Once upon a time, there was a mother sheep and her seven little lambs living on a beautiful farm in the United States. One day, the mother sheep was about to go out to look for food. She called the seven little lambs to her and cautioned them, "My children, mommy will be out for a while. You must be very careful of the big bad wolf. The big bad wolf is a very sly creature and it will try every means to trick you into opening the door. When mommy is not here, don't open the door for anyone, unless you hear mommy's voice." All the little lambs nodded obediently and said, "Mommy, we've got it. Just go without worry."
Not long after the mother sheep left, a big bad wolf came to the little lambs' house. Seeing that the little lambs were all in the house, the big bad wolf pinched his throat and imitated the mother sheep's voice, saying, "My children, mommy is back. Open the door quickly." But the little lambs immediately sensed that something was wrong because the voice sounded very hoarse, not at all like mommy's gentle voice. So they replied, "You are not our mommy. We won't open the door." Having no other choice, the big bad wolf slunk away.
The big bad wolf was not reconciled. It ran to the mill, ate some white flour to make its voice a bit softer. Then it returned to the little lambs' house and pinched its throat again, saying, "My children, mommy is back. Open the door quickly." This time, its voice sounded much softer than before. The youngest lamb thought mommy was back and wanted to open the door. But the other lambs stopped it, saying, "Let's listen more carefully. This voice still sounds a bit strange." After waiting outside the door for a while and seeing that the little lambs still wouldn't open the door, the big bad wolf left angrily again.
The big bad wolf came up with an even worse idea. It ran to the blacksmith's shop and asked the blacksmith to put something on its claws to make them white and tender, just like the mother sheep's hooves. Then it came to the little lambs' house again and for the third time pinched its throat, saying, "My children, mommy is back. Open the door quickly." This time, the youngest lamb saw the big bad wolf's white and tender claws through the crack of the door and thought it was really mommy who had come back, so it happily opened the door.
The big bad wolf burst into the house at once. The little lambs were so frightened that they ran around in all directions. The big bad wolf opened its big mouth and swallowed the youngest lamb in one gulp. Then it caught the other several lambs and also swallowed them all into its stomach. Only one lamb was very clever. It hid inside the big clock and was not discovered by the big bad wolf.
After a while, the mother sheep came back. As soon as she saw the door wide open, she felt that something was wrong. She walked into the house and found the house in a mess and the little lambs were gone. The mother sheep was very worried and searched everywhere for her children.
Finally, the mother sheep found the lamb that had hidden in the big clock. The lamb told the mother sheep what had happened. The mother sheep was very sad, but she was also very glad that there was still one lamb that had survived.
The mother sheep took the lamb to find the big bad wolf. The big bad wolf was lying under a big tree, snoring loudly. The mother sheep saw the big bad wolf's bulging stomach and knew that her children were still inside. So the mother sheep came up with an idea. She found a pair of scissors and some needles and thread, cut open the big bad wolf's stomach, and rescued her six little lambs. Then the mother sheep put some big stones into the big bad wolf's stomach and sewed it up again. When the big bad wolf woke up, it felt thirsty and ran to the river to drink water. But the big stones in its stomach were too heavy, and it fell into the river all at once and drowned.
This story tells children that they must listen to their mothers, be careful of strangers, and not easily believe what others say, otherwise they will be in danger like the little lambs.
