My friend Vincenza is a retired Italian language teacher who’s been learning English with me for a while now. Recently we set ourselves the project of translating a version of the traditional fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood. It was quite challenging, and a lot of fun. Here’s what we ended up with:

“Now, are you sitting comfortably? Good, then we’ll begin.” I grew up with this phrase from BBC’s Listen With Mother, in England during the 60’s.

Once upon a time there lived on the borders of a great forest a woodman and his wife who had one little daughter, a sweet, kind child, whom every one loved. She was the joy of her mother’s heart, and to please her, the good woman made her a little scarlet cloak and hood, and the child looked so pretty in it that everybody called her Little Red Riding-Hood

Una volta vivevano ai margini di una grande foresta un boscaiolo e la moglie che avevano una figlioletta, una dolce, gentile bambina, che tutti amavano. Era la gioia del cuore della mamma e, per farle piacere, la buona donna le fece un piccolo mantello scarlatto col cappuccio, e la bambina appariva così bella quando lo indossava che tutti la chiamavano Cappuccetto Rosso.

One day her mother told her she meant to send her to her grandmother, a very old woman who lived in the heart of the wood, to take her some fresh butter and new-laid eggs and a nice cake. Little Red Riding-Hood was very pleased to be sent on this errand, for she liked to do kind things, and it was so very long since she had seen her grandmother that she had almost forgotten what the dame looked like.

Un giorno la madre le disse che intendeva mandarla dalla nonna, una donna molto vecchia che viveva nel cuore del bosco, per portarle del burro e uova fresche e una buona torta. Cappuccetto Rosso era molto contenta di essere mandata a fare questa commissione, poiché amava fare cose gentili, ed era passato così tanto tempo da quando aveva visto la nonna che aveva quasi dimenticato il suo aspetto.

The sun was shining brightly, but it was not too warm under the shade of the old trees, and Red Riding-Hood sang with glee as she gathered a great bunch of wild flowers to give to her grandmother. She sang so sweetly that a wood pigeon flew down from a tree and followed her.

Il sole splendeva brillante, ma non faceva troppo caldo sotto l’ombra dei vecchi alberi, e Cappuccetto Rosso cantava con gioia mentre coglieva un grande mazzo di fiori selvatici da regalare alla nonna. Cantava così dolcemente che un colombaccio volò giù da un albero e la seguì.

Illustration by Gustave Doré for Little Red Riding Hood. CC Public Domain.

Now, it happened that a wolf, a very cruel, greedy creature, heard her song also, and longed to eat her for his breakfast, but he knew Hugh, the woodman, was at work very near, with his great dog, and he feared they might hear Red Riding-Hood cry out, if he frightened her, and then they would kill him. So he came up to her very gently and said:

Ora, accadde che anche un lupo, una creatura molto crudele e golosa, sentì il suo canto, e desiderò ardentemente mangiarla per colazione, ma sapeva che Hugh, il boscaiolo, era al lavoro molto vicino, con il suo grosso cane, e temeva che essi potessero sentire gridare Cappuccetto Rosso, se lui l’avesse spaventata, e quindi lo avrebbero ucciso. Così si avvicinò a lei molto delicatamente e disse:

“Good day, Little Red Riding-Hood; where are you going?”

“Buon giorno, Cappuccetto Rosso; dove stai andando?”

“To see my grandmother,” said the child, “and take her a present from mother of eggs and butter and cake.”

“A trovare mia nonna”, disse la bambina,”e a portarle un dono di uova e burro e torta da parte della mamma”.

“Where does your grandmamma live?” asked the wolf.

“Dove vive tua nonna?” chiese il lupo.

“Quite in the middle of the wood,” she replied.

“Proprio nel mezzo del bosco”, replicò lei.

“Oh! I think I know the house. Good day, Red Riding-Hood.” And the wolf ran off as fast as he could.

“Oh! Penso di conoscere la casa. Buon giorno, Cappuccetto Rosso.” E il lupo corse via più veloce che poté.

End of part 1.

You can find part 2 HERE and part 3 HERE