The Three Little Pigs

by QC Lina

Once upon a time, there were three little pigs. When they grew up, they left their parents to live their first winter by themselves.

Autumn came, and it began raining. The three little pigs started to feel they needed a real house to live in. They talked about how to build a house and prepare for the coming winter, but each decided for himself. The laziest little pig said he’d build a straw hut. “It will only take a day to get it done,” he said.

“It’s too fragile,” the others said, but the laziest refused to take their advice. The second little pig went to look for planks of seasoned wood to build his house. It took him almost two whole days to nail them together. Nevertheless, the third little pig did not like the wooden house.

“That’s not the best way to build a stable house!” he said. “Building a good house takes a lot of time, patience, and hard work. My house will be strong enough to stand up to wind and rain, and it will even protect me from wolves!”

The days went by, and the wisest little pig’s house came to take shape, brick by brick. His brothers visited him, saying with a chuckle, “Why are you working so hard?”

But the determined bricklayer pig just told himself, “I will build my house. I’ll make it solid and sturdy,” he said. “For he who laughs last, laughs longest!”

It was the wisest little pig who found the tracks of a big wolf in the neighborhood. The little pigs rushed home in alarm. Along came the wolf, scowling fiercely at the laziest pig’s straw hut.

“Come out!” said the wolf, with his mouth watering. “I want to talk to you!”

“I’d rather stay where I am!” replied the little pig in a scared voice.

“I’ll make you come out!” growled the wolf angrily, and he blew with all his might, right onto the house. And all the straw the silly pig had heaped fell down in the great blast.

Excited by his own cleverness, the wolf did not notice that the little pig had slithered out from underneath the heap of straw and was dashing towards his brother’s wooden house. When he realized that the little pig was escaping, the wolf grew wild with rage.

“Come back!” he roared, trying to catch the pig as he ran into the wooden house. The other little pig greeted his brother, shaking like a leaf.

“I hope this house won’t fall down! Let’s lean against the door, so he can’t break in!”

Outside, the wolf could hear the little pigs’ words. Starving as he was, at the idea of a two-course meal, he rained blows on the door.

“Open up! Open up! I only want to speak to you!”

Inside, the two brothers wept in fear and did their best to hold the door fast against the blows. Then the furious wolf drew in a really enormous breath, and suddenly the wooden house collapsed like a pack of cards.

Luckily, the wisest little pig had been watching the scene from the window of his own brick house, and he rapidly opened the door to his fleeing brothers. And not a moment too soon, for the wolf was already hammering furiously on the door. This time, the wolf had grave doubts. He blew once, he blew again, and then a third time, but all was in vain.

The three little pigs watched him, and their fear began to fade. The wolf decided to try one of his tricks. He scrambled up a nearby ladder onto the roof to have a look at the chimney. However, the wisest little pig had seen this ploy, and quickly, he said, “Quick! Light the fire!”

With his long legs thrust down the chimney, the wolf was not sure if he should slide down the black hole. It wouldn’t be easy to get in, but the sound of the little pigs’ voices below only made him feel hungrier.

“I’m dying of hunger! I’m going to try and get down.” And he let himself drop. But landing was rather hot, too hot! The wolf landed in the fire, stunned by his fall.

The flames licked his hairy coat, and his tail became a flaring torch.

“Never again! Never again will I go down a chimney,” he squealed, as he tried to put out the flames in his tail. Then he ran away as fast as he could.

The three happy little pigs, dancing round and round the yard, began to sing. “Tra-la-la! Tra-la-la! The wicked black wolf will never come back…!”

From that day on, the wolf only returned once to roam the neighborhood, then left for good.

The story ends here, but it leaves us with a deeper truth: upon entering adulthood, we must leave the comfort of our parents’ nest and face every winter on our own—whether it’s the biting cold of the seasons or the harsh winters of the economy. We must always plan and build our own sanctuaries as strong and sturdy as possible. Storms will come and go, but the warmth we hard-won with our own hands is the most real, honest, and dependable comfort we will ever know.