The Three Little Pigs

This story is called The Three Little Pigs by Katharine Pyle, read by Ryan Aoto. This is a LibraryCall adaptation and recording. [chime] Once upon a time, there were three little pigs who lived with their mama in a shady forest. They were happy together, searching the woods for roots, mushrooms, and bugs to eat. But as the winter approached, food became more scarce. One day, Mama Pig gathered her children and said, “My sweet little pigs, you have learned how to forage for food and build a safe home. Now it’s time for you to go out into the world and use the skills I taught you. You should each build a small house. Remember: don’t build your house out of straw or sticks; straw is brittle and sticks are weak. If you build your house out of something nice and hard, like bricks, you’ll always have a safe place to sleep.” Then she kissed her little pigs goodbye, and off they went in three different directions. The first little pig headed north. He had not gone far when he met a man driving a tractor full of dry, yellow straw. It had a sweet, dusty smell and it looked like it would make a snug little house. Eager to get his house built quickly, the little pig quite forgot what his mama had told him. “Please, Mr. Man,” said the first little pig, “may I have some straw? I just need enough to build a small house to keep me warm this winter.” The generous man gave the little pig all the straw he wanted, and then he drove on. When the first little pig finished building his house a short time later, he was delighted to curl up in the straw and rest. “This is much better than a house of cold, hard bricks,” he thought as he drifted off to sleep. Soon, a hungry wolf approached and knocked at the door. [knock] The animals of the forest called him the Big Bad Wolf. “Little pig, little pig, let me in!” he said. “Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin,” yawned the sleepy pig. “Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in.” The little pig laughed. He felt quite safe in his cozy straw house. “Okay. Then huff and puff and blow my house in!” the little pig teased. Well, the wolf did huff and he did puff and he did blow the house in. [crash] After all, it was only made of brittle straw. Then the Big Bad Wolf gobbled up the pig for lunch. You might be wondering what happened to the second little pig. She had headed south after leaving her mama and siblings. As she was trotting along, she came across two children in the woods. They were gathering kindling– thin sticks– to use for lighting their family’s cooking fire. Watching the children work, the little pig thought about how easy it would be to construct a house out of such lightweight sticks. “Excuse me, You Children. May I please have some of those sticks? It’s almost winter, and I need to build a house for protection.” Building with sticks! The children thought this sounded like a fun idea. So, they helped the second little pig build her house with the sticks they had collected, then they ran along home. “What could be safer or easier to build than this?” she thought. “I think my mama was wrong about stick houses.” Then she snuggled down into a soft bed of leaves and fell asleep. The next morning, the Big Bad Wolf was looking for his next meal when he came upon the house of sticks. He smelled something delicious inside, so he knocked at the door. [knock] The second little pig peeked out her front window and spied the Big Bad Wolf. “Little pig, little pig, let me in!” he said. “Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin!” “Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in.” The little pig laughed when she heard him say that. She had used many sticks to build her walls, and she felt secure. “Okay, you wolf! Huff and puff and blow my house in!” The Big Bad Wolf drew in a great breath, then he huffed, and he puffed, and he did blow the house in. The sticks that had seemed so strong to the second little pig fell down in a giant jumble. [crash] Moving quickly, the wolf plucked up the pig and gobbled her up. Now, the third little pig was the smallest of the three siblings, but she also happened to be the most clever. After she left her mama, she headed west. As she walked, she met a man with a wagon-load of straw, but she didn’t ask for any of it. Then she met some children with a pile of sticks, but she didn’t ask for any of those either. She was starting to become tired, but she knew she couldn’t rest just yet. She must be patient and find sturdy materials for her house, like her mama had instructed. She walked along wearily for another hour or so. As she rounded a corner, she spied a young man removing a wall. Beside him was a huge pile of solid red bricks! “Please, Mr. Man,” she said, “may I have some of those bricks? I need to build myself a sturdy house before winter.” The kind man had no more use for these bricks, so he agreed. The third little pig took the bricks and got to work building herself a small red house. It wouldn’t be as warm as her brother’s straw house, nor was it as easy to build as her sister’s house of sticks. But when she was finished, she was satisfied, because she knew it was a solid little house. Soon the Big Bad Wolf came along and knocked at the door. [knock] “Little pig, little pig, let me in,” he called. “Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin.” “Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in.” The third little pig was confident that all the huffing and puffing in the world wouldn’t be a problem for this house. “Well, then huff and puff and blow my house in,” answered the pig. So the wolf huffed. And he puffed. And he puffed and he huffed. And he HUFFED AND HE PUFFED until he was about to burst. But try as he might, he just couldn’t blow that house in. The little pig waved at the wolf through her window and said with a laugh, “You’ll never get me!” This made the Big Bad Wolf furious. He was now more determined than ever to get that little pig. He was in no mood to make good decisions. And so, he decided to climb onto the little pig’s roof and enter her house through the chimney. The Big Bad Wolf stuck his sharp claws between the bricks in the wall and climbed right up the side of the house, landing on the roof with a thud. [thud] He leapt onto the chimney, shimmied into the hollow flue, then slid down feet-first into the fire-place. This little pig was no fool! She could hear what the Big Bad Wolf was up to, and she was ready for him. The little pig had been boiling a big pot of water on the fire for her soup. [boiling water] When she heard the wolf slipping and scrambling down the chimney, she took the lid off the pot, and… splash! [splash] The wolf fell right into the boiling water. The smart little pig clapped the lid down over him as quickly as she could, and well kids… that was the end of the Big Bad Wolf. After that, the little pig lived in peace forever and ever after. And if another wolf ever came along to bother her, well.. I never heard about it. The End Thank you for listening to The Three Little Pigs written by Katharine Pyle and read by Ryan Aoto. This has been a LibraryCall adaptation and recording.