Once upon a time, there was a mother goat who lived with her seven little goats in a very pretty little house in a very quiet village, where everyone knew each other. One day, the mother goat said:
"Children, I have to go to the market. There's no fruit, so I'm going to buy some. Since we live very close to the center, it won't take me long. You know, don't open the door to anyone! The wolf is always lurking, and he's very clever!"
"Yes, Mother! We won't open the door to anyone, to anyone!" said the little goats.
The wolf, who was indeed very clever, was hiding very close to the little house, waiting for the right moment to...
He saw the mother goat close the door and leave, leaving the little ones alone.
Very pleased, the wolf waited a few minutes and, very slowly, very slowly, he approached the door and knocked (knock, knock!), changing his voice to trick the little goats. He said:
"My little ones, my little ones, open the door, I've forgotten my key!" he said.
But his voice was very unpleasant, and his paws were black and ugly. The little goats said:
"You're not our mother! You won't fool us, you bad wolf!"
The wolf, who had heard that drinking egg whites cleared one's voice, went to the market and stole a dozen eggs, which he ate right away. He then returned to the little goats' house and said:
"Knock, knock! It's Mommy! Open up!"
The little goats hesitated… but the eldest said:
"You won't fool us, you bad wolf! You're not Mommy, your paws are very ugly and black!"
The wolf then went back to the market and stole a sack of flour. He put his paws in the sack, and when they were nice and white, he ran back to the little house.
"Knock, knock! I'm here, my little ones, open up!"
The little goats peeked under the door and saw some white paws. They hesitated. They didn't know whether to open it or not, but the smallest one, who was very clever, said:
"Wait, don't open it yet. It might be the big bad wolf... Let's ask him something only Mommy knows!" And he said:
"What's our favorite song?"
The wolf didn't know what to say. He remained silent!
Then the little goats rang a little bell that their mother had installed to call for help in case of emergency.
When the wolf heard the bell, he got scared and ran far away.
When Mother Goat returned, the little goats told her everything. She hugged them all and said:
"How clever you've been, my little ones! I'm so proud of you!"
"I'm so proud of you!" The wolf, ashamed of his bad deeds, promised that he would never scare the village children again, and that he would always behave very well.
From that day on, they all lived happily ever after.
Little friend, never open the door to strangers, and if you have any doubts, remember the song that Mother Goat sang to her kids every night. Do you know which one it was? No?
I'll tell you. It went like this:
“If someone knocks and you don't know who it is,
it's best to wait and think carefully.
Not everyone who speaks with a sweet voice
is your mother, your friend, or your grandmother.”
...And that's the end of the story, children!