A fairy tale kingdom was ravaged by storm

With snow blanket making the landscape transform.

The forest was barren, no creature in sight;

All went into hiding, prepared for the night.

 

But deep in the woods was a little old shack

That creaked from great gales of the winter’s attack.

The woman who owned it had already left

For winter had left her last food stores bereft.

 

Bags dragging behind her, she trudged through the town,

Then one boy came over at seeing her frown.

The woman was glad it was he that had helped.

(She knew her granddaughter was friends with this whelp.)

 

“I’m leaving,” she told him, “for somewhere with sand.

Hawaii, Tahiti, or maybe Thailand.”

She called for a taxi and said with a smile,

“Let my family know I’ll be gone for a while.”

 

He nodded and went to do just as she’d asked,

But then a new thought came to mind unabashed:

The house all abandoned would be so discreet,

A place that good friends could quite secretly meet.

 

The woman’s granddaughter, who learned of this news,

Made haste to her mother and gave an excuse,

“To Grandma’s I go as she’s getting quite sick.

I want to make sure that her cold doesn’t stick.”

 

The girl’s mother frowned and looked out to the trees.

“I don’t think it’s safe. If you go out, you’ll freeze.

The wind has no mercy and makes no allies.

Sans even a coat, you'll be hospitalized!”

 

“I need to leave now to be grandmother’s nurse;

To wait any longer will leave her much worse.

You can’t stop me leaving,” the little girl spoke.

“But to make you happy, I’ll wear this red cloak.”

 

Her mother backed down at the look in her eyes.

(She knew all she’d get was this one compromise.)

And so the girl left, head to toe clad in red.

She paused just to grab a full basket of bread.

 

Though path through the forest was lost under snow,

Red riding hood knew clearly just where to go.

Her footfalls were sure as she passed through the trees.

With nothing to stop her, she moved with great ease.

 

At last the girl reached her goal deep in the woods.

She ran to the cottage as fast as she could,

To see a fire lit, silk sheets counted by thread,

And someone sprawled naked atop grandma’s bed.

 

Eyes wandered his body so sinfully posed –

Her boyfriend, the bad wolf in grandmother’s clothes!

She leaned down to kiss him and said with a leer,

 “Oh darling, what wonderful lips you have here.”