. The wolves change by the food they eat.”
“Do you have to go?” Red Riding Hood whimpered.
“I’m afraid so, my dear. I’ve lived long enough in this magic forest. My time has come to meet someone and fulfill my destiny.”
“Oh, I don’t know what you mean, but I know that I’m going to miss you.”
“Well, you shouldn’t, really. I’ll be back one day and in the meantime you will always be in my heart,” the fairy said and vanished with a flap of her wings.
Now, let’s see what happened to the wolf.
He arrived at the big city very early one morning, when everyone was still in bed. He went straight to the house of his cousin the jackal and knocked at the door. The wolf didn’t know that his cousin had become a man whose name was Jack.
Knock, knock, knock.
Jack had just got out of bed for a drink of water when he heard the knock. Curious about the identity of the night visitor, he looked through the peep hole and saw the wolf.
“Wolf,” he said as he opened the door, “Do come in!”
Of course the big bad wolf didn’t understand the language of the city people but he knew that the person who answered the door was his cousin the jackal. The wolf sniffed the hands and feet of his cousin and then lied peacefully on the floor. Remember, most animals have a very strong smell. So, the wolf had no doubt that the person who answered the door, Jack, was his cousin the jackal from the magic forest.
“Well, don’t you worry about how I look, wolf,” Jack said, “In less than a week you’ll change, too. Just eat and drink anything I give you.”
The wolf growled in agreement and Jack smiled in satisfaction.
“You can stay in the guest’s room for as long as you wish. You’re family, and I’m very glad you came to see me.”
Jack led the way to the guest’s room and the wolf, exhausted from the long journey, lied in bed and fell asleep immediately.
The following day Jack fed the wolf with the kind of food people eat and, within a week, the wolf had changed form. He noticed the changes little by little. Firstly, his hair fell and Jack had to vacuum the room every day. Secondly, his sharp teeth disappeared and then his nose and ears became smaller and smaller. When at the end of the week the wolf looked himself in the mirror, he shouted with a human voice, “Oh my God! I look like a man now!”
“You look great, wolf!” Jack said, “But you need a name and a little schooling to earn your living in the big city. I’ll call you Charlie; it’s a fine name.”
“Yeah, I like it. Charlie it is then,” the wolf, oops, I forgot, Charlie said. “And what’s this about schooling?” he continued.
“Well, I’ll send you to a driving school to learn how to drive a car and get your license. This will help you find a job as a cab driver to earn a living. This is how I started,” Jack said.
Within a month Charlie was a qualified driver and Jack helped him find a job with a taxi company. Charlie stayed with Jack for two months and then found his own apartment. His transformation into a human being was complete and he adapted perfectly to his new life. His full name was Charlie Wolf now.
It was a cold winter evening and Charlie’s shift was about to end when he received a radio call to drive to a specific address in town to pick up a client by the name Felicity Forest. He arrived outside an apartment building and saw a young woman run out of the entrance door and raise her right hand in an effort to catch his attention. Charlie rolled down the window and asked, “Are you Mrs. Felicity Forest?” Both of them looked each other in the eyes and both felt as if they knew each other.
“Yes, I am,” the young woman said and opened the back door of the cab to take her place.
“Where to, Mrs. Forest?” Charlie asked and turned his head to smile to her. He noticed that the young woman was wearing an elegant white coat, white boots and gloves to match.
“To the Maternity Hospital, please!” Felicity replied politely.
During the ride Felicity was trying to focus on her sister who was about to become a mother for the first time. But she couldn’t concentrate. She was sure that she had never seen the cab driver before but she felt as if he was an old acquaintance. Charlie had dark hair, green eyes and a fair complexion.
No, no, I must mistake him with someone else, she thought. Then she noticed the white gloves in his hands. The cab driver was wearing a pair of white gloves!
“May I say that I find it quite unusual for a man to wear white gloves,” Felicity remarked casually and smiled.
Charlie smiled, too, and looked at Felicity through his rear-view mirror.
“They’re very nice, aren’t they?” he said. “They’re
a gift from a very special … person,” Charlie continued. He meant to say animal, instead of person but he bit his tongue.
“I see,” Felicity replied, not showing that her knees were shaking. “Would it be too much to ask you to remove these gloves and pass them on to me?”
“Sure, no problem,” replied Charlie. “Here you are!”
“Thank you!” Felicity said. “You see, white is my favorite color and I may search to find a same pair in the stores.”
Charlie saw that Felicity was sniffing the gloves and thought that it was rather strange.
As soon as Felicity had smelled the gloves her mind flew back to the forest she had left behind and hovered above the cypress trees, danced around the ever complaining willows, rolled down the green carpets of lush meadows, gave a kiss to Red Riding Hood picking flowers and tricked the jackals away from the defenseless creatures of the forest. Oh, how she missed all this.
“Mrs. Forest,” Charlie interrupted her thoughts, “Are you all right?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” replied Felicity, “I was lost in reveries for a while.”
“That’s OK. We’re here, anyway.”
“Oh, we’ve arrived already,” Felicity said a little out of place. “May I ask your name and a favor?”
“Sure, no problem,” Charlie replied with a smile. “I’m Charlie, Charlie Wolf.”
On hearing the name Felicity’s heart skipped a beat but managed to remain calm and asked him the favor she had in mind.
“May I keep your gloves for a couple of days? I know I’m asking too much but I promise to take good care of them. I need to find a pair of these in the