Little Red Riding Hood went to the forest to bring her ailing grandmother some food. The Wolf, ever hungry and cunning, went ahead of her. He tricked Grandmother and, in one gulp, swallowed her whole. When Little Red Riding Hood arrived, he tricked her as well, and swallowed her as quickly. Swollen with his meal, the Wolf was clumsy and careless, and the Woodsman saw him leave. Knowing well the Wolf's viciousness, the Woodsman pursued him and, overpowering him, cut him open to free Little Red Riding Hood and Grandmother and see them off to safety.

Returning to the wolf, the Woodsman sewed the Wolf shut and helped him recover. When the Wolf had returned to health, the Woodsman said, "If you can swallow a creature as large as Grandmother entire, I have a use for you. Work with me, and you will never go hungry again."

At the Woodsman's direction, the Wolf snuck into a nearby shepherd's fields and swallowed one of the sheep. On his return, the Woodsman induced vomiting and recovered the sheep. In this way, the Woodsman became the region's richest producer of wool and mutton, and the Wolf had all he could care to eat.