A Strange Tale

Little red riding boots hang from laces on a hook on a wall, a warning for my granddaughter. I want to say that there are wolves out there, that abandoned footwear are occasionally found in the backwoods. I don’t want to scare her so I just mention that not all Fairy Tales are true. Today while we were walking we found several discarded children’s shoes along a forest path. I shivered suspecting a new grizzly tale unfolding. The little girl looked at me and grinned. To my surprise I saw for the first time that her teeth were very strong and sharp, she was drooling, and her eyes glinted with a wolfish anticipation.