Pretty Salma A Little Red Riding Hood Story from Africa

Pretty Salma: A Little Red Riding Hood Story from Africais a West African Red Riding Hood tale taken from Ghana.

In this tale, Salma is sent to the market with a list of items to buy for her Granny. She is given the traditional cautionary comment not to talk to strangers. As she travels, she sings a song, which will prove to be very important later in the story. On her arrival at the market, all goes well and she picks up the items her Granny requested.

The basket on her head grew heavy as the day shortened and she decides to take a short cut home through the "wild side" of town. There she meets Mr. Dog who offers to carry her basket home for her. As the journey continues, he acquires more of her outfit all in the name of helping to lighten her load. Eventually he has a costume he hopes will fool her Granny. As they arrive closer to her home she begins to ask for her items back, but the dog threatens her. Eventually he chases her off and unlike most versions of Red Riding Hood; we discover there is a grandfather in this story.

Salma runs to her grandfather and together they devise a plan to save grandmother from the dog. While Grandmother is curious about many of the dog’s features, she knows her granddaughter will be able to sing the song Salma was singing earlier in the story. While the dog tried he was not able to sing her song. When he tried to learn her song, he was only able to bark. Unfortunately, Grandma does not realize her mistake soon enough. Mr. Dog traps her in her own cooking pot. Thankfully, Grandpa and Salma arrive in time to save her and they are able to enjoy the wonderful things Salma picked up at the market.