Click here for the short modernised story
Once upon a time, an old mother pig had three piglets. Unfortunately, she didn’t have enough food to keep them, so she sent them out to seek their own luck.
When the first pig went out, he met a man with a bundle of straw. The pig said, “Sir, please give me the straw so I can build a house.” The man gave him the straw, and the pig built a house out of straw. Soon after, a wolf passed by. He knocked on the door and said, “Hey, little pig, let me in.”
The pig replied, “No, no, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin.”
“Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in,” said the wolf. And so he did. He huffed and he puffed, and he blew the door down. And he…ate the pig.
The second pig met a man with a bundle of sticks. The pig said, “Sir, please give me the sticks so I can build a house.” The man gave him the sticks, and the pig built a house out of sticks.
Then the wolf came by and said, “Hey, little pig, let me in.”
“No, no, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin,” replied the pig.
“Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in,” said the wolf. And so he did. He huffed and he puffed, and he blew the door down. And he…ate the second pig.
The third pig met a man with a load of bricks. The pig said, “Please, sir, give me those bricks so I can build a house.” The man gave him the bricks, and the pig built a house out of bricks. Then the wolf came to him and said, “Hey, little pig, let me in.”
“No, no, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin,” replied the pig.
“Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in,” said the wolf.
So the wolf huffed and he puffed and he huffed and he puffed and he huffed and he puffed, but he couldn’t blow the door down. When he realized he couldn’t open the door by huffing and puffing, he said, “Hey, little pig, I know where you can find a nice field of turnips.”
“Where?” asked the pig.
“Oh, it’s at Mr. Smith’s house. If you’re ready tomorrow morning, I’ll ring the bell, and we’ll go together to get turnips for dinner.”
“That’s a great plan,” said the pig. “I’ll be ready. What time do you plan to go?”
“Six o’clock,” said the wolf.
So, the pig got up at five o’clock and went to get the turnips. He was back before six. Then the wolf came and asked, “Hey, little pig, are you ready?”
“I’m all ready,” said the pig. “I’ve already been and come back, and I have a nice pot full of turnips for dinner.”
The wolf was very angry about this, but he thought he could still outsmart the pig in another way. So he said, “Hey, little pig, I know a place with a nice apple tree.”
“Where?” asked the pig.
“Down in the Merry Garden,” answered the wolf. “If you don’t cheat me this time, I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow morning at five o’clock. Then we’ll go together to get apples.”
So, the pig got up at four in the morning and was already busy gathering apples. He hoped with all his heart to be back in time before the wolf came. But it was further away than he had thought, and he had to climb a tree. Just as he was climbing down from the tree, the wolf came. The pig was now terribly scared, as you can imagine. When the wolf arrived, he said, “Hey, little pig, what’s this? Are you here first again? And are those good apples?”
“Yes, they’re very good apples,” said the pig. “I’ll throw one down for you.” He threw the apple very far away. And while the wolf chased after the apple, the pig jumped down and ran quickly home.
The next day, the wolf came again. He said, “Hey, little pig, there’s a fair in town this afternoon. Do you want to go?”
“Oh, yes, certainly,” said the pig. “I definitely want to go. What time will you be ready?”
“At three o’clock,” said the wolf.
So the pig left, as usual, earlier for the fair. He bought a barrel of delicious churned butter and was already on his way back when he saw the wolf. Then he didn’t know what to do out of fear, so he just hid in the barrel of butter. The barrel, with the pig inside, started rolling and rolled down the hill. The wolf was so scared of the rolling barrel that he quickly ran home without going to the fair.
He went to the pig’s house and told him that he was very scared of a big round thing that was rolling down the hill.
Then the pig said, “Haha, did I scare you? I went to the fair and bought a barrel of butter. When I saw you, I hid in the barrel. Then the barrel rolled down the hill.”
Then, of course, the wolf became angry again and swore that he would now really eat the little pig, and that he would come after him through the chimney.
When the pig saw what he was planning, he quickly hung a water kettle over the fire. And just as the wolf came down the chimney, he took the lid off the kettle. The wolf fell right into the kettle. The pig immediately put the lid back on, let the kettle boil, and… ate the wolf as a delicious dinner. And after that? He lived happily ever after!
