Household Tales · Chapter
The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids explained
An old goat leaves her seven kids at home, warning them about the wolf.
What happens
An old goat leaves her seven kids at home, warning them about the wolf. The wolf tricks them by disguising his voice and paws, and eats six of them. The mother goat returns, finds the youngest hidden in the clock-case, and together they cut open the sleeping wolf's stomach, rescuing the kids. They fill the wolf's stomach with stones, and when he goes to drink, he falls into a well and drowns.
Themes in this chapter
Virtue Rewarded and Vice Punished
The wolf's deceit and greed lead to his drowning, while the mother goat's cleverness and the kids' obedience result in their rescue and joyful reunion.
Family Dynamics and Betrayal
The mother goat's love and protective instincts contrast with the wolf's betrayal of trust, highlighting the strength of family bonds.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“The wretch often disguises himself, but you will know him at once by his rough voice and his black feet.”
The villain frequently changes his appearance, but you can recognize him immediately by his harsh voice and dark feet.
The mother goat warns her kids about the wolf's typical disguises.
“Then the wolf went away to a shopkeeper and bought himself a great lump of chalk, ate this and made his voice soft with it.”
The wolf then went to a shopkeeper, bought a large piece of chalk, ate it, and thereby softened his voice.
The wolf's first attempt to deceive the kids by altering his voice.
“The little kids cried, “First show us thy paws that we may know if thou art our dear little mother.””
The little kids demanded, 'First show us your paws so we can be sure you are our dear mother.'
The kids' cautious request before opening the door.
“Then the kid had to run home and fetch scissors, and a needle and thread, and the goat cut open the monster’s stomach, and hardly had she make one cut, than one little kid thrust its head out, and when she cut farther, all six sprang out one after another, and were all still alive, and had suffered no injury whatever, for in his greediness the monster had swallowed them down whole.”
The kid ran home to get scissors, needle, and thread, and the mother goat cut open the wolf's stomach. With the first cut, one kid popped out, and as she cut further, all six emerged alive and unharmed because the wolf had swallowed them whole in his greed.
The dramatic rescue of the six kids from the wolf's stomach.
“What rumbles and tumbles Against my poor bones? I thought ’twas six kids, But it’s naught but big stones.”
What is rumbling and bumping against my poor bones? I thought it was six kids, but it's only big stones.
The wolf's realization after waking up with stones in his stomach.