(aproximate length, 2 pages)

Natalie and her little toy cow had been walking for simply ages through the forest of tall, straight pick-up-stick trees. "Moo," the cow moaned softly.
"Be quiet," said Natalie.
"But I'm hungry," the cow complained.
"You're always hungry, and you had some nice grass only a couple of hours ago. Besides, explorers are supposed to get a bit hungry sometimes. It's all part of exploring. Now be quiet."
"Can't I have a biscuit from the little cupboard?"
"Now cow, how?" pointed out Natalie. "You know the little cupboard's in the kitchen at home. We're in the forest. I haven't got the kitchen in my explorer's bag, you know. That would be silly. There's not enough room for... Sssssh cow, look there."
They both stopped walking and talking, and stared ahead instead. There was a bench in a clearing by the path, twenty yards away. What with the brambly bushes and the bushy brambles, it wasn't easy to see who was on the bench. But they saw enough to realize it was a girl in a red cape and, sitting next to her, a grey animal with tall pointy ears.
"That looks extraordinary," thought Natalie. The two explorers crept quietly forward to get a better view.
"And my mother," they heard the girl in the red cape say, "gets so muddled. Every week, she gives me a huge basket of food to take to granny. And my granny, like all grannies, is only little and eats hardly more than a sparrow. Do you think that's what happens? Big ladies become mummies and little ones become grannies. I wonder. Well anyway, have another ham sandwich." A big furry paw reached down to the basket on the ground and gratefully accepted the invitation. "Now where was I? Oh yes, my mother. She said to me this morning, 'you take this basket to granny and, on the way, don't pick any wolves and don't talk to any flowers."
Natalie was now sure who these figures were. She had often seen them in books. She was also alarmed, because she knew the way the story of Little Red Riding Hood went, with its unpleasant ending. She felt she had to try to save the poor wolf. Taking the little cow up in her arms, she rushed to the bench. "Stop!" she ordered.
With a worried look on his face, the wolf dropped the ham sandwich to the ground. He began to whimper. "Please don't shout so loudly," said Little Red Riding Hood. "My friend gets very nervous."
Natalie was surprised to find her own finger was pointing accusingly at the poor animal's face. Tears were beginning to roll down his cheeks. She dropped her arm to her side and managed to say, "but he's the wolf. He wants to eat you and your granny." He shook his head vigorously, as his tall pointy ears fell down flat, and his snout started to quiver nervously. "And then," Natalie continued uncertainly, "the woodman comes with an axe and has to cut him open and rescue you."
The wolf looked at her in terror, trembling from his head right to the claws of his footpaws. Suddenly, he screamed and flung himself over the back of the bench, and hid from sight behind Little Red Riding Hood. His piteous wails and the shivering of every hair on his pelt were very distressing. "There, there," said Little Red Riding Hood, her foot tapping irritably against the ground. She then addressed herself to Natalie. "Have you quite finished?"
Natalie was speechless. She kept her eyes fixed on the bench, exactly where the wolf was no longer sitting.
"Good," said Red Riding Hood, "because we've finished too. The story is over. And every time our story ends, we like to come here to eat and," she added pointedly, "mind our own business."
Natalie felt rather sad. "I'm very sorry. I was only trying to help."
"That's as may be," stated the girl, "but it's no good saying sorry to me. It's the wolf you've upset. He enjoys our picnics."
For the first time in a long while, the little cow peered over Natalie's arm. "Moo," called her quiet voice, "I like picnics as well."
Natalie sat the cow down on the ground and rummaged in her explorer's bag. "I've got a bag of crisps somewhere. Do you think the wolf might like them, as an apology?" She could see the wolf's nose sniffing interestedly from behind Red Riding Hood's leg. "They're cheese and onion," she added, as she opened the packet.
The wolf wiped his eyes with his handpaw and, after a couple of sniffs and snuffs, his whole head could be seen.
"He's very fond of chocolate," Little Red Riding Hood advised, "if you happen to have any." Natalie found some and gave it to the now smiling wolf.
Following several hours of what turned out to be a lovely picnic, the four parted as firm friends. Natalie and her little toy cow said their goodbyes and walked further into the pick-up-stick forest. For the while, even the cow didn't feel hungry.