Her father was a very respectable farmer but misfortunes and persecutions ruined this worthy man, and was the source of all poor Margery’s troubles.
Just as the good old man cut the skin of the peach, it seemed to burst open and there, inside, lay a tiny little baby boy, smiling up at them.
The wolf thought to himself, ‘That tender young thing would be a delicious morsel, and would taste better than the old one.’
‘Granny!’ Red Riding Hood cried, ‘What very long arms you have got!’ The Wolf answered, ‘The better to hug you, my child.’
The poor child said to the Wolf: ‘I am going to see my grandmother, and carry her a custard and a little pot of butter from my mamma.’
Now, while the old woman was washing the clothes, what should she see but a fine ripe peach that came floating down the stream? The peach was big enough, and rosy red on both sides.
‘Perhaps I can help thee, if thou wilt promise to give me the first thing that rubs itself against thy leg when thou art at home again, and to bring it here in twelve years' time, thou shalt have as much money as thou wilt.’
The wizard flew into a rage, and said, ‘Chop her hands off, otherwise I cannot touch her.’ The miller was terrified, and exclaimed, ‘How can I cut off the hands of my own child?’