Little Red Coat

Summary

A classic fairy tale in both Lunan and Lycan culture, however they have different general versions of the story. It is unclear which came first. The general cast remains the same between versions, with the main character being a girl who is referred to as Red Coat due to wearing a red coat. Other characters seen in every version of the story include Red Coat's grandmother, a hunter, and a wolf who is often a lycanthrope.
While the way it is presented varies, the overall moral is about being careful around strangers. Readers are advised to keep in the mind that the following outlines are only general outlines with the most common elements in each culture. Many details vary in different tellings of the story.
The Lunan versions have Red Coat go to visit her grandmother, on the way to her grandmother's hut she meets a wolf and tells the wolf about her grandmother. When Red Coat arrives at her grandmother's house the wolf charges in and attempts to eat both of them. A hunter appears and kills the wolf, saving Red Coat and her grandmother.
The Lycan versions start off similarly, with Red Coat as a Lunan girl going to visit her grandmother. However, in this version Red Coat runs away the moment she sees the wolf. After running away she meets a hunter and he offers to escort her to her grandmother's house. Upon arriving at the house, the hunter attacks Red Coat and attempts to rob the grandmother. The wolf then breaks in and kills the hunter, and is advised by the spirits to drink the blood of the hunter. This turns the wolf into a lycanthrope, who marries the grandmother and escorts Red Coat back to her parent's home.

Spread

This story is not well known outside the Lunan and Lycan cultures.

Variations & Mutation

Due to their lack of writing and reliance on oral story telling the Lycan versions have the most variation. Some have forest spirits start the story by luring Red Coat off the forest path. And there are versions where the lycanthrope at the end adopts Red Coat. Variations still exist within the Lunan culture due to how closely guarded the Royal Chronicle is, the version it has is by no means the definitive one.

In Literature

Since the Lycan do not practice writing only the Lunan version has been written down. The Lunan version was first written down during the reign of King Eamon, who ordered it and other fairy tales to be recorded in the Royal Chronicle. The version in the Royal Chronicle has the unusual element of making the wolf both a lycanthrope and an antagonist.