The Three Little Pigs
an English folk tale
Once upon a time there was a Mother Pig with three Little Pigs. As she
did not have enough money to keep them, she sent them out to seek their
fortune.
The first Little Pig met a Man with a bundle of straw and said to him,
“Please, Man, give me that straw to build a house.” The Man did, and the
Little Pig built a house of straw.
Presently, a Wolf came along and knocked at the door. The Wolf said,
“Little Pig, Little Pig, let me come in.”
To which the Little Pig answered, “No, no, not by the hair on my chinny
chin chin.”
“Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in!” said the
Wolf. So he huffed and he puffed, and he blew the house in, and ate up
the Little Pig.
The second Little Pig met a Man with a bundle of sticks and said,
“Please, Man, give me those sticks to build a house.” The Man did, and
the Little Pig built a house of sticks.
Then along came the Wolf and said, “Little Pig, Little Pig, let me come
in.”
“No, no, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin,” said the second Little
Pig.
“Then I’ll puff and I’ll huff, and I’ll blow your house in!” said the
Wolf. So he huffed and he puffed, and he puffed and he huffed, and at
last he blew the house down, and ate up the second Little Pig.
The third Little Pig met a Man with a load of bricks,
and said, “Please, Man, give me those bricks to build a house.” The
Man did, and the third Little Pig built a house of bricks.
Then the Wolf came along and said, as he had to the other Little Pigs,
“Little Pig, Little Pig, let me come in.”
“No, no, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin,” said the third Little
Pig.
“Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in,” cried the
Wolf. Well, he huffed and he puffed, and he puffed and he huffed, and he
huffed and he puffed. But he could not blow the house down. When he
found that he could not, with all his huffing and puffing, blow the
house down, he said, “Little Pig, I know where there is a nice field of
turnips.”
“Where?” asked the Little Pig.
“Oh, in Mr. Smith’s field. If you will be ready tomorrow morning, I will
call for you and we will go together and get some for dinner.”
“Very well,” said the Little Pig, “I’ll be ready. What time do you mean
to go?”
“At six o’clock,” said the Wolf.
Well, the Little Pig got up at five, got the turnips, and was home again
before six. When the Wolf came he said, “Little Pig, are you ready?”
“Ready?” asked the Little Pig. “I have been and come back again. I
have a nice potful of turnips for dinner.”
The Wolf was very angry, but he still thought he could trick the Little
Pig somehow or other. So he said, “Little Pig, I know where there is a
nice apple tree.”
“Where?” asked the Little Pig.
“Down at Merry-Garden,” replied the Wolf. “If you promise not to fool
me, I will come for you at five o’clock tomorrow and we will get some
apples.”
Well, the Little Pig woke at four the next morning and went off to get
the apples. He hoped to be back before the Wolf came, but he had farther
to go and also had to climb the tree. Just as he was coming down from
the tree, he saw the Wolf coming. As you may suppose, that frightened
him very much.
When the Wolf came up he said, “Little Pig, what are you doing here
before me? Are they nice apples?”
“Yes, very,” said the Little Pig; “I will throw you down one.” And he
threw it as far as he could. While the Wolf was gone to pick it up, the
Little Pig jumped down and ran home.
The next day the Wolf came again, and said to the Little Pig, “Little
Pig, there is a Fair in the town this afternoon. Will you go?”
“Oh, yes,” said the Little Pig, “I’ll go. What time will you be ready?”
“At three,” said the Wolf.
So the Little Pig went off early, as usual, got to the Fair, bought a
butter churn, and was on his way home with it when he saw the Wolf
coming. At first he did not know what to do. He got into the butter
churn to hide. In doing so, he turned it round so that it began to roll.
And it rolled down the hill with the Little Pig inside it. The Wolf was
so frightened by this that he ran home without going to the Fair.
Later, the Wolf went to the Little Pig’s house and told him how
frightened he had been by a great round thing which came down the hill
past him.
Then the Little Pig said, “Hah! I frightened you, did I? I had been to
the Fair and bought a butter churn. When I saw you, I got into it and
rolled down the hill.”
Then the Wolf was very angry indeed. He declared he would eat up the
Little Pig, and that he would climb down the chimney after him.
When the Little Pig saw what the Wolf was about, he put a pot full of
water in the fireplace and made a blazing fire. Just as the Wolf was
coming down the chimney, the Little Pig took the cover off the pot and
in fell the Wolf! The Little Pig put the cover on again, instantly
boiled up the Wolf, ate him for supper, and lived happily ever after.
