〜たら by itself: 持っていってあげたら


How exactly is たら operating here? My understanding is that in the non-past, たら
designates temporal antecedence.

> 赤ずきんちゃんが言います。「おばあちゃんの家に行きます。おばあちゃんが病気です。」  
>  するとオオカミが言います。「あそこに花があるよ。花がたくさんあるよ。花を摘んで持っていってあげたら？」




～たら as a verb suffix has two basic functions:

  * Expressing temporal antecedence, as basically a synonym for (possibly contraction from?) ～てから -- 「A`[VERB]`たらB」 means "A `[VERB]`, _then_ B".
  * Expressing conditionality, similar to English "if" -- 「A`[VERB]`たらB」 means " _if_ A `[VERB]`, _then_ B".

You'll notice that these translate to almost the same thing in English.
Whether to include the conditionality of "if...then", or only the temporality
of "...then", is a matter of context.

In the specific context of your sample text, it seems that the "if" sense must
be the one intended. Here's one possible translation:

> 花を摘んで持っていってあげ **たら** ？  
>  **What if** you picked some flowers, brought them along and gave them [to
> her]...?




Using たら in a question at the end of a sentence is a way of giving advice or
suggesting something. It can come off rude if you use it with someone you
aren't familiar with though.

In the text you provided, the wolf is suggesting bringing flowers by saying
持っていってあげたら？ It's similar to saying "Why don't you..." in English.

