Week 12 Storytelling: The Three Little Pigs' New Houses

Once upon a time there was an evil and vicious wolf who made rounds prowling the lands once a month looking for little pigs to swallow whole. Every pig was so afraid of him that they each made a house out of what they thought would be the strongest material to keep them safe when the wolf came by looking for his next meal. No one ever knew when he would be coming next so they always had to make sure they were prepared. When each pig was old enough to move out of their parent's homes, it was exciting and ceremonious for all of the other pigs to see what material they chose. On their eighteenth birthday, each pig entered the magical woods and whatever material they first laid eyes on was theirs for the taking. Some hoped for wood, some for stone, others for twigs and tall blades of grass. Each was different and the community of pigs eagerly awaited at the edge of the forest to see what the pigs chose.

However, in some ways, it was a competition to see who chose most wisely and those who felt certain of their choices knew that their houses would withstand the big bad wolf and thus did not fear his return. Growing up, every little pig dreamed of what they would one day build their house out of and the three little pigs, Ted, Stan, and Glen, who were all best friends, were no exception. All three of their birthdays were on the same day and they spent all night thinking of what material would become available to each of them when they entered the woods. When the sun rose on the morning of Ted, Stan, and Glen's birthdays, each shot up in their beds and eagerly rushed to the forest with a satchel where a crowd was gathered to cheer them on. Each took a deep breath, excitedly smiled at each other, and set off into the forest. The crowd hushed into a silence to await each pig's return.

 (Left to Right: Ted, Stan, and Glen on their birthdays)

Ted ran as fast as he could to separate himself from his friends and acquire what he believed would be the best material for his home. He searched and searched and suddenly beheld in front of him a pile of colorful and dirty plastic. The light reflected off of the material, beckoning Ted closer. He had never seen such an amazing matter in his life and knew that he would surely have the sturdiest house of them all if he chose the plastic. He scooped the plastic into his satchel and with an enormous grin on his face, walked back to the crowd at the edge of the forest. He passed Stan and Glen still running around frantically searching for their predestined material source. Stan looked under bushes and inside of hollowed trees before a glistening reflection of light momentarily blinded him. He stepped closer to investigate and realized it was a large heap of aluminum, just waiting for him to claim in his satchel. He shouted for joy at his excellent find and ran back to the edge of the forest to share in his excitement. with his friends.

Only Glen remained and he was quickly becoming frantic that he was the only one out of the three who had not yet found his future home materials. As soon as he had begun to lose all hope for his safety against the wolf, he stepped into a suspiciously malleable substance. He looked down to see orange putty sticking to his feet and he sighed in relief. It was the perfect material for him and he could build his house however he wanted. He scooped up all of the putty he could manage and flung it into his satchel before running back to the edge of the forest. Since he was the final pig to return, he was greeted with cheers and hugs from his fellow pig friends. They were all mesmerized by the colorful and beautiful finds each pig returned with and they all knew that the neighborhood of homes would be much brighter with the new homes of Ted, Stan, and Glen.

All of the pigs worked tirelessly over the next week to build the sturdiest, safest, and best-looking houses all in a row for Ted, Stan, and Glen to move into just in time for when they saw the wolf slowly approaching their neighborhood one day.  Each pig rushed into their own home and the three friends were eager, though afraid, to see if their houses would withstand the wolf. The wolf huffed and puffed and blew the first house made of sticks that he encountered down, sending the pig squealing away in fright. He then blew the second house may of hay down and snatched the pig up before it could escape. This continued until the wolf had blown down all of the houses in the village because they were not as sturdy as the three young pigs'.

(Photo of Ted's house made of plastic)

When the big, bad wolf reached Ted's house made of plastic, he huffed and puffed and tried to blow the house down but it did not budge. He quickly rushed to the next house, made of aluminum, to hide his embarrassment from his inability to blow Ted's house down, but alas, he was not able to blow down Stan's house either. So he rushed to Glen's, took one look at the mysterious putty molded into a little townhouse, and ran far away in an attempt to preserve his dignity. The pigs reluctantly exited their houses to survey the damage and were surprised to see that their houses were the only ones that had withstood the wolf. As sad as they were about the houses that had been lost, they smiled at each other with pride and rushed to the forest where they searched for more plastic, aluminum, or putty to rebuild the other pigs' houses and protect them from the wolf if he ever dared return.

Bibliography: English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, published in 1890, about folktales and fairy tales that are considered native to England and the lowlands of Scotland

Author's Note: I had fun this week taking a story that everyone is familiar with and putting my own twist on it! Originally, the houses that the three pigs made were of sticks, straws, and brick and the wolf was unable to blow the last one down. So I took the liberty of changing the materials that the three pigs used for their houses by making it a contest to see who had the best houses as well as having them use ridiculous, manufactured goods that are basically trash and would never withstand the wolf. It was funny to imagine them building houses out of plastic, aluminum, and putty and so I decided to make them actually take the wolf's huffs and puffs. I also gave the pigs generic and silly names as well as made them three young pigs who were friends. I liked the idea of a pig community that they lived in, so I expanded on that so there could be traditions and customs they have for coming of age.