Once upon a time, nursery rhymes were innocent stories with a moral twist. Little Red Riding Hood is just one example of how you can’t go pushing people around and expect to get away with it.
But it’s not all sweetness and light in the modern version. Take the case of a US police officer in New Jersey, who has accused her former boss of asking her to play Little Red Riding Hood to his Big Bad Wolf.
Dawn Bearce, 45, claims that retired police chief Richard Taylor also tried to kiss her at work, and made obscene gestures with his tongue. At the trial, an answering machine tape was played where a voice that Bearce identified as Taylor’s, said: “Hi. It’s the Big Bad Wolf saying good night. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
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She says it got so bad that she got rid of all her red clothes. Taylor denies the charges.
Guru would like to point out, however, that cross-dressing is a serious issue and, if memory serves, the wolf was rather fond of dressing up like a granny. Add the fact that granny was in bed and could be falsely claiming benefits, while Red is probably in breach of her Asbo, and you have a legal melting pot.
