Once upon a time there was a family of pigs. The youngest little pig was a fast little pig. He liked everything to move fast. He liked slip-on shoes because he didn't have to take the time to tie them. He liked tee-shirts because they slipped over his head and he didn't have to button any buttons. He would rush through his homework without checking for mistakes and he always ran everywhere he went. The middle little pig was a lazy little pig. He liked soup and pudding because he didn't have to chew them. He never combed his hair or changed his clothes because it was too much work. He even slept in his shoes because he was too lazy to take them off knowing that he would have to put them on again in the morning. He never hurried anywhere and spent much of his time sleeping. The oldest little pig was neither too fast nor too slow. He liked button-down shirts and shoes that tied. He did not run except when he was playing and he did not sleep unless he was tired. He liked to read and always thought before he answered. The mother pig loved all her children and knew that it was time for
them to leave her home. She packed them a lunch, kissed them all and sent
them out into the world to seek their fortunes.
The little pigs started out down the road. They hadn't gone far when they met a man with a load of straw. The youngest little pig was in a hurry to build his house. He offered to work for the man in exchange for enough straw to build a house. The littlest pig worked so fast that by 2:00 in the afternoon he had finished all the work the man had given him and had earned a load of straw. The littlest pig quickly built a house from the straw and moved in. His
house looked much like a haystack, but the littlest pig liked it because
it had no steps to climb and no locks to lock and he could run in and out
the door as quick as a flash. The middle-sized pig and the oldest pig continued down the road. They
had not gone much farther when they met a man with a load of sticks. The
middle-sized pig had always enjoyed playing with tinker toys and thought
that he could easily build a house made of sticks. Since the middle-sized pig hated to work, he pretended that the man with the sticks had stepped on his toe. The pig made such a fuss that the man felt sorry for him. The man not only gave him the load of sticks, but helped the pig build a house of them. As soon as the stick house was finished the middle-sized pig went inside to take a nap.
Now in that same country there lived a wolf. He was old and grey and very thin. Pork chops (very rare) were his favorite food. The wolf watched his new neighbors with interest. As soon as they were settled in, he went to visit the youngest little pig. The wolf knocked at the door of the little straw house. "Little pig, little pig, Let me come in." called the wolf. The youngest little pig peeked through the window and saw the old wolf standing at his door. "Not by the hair on my chinny, chin, chin," he answered. . The littlest pig tried to run, but, fast as he was, he could not run fast enough to get away from the wolf. The wolf had pork chops (very rare) for a week. Soon the old wolf's stomach began to grumble again. The wolf knocked at the door of the little stick house. "Little pig, little pig, Let me come in." called the wolf. The middle-sized pig peeked through the window and saw the old wolf standing at his door. "Not by the hair on my chinny, chin, chin," he answered.
The middle-sized pig tried to run, but he was so fat and lazy he could not run fast enough to get away from the wolf. The wolf had pork chops (very rare) for two weeks. When the old wolf's stomach began to grumble this time, he knocked at the door of the little brick house. "Little pig, little pig, Let me come in." called the wolf. The oldest little pig peeked through the window and saw the old wolf standing before his door. "Not by the hair on my chinny, chin, chin," he answered. "Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in...", replied the wolf. As good as his word, the wolf took a great gulp of air and blew as hard as he could. He blew and blew until he was red in the face, but he could not blow down the cozy little brick house. The wolf sat down to think. If he could get into the little pig's house, he would have to get the little pig to come outside. The wolf remembered that he had seen an apple tree nearby which was covered with red, ripe apples. "Little pig, would you like to accompany me tomorrow morning to pick apples?" he called through the door. The pig knew that the old wolf was up to no good, but he said, "I would
be honored to go with you, Mr. Wolf. Shall we meet at 7 in the morning?"
The wolf quickly agreed and licked his lips at the thought of pork chops
with apple sauce. The next morning at 6 a.m. the pig hurried to the apple tree. He picked all the apples he could carry and then hurried back to his cozy little brick house. By the time the wolf arrived at his door, the pig was settling down to enjoy a fine apple tart. The wolf was furious at having been fooled, but he decided to try again, this time picking a destination that would take the pig farther from his home. There was a fair in the next town. The wolf said, "Little pig, would you like to go to the fair with me?" The pig knew that the old wolf was up to no good but he said, "I would be honored to go with you, Mr. Wolf. Shall we meet at 7 in the morning?" The wolf did not want to be fooled again. He answered "Oh,no, friend pig. That will get us to the fair much too late in the day. We will leave at 6 in the morning." The next morning the pig rose before dawn. By the time the wolf arrived at the door to the little brick house the pig had already visited the fair and purchased a fine new butter churn. The wolf was furious to find a note on the pig's door.
The wolf was scared half out of his wits by the rumbling churn coming down the hill toward him. He forgot all about the pig and took to his heels. By the time the wolf recovered himself the pig was safe inside his cozy little brick house and had already churned a fine big block of butter to eat with his apple tarts. The wolf decided that since he could not blow down the brick house and since he could not trick the pig into leaving the safety of his home again, the wolf would just have to find a way to get inside the house. The wolf started to climb up the side of the house, heading for the chimney. The little pig heard the wolf's toenails scratching on the wall near the chimney.
The wolf never again bothered the little pig, who lived to be an old, old pig with many children, all of whom were wise and hard-working and honest. THE END |