CHAPTER 1
In the colorful woods off of Highway 90 in Luling, Louisiana, lived Mr. Blue and his three pigs, Monty, Bobby and Danny. They were getting too big for the blue and white trailer, so Mr. Blue decided it was time for them to go and build their own house and live their lives. Mr. Blue warned the three pigs to be careful and make sure their house was strong, because somewhere in the woods lurked the Gray Wolf. He told them to stay close to the gravel road and don't cross the canal because people were now building houses on the paved road. The three pigs promised to be careful and safe, then started off down the gravel road to look for a place to build their houses.
Monty was lazy and didn't want to walk very far from Mr. Blues farm house. He saw bales of hay lying by the road and decided to build his house with the hay. The three of them hugged, then Bobby and Monty continued on down the road.
Monty felt proud that he built his house so quickly and was ready to settle in for the evening. Not only was his house built, but he could always snack on the hay whenever he got hungry. How smart and clever he was to use hay, he thought to himself. He laid down on his straw floor and relaxed, satisfied that he was safe from the Gray Wolf.
As Bobby and Danny walked farther down the gravel road, Bobby began gathering sticks and branches that had fallen from the oak trees. A patch of sunlight burst through the trees and shined brightly on the beautiful pink, purple and white daisies and the yellow dandelions. Behind the patch was a pile of logs cut from one of the oak trees. Bobby thought it was such a beautiful spot, and he could pick the daisies and wildflowers every day. He decided to build his house there. Danny gave him a hug and Bobby started piling the logs on top of each other to build his house.
Danny continued on as the road became smooth and he came to the canal. Danny turned and looked back at the woods. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw a pile of bricks in a clearing. He smiled to himself and decided he would build his house there. He felt he was far enough from the Gray Wolf and not too close to the people. Then Danny couldn't believe his luck when he saw silver minos swimming in the canal. Food too, he thought to himself. Mr. Blue would be so proud of him. He began stacking the bricks and started rappin',
"Yep, I'm gonna build this house brick by brick ... umhm ... brick by brick I'm gonna build my house. Oh yeah ... brick by brick my house is gonna be suuppperrr thick mmhmm. ... Yeah brick by brick ..." with a bebop sound he continued rappin' and building.
Not far from Danny's house across the canal lived the Red family in a big, sturdy, red, brick house. The Red family moved from Covington, Kentucky a year before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. They moved from Kentucky to be close to Mrs. Red's mother, Ms. Brown.
Raven, their youngest daughter always wore the color red. Her thick, black plaits adorned bright red ribbons and her chesnut, brown eyes glowed. Raven loved wearing red so much that everyone called her 'Little Red'. She thought it was so cool that her last name was Red and it was also her favorite color.
Mrs. Red came home one day and brought Little Red a sparkling red hoodie with tiny red sequence on the sleeves and around the hood. Her smooth walnut skin radiated from the sequences surrounding her plump, round, face.
"Oh Mama, it's beautiful, yeah!" The hoodie hung off her small waist and spilled over her her blue jeans. Little Red looked down at her red converse, "It even makes my red 'chucks' shine". She smiled, then ran her fingers along the red sequence on the sleeves and around the red sequence that surrounded the hood,
"Mama, now everybody might start calling me Little Red Riding Hoodie!" She exclaimed. Her mother laughed and put the hood over her thick plaits and smiled,
"That's for true. You are my Little Red Riding Hoodie, and I love you." The two of them hugged, and Little Red said,
"Mama it's so beautiful and I really want to go and show Mawmaw Brown how pretty I look. Mrs. Red hesitated, but Little Red whined and begged to go.
Then her mother remembered Mawmaw's purple basket that she hadn't returned to her.
"Okay, Little Red, you can take Mawmaw's basket back to her. I want you to promise you'll stay on the path and not talk to strangers. Call me when you get there too," Little Red eagerly nodded,
"Okay, I promise." Little Red said. Mrs. Red put her carmel hands on Little Red's cheeks and stared into her pecan, almond shaped eyes and said calmly,
"Raven. ... Little Red Hoodie, or whatever you call yourself, I want you to be careful and safe. The builders said that they seen a Gray Wolf lurkin' around in the woods. So don't talk to strangers, and stay on the path." Little Red nodded and the two of them embraced in a warm hug. Mrs. Red gently kissed her on the cheek and smiled lovingly at her.
Little Red promised to careful and safe, then picked up the purple basket. She gave her mother a quick hug and skipped out the door singing,
"I'm not afraid of the Gray Wolf lurkin, la la la la. I'm not afraid of the Gray Wolf lurkin' in the woods. Cause if I see him I'm gonna knock him out for good. La la la lalahhhh! She started giggling and skipping down the road.
CHAPTER 2
With all the rumbling and tumbling of trees falling and big heavy equipment stirring around, Gray Wolf couldn't sleep at all. His ears hurt from all the noise, and his throat felt sore from all the sawdust that surrounded his home. He needed water and a place to rest. Since all of the noise and racket, he hadn't had a good sleep in days. He stretched, yawned and kicked his heels in the green grass and looked around. His throat felt scratchy and dry, and he needed a drink of water. He stared straight ahead and noticed a small pile of hay. It looked like a house, and Gray Wolf was sure he hadn't seen it there before. After all, everyday new houses were popping up all around him. The wood was getting scarce with all the trees being chopped down, and it was getting harder to find a place for him to rest and call home.
"Water!" Gray wolf thought to himself, and coughed. He started trotting towards the house built of hay.
Monty was lying down, and the sweet smell of hay filled the room. The aroma was so strong it was too much for him to ignore. Monty reached over and pulled a big a plug of straw from the wall and began eating it. Chomp, chomp, crunch, crunch. Knock, knock. Monty stopped chewing in time to hear the knocking sound again. Knock knock. Monty stood up and backed away from the door and asked nervously,
"Who Dat knockin' on my door?"
Gray Wolf huffed and puffed to clear his throat, and the small house shook. Monty looked towards the back door and slid over to it shouting,
"I know it's you Gray Wolf. You can't come in. No, no, you can't have a hair off my chinny chin chin. I will not let you in!"
Gray Wolf shook his head and tried to clear his throat again. He huffed and puffed then out came loud, thundering coughs. The little house collapsed and fell on the Gray Wolf and Monty ran for his life.
Gray wolf stood up and shook himself, but the straw stayed almost completely covering him. He looked around for water, but not finding any, he walked down the gravel road.
Minutes later, Little Red came along and saw the scattered hay not too far from the smooth paved road. She wanted to put some of the hay in Maamaw's...
