ONCE UPON A TIME there lived a goat who had seven children. She loved them so much that she spent countless hours with them, showing them all her care, especially tending towards the youngest of them which was small in size. One day, however, she wanted to go the woods to bring them food: "Be very careful of the wolf. If he gets in the house, he will eat you all. He's very clever and knows well how to cloak himself, but you will realize him from his rough voice and his black feet".

The goats then told her: "Do not worry, mother, as we will tend after ourselves". 

As soon as mama goat closed the door, the oldest of the goats, who was also the most cunning one, told the others: "The wolf is so clever that whatever we do he'll trick us in the end. We must therefore agree what we absolutely no one in".

So, it happened. The goats put locks on all the doors and sealed the windows. As soon as the wolf approached, he told them: "Open my good goats, as I am your mum and I brought something for each of you".

The goats instantly recognized him from his coarse voice and replied: "We will not let you in, as our mum has a gentle and soft voice. You're the big bad wolf".

The wolf then went to the village and brought a big piece of chalk which he ate so as to soften his voice. When he went back, he shouted through the door: "Open my good goats, as I am your mum and I have brought gifts for you".

He then placed his black foot on the window and the goats instantly realized his trick. "We will not open the door. Our mum does not have black feet like you. You are the bad wolf".

The wolf then bought another piece of chalk which he rubbed on his feet to turn them white. He returned to the door, placed his white foot on it and told the goats: "Open the door my good goats. I am your mum and I bring you presents from the woods".

The goats were then very confused. As soon as they saw the white foot, they thought of opening. The oldest of them, however, shouted: "We agreed not to let anyone in, as there is a bad wolf who lives in the forests who knows how to trick other animals".

The wolf was then very troubled, as he realized his bad fame preceded him, and would find it rather difficult to fool the animals of the forest. He devised a plan. He would wait until it was dark, dress in Santa Claus' clothes and pick a big sack to carry. So, it happened. As soon as darkness fell, he climbed the chimney and tried to get in the house through it. So reckless was he, however, that as soon as he hit the floor, he made a very loud noise.

The goats were prudent enough to place barriers in front of the fireplace, so that nobody could come in through it. When they heard the noise, however, they came close to see what had happened. Mimicking Santa's voice, the desperate wolf then told them:

"Let me in good goats, as I am Santa Claus and I have brought you gifts".

The goats then thought that only Santa Claus could have possibly come through the chimney. They then removed the planks they had placed in front of the fireplace, letting the wolf free to run after them.

The first one jumped and hid under the table, the second under the bed, the third in the oven, the fourth in the kitchen, the fifth in the wardrobe, the sixth under the sink and the fourth inside the clock. Yet the wolf found them all and devoured them with no delay. The only one he couldn't find was the seventh, which hid inside the clock. When at some point he felt heavy, he fell on the couch to get some rest and digest. This is when he fell asleep.

After a few hours, mama goat returned home, happy to see that the door was locked. As soon as she saw the mess in the living room and the big bad wolf asleep on her couch, however, she realized what happened. A voice coming out of the clock was heard then: "here mummy, inside the clock's closet". It was the youngest goat which the wolf was unable to find before his stomach was full.

Mama goat then freed her youngest child, then approached the wolf with slow, careful movements. She took a pair of scissors then cut his packed belly open, letting her other six children out, which were still alive as the wolf had greedily swallowed them instead of eating them with his teeth. With no further thought she took as much cotton as possible and stuffed it in his belly, then stitched it to look the way it was. When the wolf woke up and stood on his two feet, he exclaimed: "I feel lighter than even before!"

Feeling thirsty, he went to the nearest well to drink some water. As the cotton that was in his belly absorbed the water, however, he kept feeling more and more thirsty. Seeing his thirst would not be quenched, he fell in the well to drink straight from the bottom.

Then the goats gathered around the well and cut the rope which the wolf had tied around his waist so he would not be able to get back to the surface. And so, he took his lesson and the goats laughed with their hearts.