The Three Little Pigs
Told by Joseph JacobsEnglandTale type ATU 124
- Age
- 3 to 8
- Reading time
- 7 minutes
- Scariness
- 1 of 5Mild tension, resolved at once
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The story
Once upon a time there was an old mother pig who had three little pigs, and not enough food to feed them. So when they were old enough, she sent them out into the world to seek their fortune.
The first little pig set off down the road, whistling as he went. He had not gone far when he met a man carrying a load of straw.
"Please, sir," said the first little pig, "may I have that straw to build myself a house?"
The man gave him the straw, and the first little pig built his house before lunchtime. It was golden and soft and it smelled of summer, and it took him no time at all. Then he sat down in the sunshine and played his whistle, very pleased with himself.
The second little pig walked a little further and met a man carrying a bundle of sticks.
"Please, sir," said the second little pig, "may I have those sticks to build myself a house?"
The man gave him the sticks, and the second little pig built his house by the middle of the afternoon. It was brown and crooked and it creaked in the wind, but it was finished, and that was the main thing. Then he went to find his brother, and the two of them played until the sun went down.
The third little pig walked further still, until he met a man with a cart full of bricks.
"Please, sir," said the third little pig, "may I have those bricks to build myself a house?"
The man gave him the bricks, and the third little pig got to work. He laid one brick, then another, then another. He mixed mortar and smoothed it flat. He built all that day, and the next day, and the day after that. His brothers came by and called to him from the road.
"Come and play!" they shouted. "You are missing the whole summer!"
"I will play when I have finished," said the third little pig, and he went on laying bricks.
Now, in the woods nearby there lived a wolf, and the wolf was hungry. He had been hungry for a long time. One evening he came down the lane and stopped outside the little house of straw.
He knocked at the door. "Little pig, little pig, let me come in."
The first little pig looked out and saw the long grey snout at the window. "Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!"
"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in."
And he huffed, and he puffed, and the house of straw went up into the air like a handful of feathers. The first little pig did not wait to watch it land. He ran down the lane as fast as his trotters would carry him, all the way to his brother's house of sticks, and hammered on the door.
The wolf came after him. He knocked at the door of the stick house. "Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in."
"Not by the hair on our chinny chin chins!"
"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in."
And he huffed, and he puffed, and he huffed again, and the sticks came apart and rolled away down the hill. Out shot the two little pigs, running side by side, and they ran and they ran until they reached the house of brick.
Their brother opened the door and pulled them inside and bolted it shut behind them.
The wolf arrived a moment later, out of breath. He knocked. "Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in."
"Not by the hair on our chinny chin chins!"
"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in."
So he huffed. And he puffed. And he huffed and he puffed and he puffed and he huffed. He puffed until his eyes watered and his ears went pink and he had to sit down on the path.
The brick house did not move. Not one brick. Not one bit of mortar.
The wolf looked up at the chimney and had an idea, but the third little pig had already thought of that, and he had a big pot of water bubbling on the fire. When the wolf put one paw on the roof, a puff of hot steam came up the chimney and caught him right on the nose.
The wolf yelped, slid down off the roof, and ran away into the woods, and nobody in that lane ever saw him again.
Inside the brick house, the three little pigs sat down together by the fire.
"That," said the first little pig, "is a very good house."
"It took a long time," said the third little pig.
"Will you show us?" said the second little pig. "How to do it properly, I mean."
And he did. And the next summer there were three brick houses in that lane, side by side, and all three little pigs slept soundly in every one of them.
What is the moral of The Three Little Pigs?
Take the time to do a job properly, and it will keep you safe when things get hard.
The first two pigs are not lazy so much as impatient. They want the fun part now, and a straw house gets them there fastest. The third pig wants the same things they do, he simply understands that the work comes first. The story is not really about pigs or wolves. It is about the quiet, boring effort nobody claps for, and the day that effort turns out to be the only thing standing between you and trouble.
Talk about it
- Why do you think the first two pigs built their houses so quickly?
- Was the third pig being bossy, or was he being sensible?
- How do you think the first two pigs felt when they ran to their brother's door?
- Can you think of something you built or made that took a long time? Was it worth it?
- The wolf is hungry. Does that make what he does alright?
Who is in the story
Barnaby
protagonist · pig
The eldest. He builds with brick, and it takes him days while his brothers play. His house is the only one left standing, and he never once says he told them so.
- Kind
- 9 out of 10
- Brave
- 7 out of 10
- Clever
- 9 out of 10
- Honest
- 9 out of 10
- Curious
- 6 out of 10
- Patient
- 10 out of 10
Curly
protagonist · pig
The youngest and the fastest to finish. Curly builds his house out of straw before lunchtime, mostly so he can get back to his whistle.
- Kind
- 8 out of 10
- Brave
- 4 out of 10
- Clever
- 4 out of 10
- Honest
- 8 out of 10
- Curious
- 7 out of 10
- Patient
- 2 out of 10
Hamlet
protagonist · pig
The middle brother, who builds with sticks. He works harder than Curly and less than Barnaby, which turns out not to be enough.
- Kind
- 8 out of 10
- Brave
- 5 out of 10
- Clever
- 5 out of 10
- Honest
- 7 out of 10
- Curious
- 5 out of 10
- Patient
- 4 out of 10
The Wolf
antagonist · wolf
A hungry wolf from the woods nearby. More weary and theatrical than frightening, and by the end more embarrassed than dangerous.
- Kind
- 2 out of 10
- Brave
- 6 out of 10
- Clever
- 5 out of 10
- Honest
- 3 out of 10
- Curious
- 6 out of 10
- Patient
- 3 out of 10
In a nutshell
Three pig brothers leave home to build houses of their own. Two of them hurry, building with straw and sticks so they can go and play. The third takes his time and builds with brick. When a hungry wolf comes knocking, only one house is still standing, and all three brothers learn why it pays to do a job properly.
Scene by scene
20 moments from the tale.
- Scene 1The Lanehopeful
Setting out
The three little pigs set off down the lane to seek their fortune, each carrying what little they own.
Three brothers, one road, three very different plans
- Scene 2The Laneeager
A load of straw
Curly comes down the lane whistling and finds a load of loose golden straw stacked on the verge by the stile. He takes an armful and decides on the spot.
Straw. That will do nicely
- Scene 3The House of Strawcarefree
The house of straw
Curly builds his house from straw in a single morning and settles down to play his whistle.
Built before lunch. Ready to fall down by supper
- Scene 4The Laneconsidering
A bundle of sticks
Hamlet walks a little further than his brother did and finds a bundle of sticks tied with twine leaning against the signpost. He tests the weight and takes it.
Sticks are stronger than straw. Probably
- Scene 5The House of Stickscontent
Finished by teatime
By the middle of the afternoon the stick house is standing, brown and crooked, letting daylight through the gaps. Hamlet fetches his brother and the two of them go off to play until dark.
It creaks. But it is finished
- Scene 6The Lanedeliberate
A cart full of bricks
Barnaby walks further than either brother and comes to a handcart loaded with red bricks. He picks one up and holds it long enough to understand exactly what he is agreeing to.
These will take a while
- Scene 7The House of Brickpatient
One brick, then another
Barnaby lays one brick, then another, then another. The light moves from morning to evening across the same half built wall and nothing about him changes.
He built all that day, and the next
- Scene 8The House of Brickteasing
You are missing the whole summer
Curly and Hamlet lean on the garden wall in the sun and call to their brother that he is wasting the best months of the year. He answers once and goes back to the wall.
I will play when I have finished
- Scene 9The Lanequiet unease
A wolf in the woods
One evening a tall lean wolf in a patched brown coat comes out of the trees at the bend in the lane. He straightens his coat, looks down the road, and starts walking.
He had been hungry for a long time
- Scene 10The House of Stickstense
Little pig, little pig
The wolf arrives at the door and asks, very politely, to be let in.
Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin
- Scene 11The House of Strawcomic dismay
Like a handful of feathers
The wolf fills his chest and blows once. The straw house lifts off the meadow in a slow golden spiral and drifts apart over the grass.
Up into the air like feathers
- Scene 12The Lanefrantic
As fast as his trotters would carry him
Curly runs the whole length of the lane without once looking behind him, his whistle bouncing loose on its string, until the stick house comes into view at the meadow edge.
He did not wait to watch it land
- Scene 13The House of Stickstense
Not by the hair on our chinny chin chins
The wolf comes up the path and taps twice on the leaning door. Both pigs hold it shut with their shoulders and answer him together.
Now there are two of them saying it
- Scene 14The Laneurgent
Out shot the two little pigs
The sticks come apart and roll away down the hill. The two pigs are out of the door and running side by side, and they run until the brick house comes round the bend.
Running side by side
- Scene 15The House of Brickwordless
He pulled them inside
Two pigs hammer on the brick house door. It opens before the second knock lands. Barnaby takes an arm each, pulls them in and bolts the door behind them.
The door opened before the second knock
- Scene 16The House of Brickcomic relief
The house that would not move
The wolf huffs and puffs at the brick house until he has to sit down on the path.
He huffed until his ears went pink
- Scene 17The House of Brickquietly decisive
A pot already on the fire
Inside, a big black pot hangs over the fire and has clearly been hanging there some time. Barnaby looks up at the dark square of the chimney, pushes the pot further over the heat, and sits down to wait.
It had been on there a while
- Scene 18The House of Brickabrupt
Straight back off the roof
The wolf climbs to the roof and puts one paw on the tiles, and a puff of hot steam comes up the chimney.
A pot he put on before it was needed
- Scene 19The House of Brickwarm
By the fire
The three brothers sit together by the fire, and the two who lost their houses ask to be taught.
Will you show us how to do it properly?
- Scene 20The Lanesettled
Three brick houses
A year later there are three brick houses standing in a row along the lane, each with a swept path and a chimney going. The three brothers stand in the road and look at them.
Three houses in that lane, side by side
Where it happens
The House of Brick
cottage
A solid red brick cottage with a real chimney, built slowly over several days.
The House of Sticks
cottage
A crooked house of branches and twine that creaks whenever the wind blows.
The House of Straw
cottage
A golden, soft-walled little house built in an afternoon, sitting in an open field.
The Lane
country road
The dirt lane the three brothers set out along, running between hedgerows and open fields.
How they are connected
Things you might not know
Joseph Jacobs printed the tale in 1890, taking it from an older book by James Halliwell. In his version the second pig builds his house from furze, a prickly bush, not sticks.
In the 1890 version the pigs gather nothing themselves. Each one meets a man on the road and asks, "Please, man, give me that straw to build me a house", and the man always says yes.
The tale is catalogued as ATU 124 in the international tale type index, the system folklorists use to track the same story across different countries.
Versions of this story exist across Europe with different animals. In some the three builders are goslings, in others they are little goats.
The phrase 'huff and puff' was already old when the story was written down, but this tale is the reason almost everyone knows it.
In Jacobs's version the wolf does not give up after the huffing and puffing. He tries three times to lure the third pig out, to a turnip field, an apple tree and a fair, and the pig beats him every time, once by rolling downhill inside a butter churn.
Versions exist across Europe with goslings, hares, ducklings and kittens instead of pigs. The animals change, the ranking of straw, sticks and stone never does.
In the 1843 printed version the wolf eats the first two pigs and the third one boils him alive. The all-survive ending is a much later kindness.
What things stand for
- Straw, sticks and brick
- Three answers to the same question, ranked by how much of yourself you were willing to spend on it.
- The chimney
- The one way in that is not a door. Barnaby thought about it before it happened, which is the whole difference between him and his brothers.
- The pot on the fire
- Preparation that looks like nothing until the moment it is everything. He put it on before there was any reason to.
- The wolf's breath
- Effort. Enormous, genuine, sustained effort, applied to something that was built properly, and completely useless.
- The three brick houses
- The ending nobody remembers. Not one house standing, but three, because the one who knew how showed the others.
The same story elsewhere
Folk tales are not owned by whoever wrote them down first.
The Three Little Pigs
England, 1843
James Halliwell-Phillipps' earlier printed version, in which the wolf eats the first two pigs and the third boils him.
The Three Goslings
Italy, traditional
Three goslings build houses of straw, sticks and stone, and a fox takes the place of the wolf.
The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids
Germany, 1812
Not the same tale, but the same shape: a wolf tries repeatedly to get into a house full of small animals by pretending to be harmless.
The Three Little Hares
Various, traditional
Recorded across Europe with hares, ducklings and kittens in place of pigs. The materials change; the ranking never does.
Where you might already know it from
Most children meet a screen version first. Here is what those changed.
The Story of the Three Little Pigs
book, L. Leslie Brooke, 1904
A much-loved picture book with warm, funny drawings of the pigs and the wolf, later gathered into The Golden Goose Book in 1905.
English Fairy Tales
book, Flora Annie Steel, illustrated by Arthur Rackham, 1918
A retelling of more than forty English tales, the three little pigs among them, with pictures by Arthur Rackham, one of the best-known illustrators of his day.
Pantomime and stage versions
other, Various
Usually keeps all three pigs alive, which the oldest printed versions do not.
Questions parents ask
- What is the moral of The Three Little Pigs?
- Take the time to do a job properly, and it will keep you safe when things get hard.
- What is The Three Little Pigs about?
- Three pig brothers leave home to build houses of their own. Two of them hurry, building with straw and sticks so they can go and play. The third takes his time and builds with brick. When a hungry wolf comes knocking, only one house is still standing, and all three brothers learn why it pays to do a job properly.
- What age is The Three Little Pigs for?
- The Three Little Pigs suits ages 3-8.
- How long does The Three Little Pigs take to read?
- About 7 minutes read aloud.
- Where does The Three Little Pigs come from?
- The Three Little Pigs is a traditional tale from England.
Sing it
Every story here has its own song. This one is warm, playful, reassuring, about 96 beats a minute.
Brick by Brick
gentle acoustic folk
There is no recording yet. The words are here so you can sing it yourself.
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