Variant
In short: A different form of a tale found in a source.
Term
How does it work in the tale?
Perrault uses a glass shoe and the Grimm telling uses a golden one. Comparing variants also means checking the order of scenes and who helps the heroine.
How can you compare two endings?
Follow Little Red Riding Hood in Perrault and Grimm from the first conversation in the woods. In both texts the wolf reaches the grandmother first. Perrault ends with a moral, while the Grimms introduce the huntsman. Starting from a shared scene makes it easier to see where the two tellings take different turns.