Like the good little red riding hood that she is, she does as her mother instructs and delivers cake and wine to her sick grandmother. Er...... Cake? What happened to chicken broth or soup for when you're sick?
What's next, spicy Thai food when you have the flu? Uhhmmm, Thai food.....
But it was cake she was on her way to delivering. "Grandmother is to have something good, to make her stronger". I know, I know, I'm thinking it too, it seems an odd choice of food to give to an old woman who's sick but maybe they had different social mores at the time. This was written a long time ago after all. Although it seems to be more of a treat rather than something like broth, something sweet to take her mind off her sickness. It's also a bit of a role reversal as most likely when red riding hood visited her grandmother she would make her something sweet as a treat. Perhaps, something like this?
(www.browneyedbaker.com- the recipe is also here)
Unfortunately for them, the wolf also wants a treat. "What a nice plump mouthful- she will be better to eat than the old woman. I must act craftily so as to catch both". Within these two sentences the themes of cannibalism and deception are offered in children's stories. You would think this unusual, but actually it's quite common. From a Freudian perspective, it would not be read as the wolf 'eating' her. Particularly as there is an overly sexual theme in the story. The "plump mouthful", "devoured her", and of course red riding hood's famous line "Oh! but Grandmother, what a terrible big mouth you have!". The wolf's response "the better to eat you with".
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