text: [Themes: Children's, Literary, recommended for children, family, cat]
  
  > look at your surroundings
  The ramshackle wooden fence in front of you seems to lurch from one horizon to the other. Although it hasn't fallen over yet, it threatens to at any moment, and if that egg isn't careful...
  
  The footpath running along the fence veers sharply north.
  
  The egg removes a handkerchief from his pocket and polishes a pair of spectacles.
  
  > go north
  Bravely, the egg calls after you: "My life is in your hands! I trust you will return shortly to rescue me!"
  
  The sun has disappeared. Only a narrow north-south passage winds through the forest here; trees and gnarled undergrowth barricade all other exits. Chill air seeps up from the ground and coils around your body, reaching down your neck with insistent, clammy fingers.
  
  > go north
  Wet branches slap your face, their icy needles stinging. Dense underbrush creeps in from all sides. With each step, mud oozes into your shoes. Insects drop from above and crawl through your hair; knuckles scrape against rough bark. The path hooks from south to southwest here, slithering between the trees like a snake. Faint rustling sounds catch your ear, but when you turn to look, all is still and quiet.
  
  At your feet, a green and yellow basket lies on its side. Whoever dropped it must have been in a hurry, because the contents have spilled out and are strewn everywhere.
  
  An iron pot has come to rest at the edge of the footpath, near a tree.
  
  You can also see a cracked porcelain dish and a bent spoon here.
  
  > look at the pot
  The pot is deep and flat-bottomed, with a curved handle that crosses from one side to the other for easy carrying. Although the iron pot has started to rust, you can see where something has dribbled out from under the lid and run down the sides.
  
  The whispery rustling grows louder.
  
  > take the pot
  Taken.
  
  You glance around nervously. The rustling seems very close now.
  
  > listen
  You hear whispery, rustling sounds coming from behind the trees.
  
  The rustling sounds stop.
  
  > take all
  picnic basket: Taken.
  cracked porcelain dish: Taken.
  bent spoon: Taken.
  
  Suddenly, from the corner of your eye, you glimpse a streak of moth-eaten fur hurtling toward you from the forest! Your heart races, yet you stand paralyzed with fear; your mind screams at your unresponsive body to flee. Run! Run for your life!
  
  Too late. Alas, too late.
  
  "Boo!" snarls a big, bad wolf, who is huffing and puffing from all the exertion. His eyes narrow into slits as he studies you closely. "Hey, wait just a minute! You ain't Little Red Riding Hood."
  
  The wolf leans casually on one elbow and watches you, chewing on his toothpick.
  
  > ask the wolf about the toothpick
  The wolf snarls at you and chews on a toothpick.
  
  The wolf yawns widely enough for you to count all his teeth.
  
  > count the teeth
  "Huh?" The wolf raises an eyebrow.
  
  > ask the wolf about the little red riding hood
  "Nice kid, yeah? Too bad about her grandma."
  
  > Kiss wolf
  "The shy and retiring type, I see," leers the wolf, shifting the toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other.
  
  The wolf yawns widely enough for you to count all his teeth.
  
  > ask the wolf about the grandma
  "Watch it," growls the wolf, "or you'll be talking to my lawyer."
  
  > ask wolf about the wolf
  The wolf snarls at you and chews on a toothpick.
  
  The wolf leans casually on one elbow and watches you, chewing on his toothpick.
  
  > kick wolf
  "Oh, yeah?" sneers the wolf. "You and who else?"
  
  > ask the wolf about yourself
  The wolf grins widely. "Sure thing. Just step over here where I can get a better look at you," he coaxes. "Come on, don't be shy."
  
  "Listen up," warns the wolf. "In case you forgot, I get blamed for everything around here. So watch it. I ain't takin' no rap for you."
  
  > ask the wolf about egg
  "An egg? On a fence? Okay, okay, I'll bite." The wolf howls with laughter. "Get it? I'll bite! Oh, man, that's a good one!"
  
  The wolf loiters in the area, keeping an eye on you.
  
  > ride wolf
  "Huh?" The wolf raises an eyebrow.
  
  > eat the wolf
  "You got it bass ackwards, baby," growls the wolf.
  
  The wolf loiters in the area, keeping an eye on you.
  
  > eat you
  "A smart aleck, huh?" The wolf eyes you curiously. "Better watch what you ask for, kiddo. You might get it."
  
  The wolf yawns widely enough for you to count all his teeth.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  a bent spoon
  a cracked porcelain dish
  a picnic basket (which is open but empty)
  a pot (which is closed)
  
  > look at the basket
  Woven from green and yellow straw, the picnic basket has seen better days. One corner is dented, and the straw is ripped where a handle was once attached. The picnic basket is empty.
  
  > open the pot
  Using the spoon's handle, you break the seal between pot and lid. Ever so cautiously, you lift the lid and peek into the pot but just then the wolf lets out a blood-curdling howl, and you jerk your arm back abruptly. The lid flies out of your grasp and rolls out of sight.
  
  Fortunately, you still have the pot. In it, you see some pease porridge.
  
  The wolf grins at you as he twirls the toothpick in his mouth.
  
  > examine the spoon
  The spoon is slightly bent, as if it has been stepped on.
  
  The wolf grins at you as he twirls the toothpick in his mouth.
  
  > eat the porridge
  Ecchhh! Nasty stuff. You decide to get rid of it before someone gets sick. You look around for an inconspicuous spot, and hastily dump the pease porridge. It soaks into the ground, but a shiny golden hairpin remains!
  
  > go to the southwest
  The footpath snaking down from the northeastern forest has widened here into a country lane. Gravel crunches beneath your feet and a warm breeze riffles your hair as you walk in the sun. Some distance to the west, a few small cottages flock together like children telling secrets. Smoke curls from the chimney of the cottage nearest to you. Beyond the village, further west, a clock tower rises above the surrounding roofs.
  
  > Go west
  Blooming with color and fragrance, a tidy garden snuggles against the stone cottage to the south. Ivy frames the whitewashed front door; starched white curtains hang in a diamond-paned window. A faint path forks southeast and southwest around the cottage, toward the back. To the north, across the lane that runs through the village, a few small cottages line the road. The clock tower looms further west, silhouetted against the sky.
  
  Gradually, the steady, monotonous hum of machinery drifts into your consciousness.
  
  > open the door
  It seems to be locked.
  
  > kick the door
  Violence isn't the answer to this one.
  
  The wolf sneaks up behind you.
  
  > unlock the door with the hairpin
  Glancing furtively over your shoulder, you slip the hairpin into the doorknob and jiggle it in the lock. Nothing happens. You twist and poke and jab and prod, until finally something clicks into place. Aha! You remove the hairpin, turn the knob ever so gently, and ease the cottage door open.
  
  You're quite pleased with yourself, aren't you? Your mother, on the other hand, would be ashamed of you.
  
  "I'll be right back," confides the wolf.
  
  > knock on the door
  You knock loudly on the cottage door, but no one answers.
  
  The wolf sneaks up behind you.
  
  > knock knock
  "You may not know this, but knock knock jokes are my specialty." The wolf takes the toothpick out of his mouth and points it at you. "Watch. I'll demonstrate."
  
  "Knock knock."
  
  > Who's there
  "Who's there?"
  
  > Who's there
  "Venice."
  
  > Venice who
  "Venice who?"
  
  > Venice who
  "Venice somebody going to open the door?"
  
  > attack the wolf with the toothpick
  "Whoa, baby!" The wolf slaps his thigh and guffaws. "Now, that's what I call funny!"
  
  "I'm blowin' this joint," the wolf explains as he shoves his way past you. "I got places to go, people to see, things to do."
  
  > unlock the door with the hairpin
  (You don't need the golden hairpin when the door is open.)
  The cottage door is already unlocked.
  
  > Go inside
  From the scrubbed oak floorboards to the comfy, upholstered furniture gathered around the hearth, this feels like home.
  
  A wooden spinning wheel in the corner revolves madly, its treadle pumping like a runner's chest after a long race. A skein of black yarn is wound around the bobbin; one loose end of the yarn flaps rhythmically with each rotation of the wheel.
  
  You can also see a big, giant bag (in which is some soft wool), a medium-sized bag (in which is some glossy wool) and a wee, little bag (in which is some curly wool) here.
  
  > look at the wheel
  What's this? You find a sliding panel and a toggle switch on the underside of the spinning wheel's frame.
  
  > turn off the wheel
  You flip the toggle switch to the OFF position, and the spinning wheel slows to a stop.
  
  The wolf is back again, hanging around.
  
  The wolf leans casually on one elbow and watches you, chewing on his toothpick.
  
  > examine the panel
  The panel is made from the same wood as the spinning wheel and is flush with the frame. It's closed, and you can barely see the thin, rectangular outline of its shape.
  
  > open the panel
  The panel slides open to reveal a battery.
  
  > examine the battery
  The battery is black and red and heavy, with two snap fasteners at one end to hold it firmly in place inside the compartment.
  
  The wolf loiters in the area, keeping an eye on you.
  
  > knock
  "Can't get enough of 'em, eh?" winks the wolf. "OK, here's one you may have heard before, but I still like it."
  
  "Knock knock."
  
  > Who's there
  "Wendy."