I remember sitting in French class on a hot Texas day in June just after I was graduated from high school.  I wanted to start college right away and I had  enrolled in an excellent junior college by our apartment.  (All my life I’d loved the French language, but I’d never dreamt I would one day have the pleasure and the privilege of visiting France ever — much less multiple times.)  We were learning about Paris’ “bateaux mouches.”  The boats are popular tourist attractions, as they allow visitors to view the city from along the Seine.  The name is trademarked, but all the excursion vessels are generically referred to as “bateaux mouches,” whether they are open-air boat tours or glassed-in cruisers serving meals.  I adore viewing Paris from the river; every time we have gone we have taken some sort of water guide.  This time our little girl was old enough to eat with us and we could enjoy dinner while crossing underneath the famous bridges of Paris.  We do not eschew touristy things and I had always thought a sunset dinner winding through the Left and Right Banks of Paris would be lovely.  The boat was clear on all sides, which afforded excellent views from all angles.  Tables were set with red napkins on red table cloths, and an excellent bottle of red wine was waiting at our window seat upon our arrival.  I adore Bordeaux and I liked the bottle’s name so much I wound up taking it home to put in our “bottle tree.”  All the chairs were red as well as the water glasses, so I was particularly pleased with the outfit I’d chosen for our little one.  She was dressed in red shorts with a red and white striped top that read “Cherie” and, at one point, when the late afternoon turned into dusk, she wound up wrapping her napkin around her because she was cold.  Seated across from her, I was reminded of the fabled Little Red Riding Hood.  There is an anonymous quote which says, “The tiger and the lion may be more powerful … but the wolf does not perform in the circus.”  With that I realized I did not want to change her, or “tame” her, and I knew she carried the strong, independent spirit of her ancestors.  My child literally lives with wolves and there is no gruesome ending.  Never underestimate the power of the wolf … or of Little Red Riding Hood.