THERE was an old sow2 with three little
pigs,3 and as she had not enough to keep them, she sent them out to seek their
fortune.4 The first that went off met a man with a bundle of straw,5 and
said to him:
‘Please, man, give me that straw to build a house.’6
Which the man did, and the little pig built a house
with it. Presently came along a wolf,7 and knocked at the
door,8 and said:
‘Little pig, little pig, let me come in.’9 To which the pig answered:
‘No, no, by the hair of my chiny
chin chin.’10 The wolf then answered to
that:
‘Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house
in.’11
So he huffed, and he puffed, and he blew his house
in, and ate
up the little pig.12
The second little pig met a man with a bundle
of furze13 and said:
‘Please, man, give me that furze to build a house.’
Which the man did, and the pig built his house. Then
along came the wolf, and said:
‘Little pig, little pig, let me come in.’
‘No, no, by the hair of my chiny
chin chin.’
"Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow
your house in.’
So he huffed, and he puffed, and he puffed, and he
huffed, and at last he blew the house down, and he ate up the little pig.
The third little pig met a man with a load of
bricks,14 and said:
‘Please, man, give me those bricks to build a house
with.’
So the man gave him the bricks, and he built his
house with them. So the wolf came, as he did to the other little pigs, and
said:
‘Little pig, little pig, let me come in.’
‘No, no, by the hair of my chiny
chin chin.’
‘Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your
house in.’
Well, he huffed, and he puffed, and he huffed and he
puffed, and he puffed and huffed; but he could not get the house down.15
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.’16
‘Where?’ said the little pig.
‘Oh, in Mr Smith’s
Home-field, and 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 will be ready.
What time do you mean to go?’
‘Oh, at
Well, the little pig got up at five, and got the
turnips before the wolf came (which he did about six), who said:
‘Little pig, are you ready?’
The little pig said: ‘Ready! I have been and come back again,
and got a nice potful for dinner.’17
The wolf felt very angry at this, but thought that he
would be up to the little pig somehow or other, so he said:
‘Little pig, I know where there is a nice apple
tree.’18
‘Where?’ said the pig.
‘Down at Merry-garden,’ replied the wolf, ‘and if you
will not deceive me I will come for you at
Well, the little pig bustled up the next morning at
four o’clock, and went off for the apples, hoping to get back before the wolf
came; but he had further to go, and had to climb the tree, so that just as he
was coming down from it, he saw the wolf coming, which, as you may suppose,
frightened him very much. When the wolf came up he said:
‘Little pig, what! are
you here before me? Are they nice apples?’
‘Yes, very,’ said the little pig. ‘I will throw you
down one.’
And he threw it so far, that, 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 at Shanklin19 this afternoon,20 will you go?’
‘Oh yes,’ said the pig, ‘I will go; what time shall
you be ready?’
‘At three,’ said the wolf. So the little pig went off
before the time as usual, and got to the fair, and bought a butter-churn,21
which he was going home with, when he saw the wolf coming. Then he could not
tell what to do. So he got into the churn to hide, and by so doing turned it
round, and it rolled down the hill with the pig in it, which frightened the
wolf so much, that he ran home without going to the fair. He 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.22 Then the little pig said:
‘Hah, I frightened you, then. I had been to the fair
and bought a butter-churn, and when I saw you, I got into it, and rolled down
the hill.’
Then the wolf was very angry indeed, and declared he
would eat up the little pig, and that he would get down the chimney23
after him. When the little pig saw what he was about, he hung on the pot full
of water, and made up a blazing fire,24
and, just as the wolf was coming down, took off the cover, and in fell the
wolf; so the little pig put on the cover again in an instant, boiled him up,
and ate him for supper, and lived happy ever afterwards.25
Jacobs,
Joseph. "The Story of the Three Little Pigs."
English Fairy Tales.
Amazon.com:
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Note about this version: Joseph Jacobs referenced one
of the first print versions of the tale for his edition. The story appeared in:
Halliwell, James Orchard. Popular Rhymes and Nursery
Tales.
The annotations for the Three
Little Pigs fairy tale are below. Sources have been cited in parenthetical
references, but I have not linked them directly to their full citations which
appear on the Three Little Pigs Bibliography page. I have provided links back
to the Annotated Three Little Pigs to facilitate referencing between the notes
and the tale.
1. Once upon
a time when pigs spoke rhyme
And monkeys chewed tobacco,
And hens took snuff to make them
tough,
And ducks went quack, quack, quack,
O!:
Early
recordings of fairy tales often include a short verse at the beginning and/or end
of the tale. The verse either provides a moral, usually at the end of the tale,
or sets the tone of the story, usually at the beginning of the tale. This rhyme
lets the reader/listener know the narrator doesn't believe the story is true,
except perhaps in a different time and place when animals behaved more like
humans. The rhyme also gives the story a lighthearted tone which continues
throughout the story despite the death of two of the pigs.
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2. Old sow: A sow is "an adult
female hog" (WordNet).
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3. Three
little pigs: This story uses the classic number three found in many fairy tales. Most
variations of the tale also employ three animals.
In this version, and most versions of the tale, the
pigs are not named. One notable exception is the tale recorded by Andrew Lang
in his Green Fairy Book. In
his Three Little Pigs, the pigs have names and a birth order: "The eldest
of the little pigs was called Browny, the second
Whitey, and the youngest and best looking Blacky."
In Lang's version, the youngest pig is the smartest and most industrious. This
is in contrast to many modern interpretations which often portray the oldest
pig as the smartest and most industrious.
The number and/or pattern of three often appears in fairy tales to provide rhythm and suspense. The
pattern adds drama and suspense while making the story easy to remember and
follow. The third event often signals a change and/or ending for the
listener/reader. A third time also disallows coincidence such as two repetitive
events would suggest.
The reasons and theories behind three's popularity
are numerous and diverse. The number has been considered powerful across
history in different cultures and religions, but not all of them. Christians
have the Trinity, the Chinese have the Great Triad (man, heaven, earth), and
the Buddhists have the Triple Jewel (Buddha, Dharma, Sanga).
The Greeks had the Three Fates. Pythagoras considered three to be the perfect
number because it represented everything: the beginning, middle, and end. Some
cultures have different powerful numbers, often favoring seven, four and
twelve.
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4. Seek
their fortune: Fairy tale characters, especially the male characters, leave home to
seek their fortune at the beginning of fairy tales. In other words, the
characters are leaving their families and homes behind in hopes of earning
their own livings as adults for the first time. Many fairy tales are coming of
age stories.
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5. A bundle of straw: Straw is a plant
fiber, usually stalks of certain species of grain, used for making baskets and
hats or as animal fodder (WordNet). In the
past straw was also used to refer to nything
proverbially worthless; the least possible thing; a mere trifle. Geoffrey
Chaucer (ca.1343-1400) once wrote: "I set not a straw by thy dreamings."
Straw is often a key ingredient in brick making, the
substance which stands up against the wolf's attack.
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6. To build
a house:
Shelter, along with food and clothing, is one of the basic needs for survival.
The pigs require adequate shelter from the elements and more importantly
predators as the story will show.
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7. Wolf: The wolf is a common fairy
tale villain, perhaps most famous for this tale and Little Red Riding Hood.
Other versions of the tale offer other animals as the predator with a fox as
the second most popular choice.
While Disney has influenced the continuing popularity
of several fairy tales, its influence on The Three Little Pigs is perhaps one
of the strongest. While the pigs were not the stars of a feature length film,
they were given their own cartoon short in 1933 as part of Disney's Silly
Symphonies. The cartoon predates the earliest Disney full-length fairy tale
film, Snow White, by a few years. The cartoon, which included the song
"Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?," became
a success during the Depression, inspired people to overcome the
"wolves" in their lives--poverty, starvation, unemployment, etc.
The wolf also figures prominently in other parts of
British folklore, such as the traditional children's game, "What's the
Time, Mr. Wolf?"
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8. Knocked
at the door: The knocking at the door adds a bit of comedy. The wolf is essentially
knocking to be admitted to eat the pig in its own home.
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9. Little
pig, little pig, let me come in: The following dialogue between the wolf and the pigs
is repeated three times and it is the most popular element of the story. The
lines, or similar versions, have become part of popular culture in many
societies, referenced in advertising, humor, and other mediums. The lines can
be used to encourage audience participation.
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10. No, no,
by the hair of my chiny chin chin:
The
first two pigs may be foolish about their building materials, but they know a
mortal threat when they see it. They do not intend to become the wolf's next
meal voluntarily.
In the endnotes for this tale in English Fairy Tales, Joseph Jacobs
writes: "As little pigs do not have hair on their chinny
chin-chins, I suspect that they were originally kids, who have. This would
bring the tale close to the Grimms' 'Wolf and Seven
Little Kids'" (Jacobs 1890).
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11. Then I’ll
huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in: The modern classic, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
by Jon Scieszka explains the huffing and puffing as
the wolf's affliction with a cold.
12. Ate up
the little pig: In the earliest versions of the tale, the pigs pay for their ignorance
and laziness with their lives. Later versions often spare the pigs' lives.
Either they run away to stay with the pig in the brick house or they are cut
from the belly of the wolf at the end of the story, similar to some versions of
Little Red Riding Hood. In Andrew Lang's version, the youngest pig rescues his
brothers from where they are captured after defeating the wolf.
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13. A bundle
of furze:
Furze is a "very spiny and dense evergreen shrub with fragrant
golden-yellow flowers; common throughout western Europe," especially
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14. A load of
bricks: A
brick is a "rectangular block of clay baked by the sun or in a kiln; used
as a building or paving material" (WordNet).
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15. Well, he
huffed, and he puffed, and he huffed and he puffed, and he puffed and huffed;
but he could not get the house down: The wolf's huffing and puffing provides
suspense and/or comedy depending on how the story is presented. This scene is
usually comical in illustrated and animated versions of the tale.
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16. Little pig,
I know where there is a nice field of turnips: Many later versions of the
tale skip this section of the story. The story is then resumed with the wolf
climbing down the chimney. Note that the wolf is using two of the pig's
elemental needs for survival to try to catch him, first his home and then his
food.
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17. I have
been and come back again, and got a nice potful for
dinner:
This pig is a trickster, similar to Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk. He
continually outsmarts the wolf and thus saves his own life. He continually
outsmarts the wolf in their next encounters, mostly with ingenuity but with a
little bit of luck added.
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18. Apple tree:
Pigs
are often cooked whole and served with an apple in their mouths. Perhaps the
wolf has visions of a similar meal.
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19. Shanklin: There is a small town of
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21. A
butter-churn: A butter churn is a vessel in which milk or cream is stirred, beaten, or
otherwise agitated (as by a plunging or revolving dasher) in order to separate
the oily globules from the other parts, and obtain butter (New Lexicon
Webster's Dictionary).
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22. Told him
how frightened he had been by a great round thing which came down the hill past
him:
Joseph Jacobs' references a similar plot device in an Indian (India, not Native
American) tale, titled "Lambikin," which
appeared in Wide-awake Stories (1884)
by Flora Annie Steel and R. C. Temple. In the story, "the Lambikin gets inside a Drumikin,
and so nearly escapes the jackal" (Jacobs 1890).
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23. Get down
the chimney: This wolf is not Santa Claus. He is not welcome in the pig's house and
is not smart enough to anticipate a warm reception of a different kind.
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24. A blazing
fire: In
times past before stoves and central heating, fireplaces and chimneys were used
for cooking food in most homes, not just for warmth.
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25. Ate him
for supper: Pigs are not very discerning in their eating. The irony of this story
is that the pig ends up eating the wolf. The prey eats the predator which is
not the normal order of life. However, the story serves as inspiration to the
underdog.
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26. Lived happy
ever afterwards: Happily ever after belongs to the pig with wits and industry. The wolf
and the other two pigs, however, are dead and will not be living happily ever
after in fairy tale fashion.