The truth about the Little Red Riding Hood case

1. You are going to read a strange story. In it, a telephone conversation appears; you must order the interviewee's responses in relation to the questions to construct the text.

Today, on our radio program, we are going to interview detective Roberto Ibáñez, famous for having discovered the lies and scandals of quite a few children's story characters in recent years. We want to talk to him about his book published just a few days ago and which is already becoming a bestseller. Manolo has not been able to come to our studio because he is currently at a congress in Ulaanbaatar. I think we have him on the phone now.

Interviewer:

1. Do I have the pleasure of speaking with Manolo Ibáñez?

2. Enrique Sanz, from Radio Singular.

3. Thank you.

4. Good morning, Mr. Ibáñez. First of all, I wanted to congratulate you on your novel, which is sweeping the bookstores. And that is precisely why we are calling you, to ask you about the Riding Hood case. In the first place, we want to know why you decided to investigate this case.

5. And what were those events that, according to you, were repeated?

6. And what was that incredible story they told six times?

7. It seems like a fairly solid story. Why did it seem incredible or suspicious to you?

Answers:

a. One moment, he'll be right with you.

b. No... Who is calling him? Please.

c. Yes? Enrique, tell me...

d. They were as follows: The girl was going to her grandmother's house to bring her a snack (dinner on one occasion). A few hours later, granddaughter and grandmother called the police and told an incredible story. The grandmother's house was destroyed, and the insurance company paid the grandmother a large sum of money. In reality, six large sums of money, because this happened six times—six!

e. Well... there are many reasons... But the main one is that I always seemed to see too many contradictions between the different versions Riding Hood gave, but I very soon discovered that it's not that there are different versions, but rather that the events were repeated several times.

f. The girl said that in the forest she met a wolf and they argued about alternative paths to go to the grandmother's house (Riding Hood's grandmother; the wolf's family is unknown). The wolf arrived first, ate the grandmother, dressed up as the grandmother, and waited for Riding Hood. The girl arrived and, in short, called the grandmother—who was the wolf—ugly, and the wolf ate her. A hunter appeared and took them out alive from the wolf's stomach.

g. In the first place, because if man is the only animal that trips twice over the same stone, Riding Hood is the only girl who trips six times over the same wolf... and always on nights with a full moon, doesn't that seem strange to you?

2. Do you want to know how the story ends? Here is the ending, read it.

- And what is your theory, Mr. Ibáñez?

- We know that werewolves exist and that, logically, means that she-wolves also exist, even grandmother-wolves... Yes, I am sure that Riding Hood's grandmother is a she-wolf; no wolf could look that good in a nightgown and a nightcap... On full moon nights, she destroys the house and then asks the insurance company for the money. For this, she needs her granddaughter's complicity, and together they invent the wolf farce.

- Incredible, you have surprised us once again, Mr. Ibáñez. And who are you investigating now?

- Someone named Cinderella.

- What is strange about Cinderella?

- The glass slipper... If the shoe is part of the enchantment, why is it still made of glass after twelve? Think about it.

- I'm speechless.

3. Say whether this information is true or false, justify the answers.

1. There are 6 versions of the story of Little Red Riding Hood.

2. The wolf ate the grandmother six times.

3. The events always occur on full moon nights.

4. Riding Hood is a wolf-girl.

5. With the farce, the grandmother seeks insurance money.

4. Why do you think the detective narrates the story of Little Red Riding Hood in the imperfect tense?

5. How would the account in point F be if it began like this: “The girl told that...”

6. What is the predominant verb tense now? Why?

Solutions:


To finish, you can check how you did. Here are the keys.

1. 1 – b; 2 – a; 3 – c; 4 – e; 5 – d; 6 – f; 7 – g.

3. 1. F; 2. F; 3.V.; 4. F; 5. V.

4. The detective makes use of what we have called the narrative imperfect, a very common resource in journalistic language, but it must also be taken into account that he is talking about events that have been repeated several times and the use of the imperfect is intentional, on the part of the detective, to emphasize that it did not happen only once.

5. The girl told that in the forest she met / had met a wolf and they argued / had argued about alternative paths to go to the grandmother's house (Riding Hood's, the wolf's family was not known). The wolf arrived / had arrived first, ate / had eaten the grandmother, dressed / had dressed up as the grandmother, and waited / had waited for Riding Hood. The girl arrived / had arrived and, in short, called / had called the grandmother—who was the wolf—ugly, and the latter ate / had eaten her. A hunter appeared / had appeared and took / had taken them out alive from the wolf's stomach.

6. The preterite (indefinido) because the nature of the text is now narrative and, furthermore, the action would be unique, not repeated. Although we could also put most of the verbs in the past perfect (pluscuamperfecto), as they are events prior to the moment of narration, according to the rules of reported speech.

Text by: Carlos Oliva