
Ek het ‘n studie gemaak van Rooikappie en die Wolf. Dit het als so begin: Sodra ons terug by die skool is na die lockdown – volgende week 8 Maart – is ons opdrag gegee om in elke jaargroep ‘n tradisionele storie te neem en ‘iets anders’ daarmee te doen. Vir ons jaargroep is Rooikappie gegee en ons gaan die kinders kry om hul storie te skryf vanaf ‘n ander karakter se oogpunt hulle kan kies: die wolf, Rooikappie, die Ouma of die houtkapper. Dit is ‘n lekker manier om dit so bietjie ‘fun’ te maak en dis altyd interessant om te sien waarmee die kinders na vore kom. In my rondsoeke na idees om my voorbereiding te doen, het ek afgekom op verskeie interessante artikels en geskiedenis wat my gelei het na meer ‘n studie as om aan beplanning te werk – alhoewel die beplanning ook op die ou end darem gedoen is! Ek was taamlik erg geskok om te sien wat oorspronklik deel was van hierdie ‘onskuldige’ storie! Sien die aangehaalde gedeeltes in blou.
Ek het onder andere op die dokument van die Britse hoofbiblioteek afgekom en ek het die PDF dokument hier ook opgelaai in die inskrywing vir jou om af te laai en self deur te lees. Ek het hier ‘n gedeelte aangehaal. Ook met die lees van artikels, het ek op ‘n blog van ‘n Onderwyseres afgekom waar sy 25 variasies van Rooikappie het! Ek het ook uitgevind dat daar nie minder as 85 variasies bestaan! Dis net ongelooflik hoeveel studie daar rondom die storie gemaak is. In die volgende afbeelding kan die oorsprong van soortgelyke stories gesien word. Ek het die artikels baie interessant gevind en nooit geweet dat daar soveel variasies bestaan nie! Gelukkig is die variasie van Charles Perrault verander – met ‘n gelukkige einde, maar is ook die ‘aaklige’ gedeelte verwyder!
Aanhaling van die dokument hierbo geplaas. Quote from the document by the British Library – the PDF in this entry for you to download and to read in your own time.
Charles Perrault’s tale of Le Petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding-Hood) first appears with four other stories in a manuscript Contes de ma Mère l’Oye, which was offered to Élisabeth Charlotte d’Orléans, the niece of King Louis XIV, in 1695.
According to Marie Françoise Quignard, Charles Perrault rewrote tales which had been transcribed from the stories of nurses and old women by his son Pierre Perrault d’Armancour. Charles had the tales beautifully written out, and illustrated them himself with little gouache paintings at the head of each story, but signed the dedicatory letter with his son’s name in order to obtain him a post as secretary to Elisabeth Charlotte. The manuscript is now in the Pierpont
Morgan Library in New York. The tales were intended to be read aloud, as the introduction refers to ‘those who listen’ to the tales. There are corrections to the manuscript, possibly by Perrault, and, in the story of Red Riding-Hood, beside the last reply of the wolf that his big teeth are ‘to eat you with’, a note says that these words should be spoken in a loud voice in order to frighten the listening child.
Three more stories were added to the first printed edition Histoires ou contes du temps passé published in 1697 by Claude Barbin. Le Petit Chaperon rouge is the shortest story in the collection. The heroine is a little girl who is idolized by her mother and grandmother; the latter making a little ‘chaperon’ for her to wear. The Dictionnaire de l’Académie Française of 1694 defines chaperon as a padded medieval bonnet, and also as a strip of cloth, in velvet, satin or camelot (a material which was a mixture of goat hair, wool and silk), worn by girls and women who were not of the nobility, ‘not long ago’. It was therefore mainly ornamental and quite small, very different from the enveloping capes shown in most English language
illustrations of the story. The painted illustration (which is coloured) in the 1695 manuscript shows Red Riding-Hood in bed about to be eaten by the wolf, who is emerging from the curtains at the back of the bed. Red Riding-Hood wears a strip of red cloth laid over her head from her forehead back over her hair as far as her neck. In the first printed edition the engraved line drawing by Antoine Clouzier is not an exact copy of the painting. The image
is reversed (by the printing process) and one can see more clearly that the wolf is beneath the covers of the bed, as described in the story. The little piece of cloth on the heroine’s head is just visible. Speculation that this is a picture of Grandmother, because the wolf has no clothes on, is belied by the presence of the red headdress in the original picture 3 Perrault does not describe the wolf putting on Grandmother’s clothes, but he does mention that she is ‘en son déshabillé’, implying a nightdress or shift. Perrault has not shown this, perhaps for the sake of a clearer image; one can excuse him on the grounds that the wolf was
‘showing his true nature’.
The Dictionnaire de l’Académie Française also explains that an older woman who wore this type of headdress was known as a Grand chaperon, a woman who accompanied young girls, whom we would now call a chaperone. In the eighteenth century a riding-hood or capuchin. was a large, soft hood with a deep cape attached, faced with a coloured lining, worn by all
classes, and not just for riding. It was generally black with a bright lining.4 This is the garment usually depicted in illustrations, but of course red and not black. So perhaps Robert Samber, who first translated the stories of Perrault into English in 1764, thought that a chaperon translated as a ‘capuchin’, the alternative name for a riding-hood. The rolling r’s of ‘Red Riding-Hood’ certainly sounded well.
Perrault tells all his Contes very economically, in a precise, polished style. Le Petit Chaperon rouge is as brutal as the original version of Cinderella. The little girl meets the wolf in the forest, and asks where she is going. On hearing that she is to visit her grandmother, he runs ahead and eats the old lady, and then takes her place in bed. When Red Riding-Hood arrives, he pretends to be the old lady, and the little girl assumes that his gruff voice is due to a cold. He tells the little girl to undress and lie down beside him, a detail which is expurgated in later
versions. Then follows the famous exchange of comments on the size of his arms, legs, ears, eyes, and finally teeth. Giving the terrible reply that his big teeth are to eat her with, he promptly gobbles her up. End of story, with no rescue. The verse moral explains that young ladies should be on their guard against human wolves. And the most dangerous sort of human wolves are pleasant and gentle, and follow girls into houses and alleys.
In 1729 an English translation of Perrault’s stories by Robert Samber was published by J. Pote and R. Montague as Histories or Tales of Past Times. Samber translates Perrault’s text exactly; the wolf eats up Red Riding-Hood. The only addition is that he calls the little girl Biddy, and the wolf Gossop Wolfe, a name which in a later anonymous version turns into Gossip Wolf. Samber makes Red Riding-Hood his first story, whereas Perrault begins with La Belle au bois dormant, and Le Petit Chaperon rouge is second. The illustrations in Samber’s translation, which are copperplate engravings, copy those by Clouzier in the first French edition.
The German Romantic writer Ludwig Tieck, who wrote a number of fairy tales,
published a dramatic poem in 1800 about Red Riding-Hood, Leben und Tod des kleinen Rotkäppchens. An English translation of this was published in 1851 by Groombridge and Sons: The Life and Death of Little Red Riding-Hood, a tragedy, by Jane Browning Smith, illustrated by John Mulready. See this link: https://books.google.co.uk/books id=jfcIAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Tieck introduces extra characters, both human and animal.
Red Riding-Hood and her friend Jenny blow dandelions to see how long they will live. Red Riding-Hood’s seeds blow away instantly, indicating a short life. A dog has a philosophical dialogue with the wolf about the advantages of being a servant and protector of man, or a free agent and his enemy. The wolf hates man because his mate was killed by peasants, and he was ill-treated and hunted. The wolf kills Red Riding-Hood, and is shot by a huntsman, but too late to save her, and two robins mourn her fate (fig. 3).
In their version, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm provide a happy ending. After the wolf has eaten grandmother and the child, a hunter enters the house and cuts open the wolf, releasing them both. The child fetches stones to fill the wolf ’s stomach, and he dies. The Grimms also provide an alternative ending in which Red Riding-Hood is alarmed by the wolf ’s fierce expression, and runs to her grandmother’s house. They shut the door to keep the wolf out.
He waits on the roof, until grandmother fills a trough with the water in which she has cooked sausages, and the wolf, tempted down by the smell, falls in the trough and drowns.


Ek het dit eers besef toe ek self ‘n ma was, van die eintike storie agter ‘n storie, soos Rooikappie. Dalk was Rooikappie nooit vir my as wreed aangebied nie. Die wolf het wel vir ouma ingesluk en die houtkapper en wie nog almal, maar dit was nooit erg vir my nie. Dalk omdat ek genadiglik nie aan wreedheid in my eie lewe blootgestel nie. Eers toe het ek die ware les van Rooikappie besef. En dit is eintlik wonderlik van kinderstories, om ons dinge te leer en ons doen dit eintlik onbewustelik. Maar ja, vandag besef ek dat daar baie Rooikappies is en wolwe …
Hi Toorts, Dit is soos jy se, jy het nie die werklike storie se betekenis verstaan nie, dit was maar net nog ‘n oulike storietjie waar die slegte wolf die ouma wou opeet en gelukkig was sy gered. Het jy gesien wat was die oorspronklike storie deur Perrault? Sy idee was basies wat ons vandag pedofiele noem! Gelukkig is die storie verander. As jy na die een gedeelte kyk wat van die PDF is, word daar gese dat Rooikappie het haar self ontklee en saam met die wolf in die bed geklim! 🤯
Genade!
[…] skryf van ‘n oulike projek wat hulle by die skool gaan doen. Hulle gaan die storie van Rooikappie van ‘n ander kant […]
Dear Nikita:
I tip my hat to you for your unbelievably creative and comprehensive blog on South African, and other, “stuff”. For a former South African who has been living in America since 1964, I am not able to stop “reading this” and then “reading that” etc. etc. And yes, I enjoy the videos (e.g. Mannetjies Roux, Naas Botha and the lady singing the Mannetjies Roux song)
Despite the English name, I am actually an Afrikaner who came to America to do my doctorate, and who then taught at five universities here in America. My ma was ‘n Venter van Colesberg, en my pa was van Riebeek Kasteel en Moorreesburg.
I love all the Afrikaans poems. I used to visit my Ouma and Oupa Smith in The Strand quite often, and think of “Die Vissersknaap”. I appreciate all the updated information on SA’s history, and often think of “Die Brand” (about the Boere Oorlog). (I have not checked to see whether these two poems are included in your list of poems.)
Ai tog, thanks ever so much Nikita for the happiness you bring to this aging former South African. Ek skuld jou 100 koppies koffie. Vergewe tog al die Engels. My vrou is van Malmesbury en ons praat nog ‘n bietjie Afrikaans hier by die huis, maar my Afrikaans het oor die jare baie versleg.
Dankie. Dankie. Thank you. Thank you.
As we say in America, “keep on trucking” with your wonderful blog.
Most sincerely and with kind regards. Alles van die beste.
Charles Smith
Hallo Charles, Ek onthou jou! Jy het voorheen ook so dierbare boodskap op my blog geplaas!! Ag siestog, ek voel vir jou en ek is totaal MET jou oor hoe jy voel en dink. Ek is dieselfde. Ek sal moet daardie gedigte opkyk en dit hier op my blog plaas, ek glo nie ek het dit nie. Jy het nou waarlik my dag gemaak met jou pragtige boodskap hier. Jy is altyd meer as welkom hier en laat my gerus van NOG gedigte weet – ek weet jy sal die kennis he. By watter Universiteite het jy klas gegee? Dit sal interessant wees om te weet. Wat het jy gedoseer? Ek gee nie om vir die Engels nie, enige tyd – skryf wat vir jou gemaklik is! Kom weer en ek sal graag meer van jou wil weet. Waar bly julle – watter stad? Ek hou daarvan om oor plekke ook te blog! Lekker dag!
Nikita:
Ek het vergeet dat ek in 2017 met jou kontak gemaak het. Is jy nog in die UK? Ja? Wat maak jy daar?
I saw that you sent me the “Die Brand” poem. I remember it well and fondly. As you have stated, expressions in Afrikaans are so much more meaningful and effective than in English. (And as we all know, it is probably the only language that has as one of its favorite expressions something so strange as “ja nee!!” – a positive and a negative next to each other that is supposed to carry meaning. Ja nee!!
In Std 5 one day, while the teacher was out of the classroom, I recited “Die Brand” out loud for my fellow-students to hear. While doing so, in walks the teacher who then came over to me ….. en sy het vir my deer my gesig geslaan!!! So be it, “Die Brand” remains one of my all-time favorite poems.
Nikita: I continue to be amazed at your commitment with your blog to so many people whom you have probably never met in person. God bless you. Alles wat goed is vir jou my vriend.
Charles
Wow, Charles, Ek kan NIE glo dat daardie Onderwyser dit gedoen het nie!!! HOE GEMEEN!!! Liewe aarde, wat het HAAR besiel om DIT te doen!! Regtig LAAG en gemeen!! Jammer om dit te hoor!! Ja, nog steeds in die UK en ek hou skool! Laerskool Onnie hier. 🙂
Naand Nikita.
My Amerikaanse storie is redelik lank.
I did my Ph.D in accounting (rekeningkunde soos ek onthou) at Penn State University (state of Pennsylvania – east coast), and then took professor positions: first at the. University of Washington (Seattle – west coast), then Texas at Austin, then Arizona Sate, then Illinois (Urbana-Champaign – mid-west), and then I returned to Penn State (my American alma mater) as the chair of the accounting department. America is an incredible country with its many opportunities if you are willing to operate in competitive mode. In addition to my journey through America, I was also able to travel the world. My journey through America enabled me to experience the social and geographic differences that this country has to offer. I learned a ton from all these experiences.
The Pennsylvania State University is located in the middle of the state of Pennsylvania – a rather beautiful state with its hills and trees. (Pennsylvanians refer to these hills as mountains. They are large hills!!!) Our town’s name is State College. It is a beautiful university town. We have approx. 45,000 students at Penn State, and the population of State College is approx. 42,000. We are essentially 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours by car from cities such as Philadelphia, New York and Washington, DC.
We do have snow in he winter!!!!
Genoeg vir nou. Lekker om met jou te gesels Nikita. Ek hou duim vas vir die Bokke in 2023!!!!
Gesondhuid deur die COVID “seisoen”.
Charlie
Hi Charles, Ek glo jy geniet Amerika en dankie vir die verskillende state se inligting, dit klink regtig interessant en dit klink asof jy ‘n interessante lewe gehad het tot dusver met al die dat jy kon rondtoer! Daardie land is net te groot vir my, ongelooflik groot. Ek het so paar jaar terug ‘n jonger jaargroep geteach en ons het die USA gedoen – die 50 state se name geleer en die geografiese ligging, ens en toe meer oor die Amerikaanse Indiane geleer – al die groepe ens en hul stories en ons eie Coyote-stories geskryf ook! Ek sal bietjie daardie stad opkyk! Ek het ‘n aanlyn skaakvriend wat nou afgetree is, maar hy het in Cleveland by die grootste biblioteek gewerk. Baie interessant! Bly veilig aan jou kant!
is ales reg su en dit help vir ons gud altaans vir my hel it goed wanr my onderwyser het vir ons n opdrad gegee om n storie te soek en te reprezent om voor in die klas te kom praat en ek kan net op u blad gaan en n story soek want ek sien hier is taamlik baie stories su dit help my baie baie goed en daar mee se ek baie dankie ek waardeur dit baie
Hi Nicole, Welkom op my blad en ek is bly die stories help jou. Ek kan dalk nog stories oplaai as jy nodig het, laat weet maar. Sterkte met die ‘presentation’. Laat weet hoe dit gegaan het!