"The Werewolf" Sarah Brennan

"It was a huge one, with red eyes and running, grizzled chops; any but a mountaineer's child would have died of fright at the sight of it. It went for her throat, as wolves do, but she made a great swipe at it with her father's knife and slashed off its right forepaw."

This story reminded me of a creepier version of Little Red Riding Hood. However, the little girl in this version was not an innocent and helpless child. She seemed to understand the creatures that haunted the forest. This passage was interesting to me because when the mother sends the child to visit the grandmother who is 5 miles away, I get a sense that this is a very dangerous mission and not meant for a young lady. Unlike Little Red Riding Hood, this girl was ready to defeat the beast. I kind of get the sense that this girl is the werewolf in the story, I feel like she is actually the evil one. Earlier in the story it mentions that "the Devil is as real as you or I", and I think Carter is portraying the little girl as the Devil in this section. She has no pity nor any sense of fear when she cuts off the paw of the wolf. In the passage above Carter suggests that anyone else would have died at the sight of such a frightening creature.