Once upon a time, there lived an old mother goat, who had seven kids in a small house. She loved her children very much and had to protect them all the time from the wicked wolf. The wolf was always waiting for a chance to eat the seven baby goats.
One day, when the mother goat had to go to the market, she said to them: "Dear children, I am going to the market. Till I return, don't allow anybody to come into the house. Don't open the door till I come. Be careful about the wolf. He will try to enter the house pretending to be someone else. But you can recognize him by his deep and rough voice and his black paws. If he gets inside the house, he will eat up all of you. Be careful!"
"Don't worry mother! We will not allow anybody else to enter the house!" said the children. As soon as the mother goat left, the children started playing. They jumped on each other and ran about the house.
Soon, they heard a knock on the door. It was the wolf who had seen the mother goat going to the market and had come to eat the baby goats. "Who is there?" One of the children asked. "It is me, children. It is your mother. Open the door. I have brought you gifts!"
The children recognised the wolf’s voice and said "You are not our mother! Your voice is deep and rough. Our mother's voice is soft and gentle. You are the big bad wolf, go away!"
The wolf immediately ran to the grocer's shop and shouted. "Give me some chalk or I will eat you up!" The grocer gave him a piece of chalk. The wolf ate the chalk. His voice became soft and gentle.
He ran to the goat's house and said "Open the door, my children! It's your mother back from the market. Open up, I have brought something for you!" As he said, he rested his paws on the window sill. The children saw his black and hairy paws and said "No, you are not our mother. You have black paws. Our mother has nice white feet. Go away! we will not open the door!"
On hearing this, the wolf ran to the baker and said "Spread some dough on my paws or I will eat you up!" The baker did as the wolf said. Next, the wolf ran to the miller and said: "Spread some flour on my paws or I will eat you up!" The miller spread some flour on his paws. Now, the wolf’s paws appeared white and clean like the mother-goat's. He again ran to the goat's house and knocked "Open up children! It's me, your mother!"
"Show us your feet first!" said the children. The wolf showed his paws from the window. The children saw the white paws and mistook them to be their mother's. They opened the door. In rushed the wolf. The children were shocked to see the wolf. They fled and tried to hide wherever they could. One jumped under the table, the second into the bed, the third into the oven, the fourth into the kitchen, the fifth into the cupboard, the sixth into the washbowl and the seventh into the big grandfather clock.
But the wolf found them and swallowed all of them, except the seventh who was hiding in the clock. After eating so much, the wolf felt very drowsy. He crawled out in the yard, laid down under a tree and went to sleep.
Soon, the mother goat came home. She was surprised to see the door open. When she called out for her children, she was greeted with silence. With a heavy heart, she searched the house. Finally, she found her youngest son hiding in the clock. She asked him: "What happened, son? Where are the others?" He told her about the wolf.
They came out and spotted the wolf lying under a tree. The mother goat took her son aside and said: "I think we can save your brothers. Bring me the scissors!" The baby goat hurried inside the house and returned with the scissors. The mother goat took the scissors and cut open the wolfs stomach. To their delight, the six kids jumped out one after the other.
As they jumped about happily, the mother goat quietened them down and said: "Quick, bring me as many stones as you can!" The children collected some stones and gave it to their mother. She quickly filled the stones in the wolf’s belly and sewed it up. Then she hid with her children in the nearby bushes.
The wolf soon woke up. He felt thirsty. When he got up to go to the well to drink some water, he felt very heavy and thought: 'What rumbles and tumbles, against my poor bones? I thought they were kids, But I fear they are stones?" He crawled up to the well. As he bent over the wall to drink some water, the stones dragged him over the edge. He fell in the well and drowned. The seven kids danced and shouted "The wolf is dead! The wolf is dead!" They were very happy.
