how to write an essay on three little pigs

A Summary and Analysis of the ‘Three Little Pigs’ Fairy Tale

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

The anonymous fable or fairy tale of the Three Little Pigs is one of those classic anonymous tales which we hear, and have read to us, when we are very young. The fable contains many common features associated with the fairy tale, but there are some surprises when we delve into the history of this well-known story. Let us begin with a summary of the Three Little Pigs tale before proceeding to an analysis of its meaning and origins.

The Three Little Pigs: plot summary

First, a brief summary of the tale as it’s usually told. An old sow has three pigs, her beloved children, but she cannot support them, so she sends them out into the world to make their fortune. The first (and oldest) pig meets a man carrying a bundle of straw, and politely asks if he might have it to build a house from. The man agrees, and the pig builds his house of straw. But a passing wolf smells the pig inside the house.

He knocks at the door (how you can ‘knock’ at a door made of straw is a detail we’ll gloss over for now), and says: ‘Little pig! Little pig! Let me in! Let me in!’

The pig can see the wolf’s paws through the keyhole (yes, there’s a keyhole in this straw door), so he responds: ‘No! No! No! By the hair on my chinny chin chin!’

The wolf bares his teeth and says: ‘Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down.’

He does as he’s threatened to do, blows the house down, and gobbles up the pig before strolling on.

The second of the three little pigs, meanwhile, has met a man with a bundle of sticks, and has had the same idea as his (erstwhile) brother. The man gives him the sticks and he makes a house out of them. The wolf is walking by, smells the pig inside his house made of sticks, and he knocks at the door (can you ‘knock’ at a door made of sticks?), and says: ‘Little pig! Little pig! Let me in! Let me in!’

The pig can see the wolf’s ears through the keyhole (how can there – oh, forget it), so he responds: ‘No! No! No! By the hair on my chinny chin chin!’

Now, the final of the three little pigs – and the last surviving one – had met a man with a pile of bricks, and had had the same idea as his former siblings, and the man had kindly given him the bricks to fashion a house from. Now, you can guess where this is going.

The wolf is passing, and sees the brick house, and smells the pig inside it. He knocks at the door (no problem here), and says: ‘Little pig! Little pig! Let me in! Let me in!’

The pig can see the wolf’s great big eyes through the keyhole, so he responds: ‘No! No! No! By the hair on my chinny chin chin!’

So the wolf huffs and puffs and huffs and puffs and huffs and puffs and keeps huffing and puffing till he’s out of puff. And he hasn’t managed to blow the pig’s house down! He thinks for a moment, and then tells the little pig that he knows a field where there are some nice turnips for the taking. He tells the pig where the field is and says he will come round at six o’clock the next morning and take him there.

But the little pig is too shrewd, so the next morning he rises at five o’clock, goes to the field, digs up some turnips and takes them back to his brick house. By the time the wolf knocks for him at six, he is already munching on the turnips.

He tells the wolf he has already been and got them. The wolf is annoyed, but he comes up with another plan, and tells the wolf that he knows of some juicy apples on a tree in a nearby garden, and says he will knock for the pig the next morning at five o’clock and personally show him where they are.

The little pig agrees, but rises the next morning before four o’clock, and goes to the garden to pick some apples. But the wolf has been fooled once and isn’t about to be fooled twice, so he heads to the apple tree before five and catches the pig up the tree with a basket of apples.

The pig manages to escape by throwing the wolf an apple to eat, but throwing it so far away that by the time the wolf has fetched it and returned, the little pig has escaped with his basket and gone home to his brick house.

The wolf tries one final time. He invites the little pig to the fair with him the next day, and the pig agrees; but he heads to the fair early on, buys a butter churn, and is returning home when he sees the big bad wolf on the warpath, incandescent with rage at having been thwarted a third time.

So the pig hides in the butter churn and ends up rolling down the hill towards the wolf. The pig squeals in fear as he rolls, and the sound of the squealing and the speed of the churn rolling towards him terrifies the wolf, and he tucks tail and runs away.

The next day, the wolf shows up at the little pig’s house, to apologise for not accompanying him to the fair the day before. He tells the pig that a loud, scary thing was rolling down a hill towards him. When the pig tells him that it must have been him inside the butter churn, the wolf loses his patience, and climbs on the roof, determined to climb down the chimney into the little pig’s house and eat him.

But the pig has a pot of water boiling under the chimney, and when the wolf drops down into the house, he plops straight into the boiling hot water. The little pig puts the lid on the pot and cooks the wolf and then eats him for supper!

The Three Little Pigs: analysis

We all know these essential features of the story: the three little pigs, the big bad wolf. Yet neither of these is an essential feature of the story, or hasn’t been at some point or other in the fable’s history.

In one version – the earliest published version, from English Forests and Forest Trees, Historical, Legendary, and Descriptive (1853) – the little pigs were actually little pixies, and the wolf was a fox; the three houses were made of wood, stone, and iron. In another version, the Big Bad Wolf was actually a Big Kind Wolf. In at least one telling, the middle pig builds his house out of furze (i.e. gorse, a kind of shrub) rather than sticks.

As the Writing in Margins blog observes, an 1877 article published in Lippincott’s detailing folklore of African Americans in the southern United States outlines a story involving seven little pigs, which contains many of the details we associate with the Three Little Pigs tale, including the chimney-fire-pot finale and the chinny-chin-chinning.

Joel Chandler Harris’ 1883 collection Nights with Uncle Remus contains a similar tale (featuring six pigs rather than three), suggesting that the tale was part of African-American folklore in the nineteenth century. Was the tale related to race relations in the United States during the antebellum (and immediate postbellum) era?

Perhaps, although it’s worth noting there were also Italian versions of the tale in circulation around the same time (with three geese rather than three pigs). The definitive English version – with all of the features of the story outlined in the plot summary above – appears to have made its debut in print only in 1886, in James Orchard Halliwell’s Nursery Rhymes of England .

This was a sort of hybrid version of the various tellings of the story in circulation, incorporating aspects of the Italian, African-American, and English versions. We recommend the Writing in Margins post linked to above for more information on the evolution of the story.

Among other fascinating insights, the author suggests that the ‘pixies’ version of the tale arose from a mishearing of the Devon dialect word for pig, ‘pigsie’, as ‘pixie’. Certainly, no other version of the Three Little Pigs contains pixies, and the pixies in the story behave unlike the pixies found in other stories from English folklore.

1886 is rather late for the tale (as we now know it) to be making its debut in print. It feels much older, especially since it contains so many features we commonly associate with fairy tales and children’s stories.

Indeed, it’s thought that the story is considerably older, and was perhaps circulated orally before it finally made its way into published books. Certainly, despite these slight differences between disparate versions of the tale, the raw narrative elements are those we are used to finding in fairy tales.

The rule of three – a common plot feature in classic fairy tales – is there several times over in the fable of the Three Little Pigs. There are three little pigs; there are three houses; the wolf tries to trick the last of the three pigs three times.

In each case, the third instance acts as the decisive one: the first two pigs are eaten, but the third survives; the first two houses are insufficient to withstand the wolf, but the third is able to; and the third trick played by the wolf proves his ultimate undoing, since it is the last straw (no pun intended) which makes him erupt in rage and go on the offensive, with devastating consequences (for him).

This helps to build a sense of narrative tension, even if we suspect we know where the tale is going. And of course, there is a delicious irony (delicious in more than one sense) in the pig eating the wolf at the end of the fable, rather than vice versa.

But if fables are meant to have a moral message to impart, what is the meaning of the Three Little Pigs tale? In the last analysis, it seems to be that plucky resourcefulness and careful planning pay off, and help to protect us from harm. There’s also a degree of self-sufficiency: the mother cannot look after the three little pigs, so they must stand on their own two (or four) feet and make their own way in the world. (This is another popular narrative device in fairy tales: the hero must absent themselves from home early on and go out into the world alone.)

Of course, the third little pig survives not just by standing on his own feet but by thinking on his feet, too: it’s his quick thinking that enables him to outwit the wolf, himself not exactly a simpleton, even if he isn’t the sharpest straw in the hay-bale.

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8 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of the ‘Three Little Pigs’ Fairy Tale”

I didn’t know the last three conversations the wolf had with the third pig. It does rather complicate matters but thanks for the information.

Wonderful analysis. As a child, I do remember being afraid of the big bad wolf. He’s permeated our society, hasn’t he?

Thanks or no thanks to tales such as “The Three Little Pigs” and “Little Red Riding Hood”, many people have come to fear wolves. Wolves are rarely harmful to humans, but humans have certainly harmed and are still harming wolves.

Have you read Magnus Chase?

I was metaphorically replying to the fairly tale. The big bad wolves we have in society have two legs and can definitely blow your house down.

I think the approach of the main critique is misguided. Folk tales work on a subliminal level and their logic is not the logic of every day. It’s for this reason that so many folk legends provide a basis for creative literature.

Which part is misguided, Brian? I agree that folk tales largely work on a subliminal level, but which part of the story’s ‘logic’ have we misinterpreted?

I very interesting critique. I have never come across the second half – which feels more like a fable within a fable to me. The version I grew with has the wolf fail to blow down the third house and climbing immediately up to the roof to get in through the chimney, meeting his inevitable end. It actually makes a lot more sense that way I think as the wolf is determined to eat that pig right away!

I have no textual evidence to support this but I can’t help but feel the origin of the fable must come from the biblical parable of the wise and foolish men building their houses upon the sand or rock. There’s too much of a coincidence with house-building, materials and the explicit or implicit wise and foolishness. Perhaps the Three Little Pigs was an attempt to expand the story and make it more accessible for children? I could easily imagine the story arising out of a Sunday School class. As I say, I have justification for this – just a hunch!

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20 The Three Little Pigs

Read “the three little pigs”, by roald dahl.

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Writing Lessons with The Three Little Pigs (Creative Writing for Multiple Ages)

by Kay Chance | Learning with Living Books , Teaching Language Arts , Teaching Writing | 2 comments

[The following post contains affiliate links. You can read my disclosure here .]

Once upon a time, a teacher wanted to teach multiple children, of varying ages at the same time…Ok, maybe that isn’t the beginning of an actual fairy tale, but I think most homeschool moms think it is. They want to believe the impossible—that it’s a true story. Let me assure you, not only is it possible, your family can have a lot of fun, too! Especially when it comes to writing.

Yes, your students need writing instruction and assignments according to their grade levels, but that doesn’t mean you can’t at least do some activities together. The key: expect students to produce work at the appropriate level for their ages.

Creative Writing is Important For Every Age

Often as homeschooling moms, we think “Sure, creative writing is fine for my younger kinds, but my high school students need to get more serious.” And so we teach academic writing forms, and neglect creative writing almost completely.

However, I believe  creative writing skills enhance  academic writing. Student’s ability to hook the readers attention, to cleverly use humor to make a point, and connect concepts from a unique perspective in academic writing will make their essays shine. Think of creative writing as exercise, building up academic writing muscles. And let’s face it, high school kids need to have a little fun, too.

So whether you have elementary, intermediate, or high school children (or all of the above), make writing fun. There are three little pigs just waiting to help.

Writing Lessons For the Whole Family

Begin by reading The Three Little Pigs . I suggest choosing a traditional version of the story, but it’s up to you  how  traditional it is. In the original the first two pigs get eaten by the wolf. And the wolf was boiled and eaten by the third pig. Oh my. Of course, my teen boys would enjoy the original version best.

I loved reading from  A Treasury of Children’s Literature edited by Armand Eisen when they were younger, though. It includes fairy tales, traditional stories, nursery rhymes, tall tales, and even some poetry. You can also find versions of The Three Little Pigs  online, or you may just remember it from when you were a child.

I also love all things Usborne Books & More (so much so, I’m an independent consultant for them 📚). They have a wonderful pop up book series that includes Pop-Up Fairy Tales: The Three Little Pigs !

After reading the story you will want to discuss two literary terms: setting and point of view.

The setting is the time and place a story occurs. That, of course, isn’t a difficult concept. Sometimes the setting is just a backdrop for the story, meaning the story could take place at anytime, anywhere and it wouldn’t really change it much. Other times the setting is integral, or essential, to the story. The setting becomes a part of the story by establishing both the mood and tone. For example, can anyone really imagine The Hound of the Baskerville s not taking place among the gloomy moorlands of England in the late 1800s? (Have your high school student read it to see what I mean!)

But how significant is the setting of The Three Little Pigs ? What might happen if you changed it? We will get back to that in just a bit.

Point of View

Point of View: The angle from which a story is told. The angle depends upon the narrator, or person telling the story. (Write Source 2000)

To help your children understand the difference, ask one of them to tell a story about something they did today. That is first-person point-of-view. Then have one of your children tell about something that you did today. That is third-person point-of-view. Easy.

For older students, they will also need to know a little more about third-person point of view. Omniscient point of view means that the narrator knows everything—the thoughts and feelings of all the characters, while limited omniscient means the narrator only knows one character’s. With the objective point of view, the narrator tells the story without knowing any of the characters’ thoughts or feelings.

So, what point of view is The Three Little Pigs told in? Usually, third-person. And most of the time, those version don’t talk about the thoughts and feelings of the pigs, though we can surmise the first two pigs were a wee bit afraid of the big, bad wolf after he blew their houses down  😉

What would happen if the point of view was different? What if it was told in first-person? Or the third-person omniscient point of view? If you can, read the story told through the wolf’s eyes in  The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka. Clearly, the point of view affects a story significantly.

Learn Language Arts naturally with language lessons inspired by Dr. Ruth Beechick. Guide includes daily reading, copywork, dictation, or narration assignments, a variety of language activities to complete, and notebook pages. Perfect for upper elementary through middle school students.

Language Lessons from Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars

Writing Assignment

Now it is time for you students to practice what they have learned.

Share this simple, no-frills version with your children:

Once upon a time there were three little pigs.

Their mother sent them out to seek their fortunes.

The first pig found a man selling straw. He bought the straw and built a house with it.

The second pig found a man selling sticks. He bought the sticks and built a house with them.

The third pig found a man selling bricks. He bought the bricks and built a house with them.

A wolf found the first pig’s house. He knocked on the door and told the pig he wanted to come in. The pig said no, so the wolf blew his house down. The pig ran to his brother’s house of sticks.

The wolf found the second pig’s house. He knocked on the door and told the pig he wanted to come in. The pig said no, so the wolf blew his house down. The first and second pig ran to their brother’s house of bricks.

Finally, the wolf found the third pig’s house. He knocked on the door and told the pig he wanted to come in. The pig said no, but this time the wolf couldn’t blow the house down. The three pigs were safe.

He tried to get in a different way—down the chimney. The pigs built a fire before he could get down the chimney. He got out of the chimney quickly.

The wolf ran away.

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Younger Students

Have your younger students choose one of the following:

Rewrite the story of The Three Little Pigs using a different setting (or if they are too young to write it themselves, let them dictate their story to you). Before they start writing though, talk to them about how the new setting they chose will affect the story. What details might change based on the new setting?

Rewrite The Three Little Pigs from a different point of view. What if the mother pig told the story? What if it was written in first-person by one of the pigs? How might a narrator who knows all of the feelings and thoughts of the characters tell the story?

Older Students

Older students can choose either of these writing assignments or preferably, combine them. Rewrite The Three Little Pigs  with both a different setting and point of view and see what happens. Encourage them to add details, descriptive paragraphs, and literary elements to their versions. The possibilities truly are endless.

For Everyone

Whatever ages your children are though, start by discussing how the changes will affect the story. Ask them: Will you give your pigs names? What might their houses be built from based on a new setting? What details can you add to the story to make it more interesting? Brainstorm ideas as a family. Give each other suggestions. And if you are really brave, join the fun.

And that is the most important part: have fun with the project! Students can illustrate their new stories with drawings or even computer-generated graphic art. Are your children interested in theater? Then encourage them to write their version as a play and perform it.

And speaking of fun, check out John Branyan’s version of The Three Little Pigs :  A Triune Tale of Diminutive Swine  (or if you can, watch it on You Tube !)

Some of My Favorite Writing Resources

My favorite resource for teaching writing: Brave Writer . Check out The Writer’s Jungle by Julie Bogart. It teaches  you  how to teach writing to your kids.

Write Source 2000: A Guide to Writing, Thinking, and Learning , 4th Edition, written and compiled by Patrick Sebranek, Dave Kemper, and Verne Meyer.

Literary Devices

The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)

If You Enjoyed This Lesson…

Check out  What if Elizabeth Bennet Had Blog? (A Creative Writing & Literature Study for Teens)

This would be such a nice intro creative writing for my son (whose rather reluctant at 8!). Thanks for sharing.

You are welcome! My youngest was a reluctant writer (and reader) at that age. Now he is going into communications as a major in college 🙂

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Moral Lessons

Plot summary, walt disney and the great depression, child-friendly adaptation, what is the moral lesson of "the three little pigs".

The fairy tale story of the three little pigs has made its way into popular culture. Originally a tale written in England, it became extremely popular in the United States with Walt Disney's adaption of the tale. ​ The moral of the story has inspired generations to work hard for success, with the hope that the hard work will eventually lead to favorable outcomes. ​

​ The primary moral lesson learned from "The Three Little Pigs" is that ​hard work and dedication pay off. ​ While the first two pigs quickly built houses of straw and had more free time to play, the third pig labored in the construction of his house of bricks. Compared to the other two pigs, the third pig's extra effort paid off in that his home lasted. The idea that taking the time to perform a task the right way has been adopted by many work organizations and preached by teachers and parents of children for many generations as a good life lesson.

​ The earliest credited "Three Little Pigs" story was written by James Orchard Halliwell in 1849, part of popular nursery rhymes of England. ​ The story appeared in a book titled, "Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales." It is not known whether Halliwell, who later used the name Halliwell-Phillipps, created the story or simply passed it down from previous generations. Halliwell was credited by fellow English author Joseph Jacobs when he adapted the story for a book titled "English Fairy Tales."

The basic story outline of "The Three Little Pigs" is a tale of 3 little pigs, and each builds a home. The first pig took little time in building the home out of straw and spends the rest of his time playing and relaxing. A second pig builds a home out of sticks, which takes slightly longer, but he too values relaxation time. A third little pig chooses to build a home out of bricks, which requires a great deal of time and effort. He values taking the time to build a home properly over relaxation and recreation. ​ When the Big Bad Wolf comes to the homes, only the third pig's house of bricks stands up to the pressure applied by the wolf huffing down the houses. ​

In 1933, Walt Disney released an eight-minute animated film of the "Three Little Pigs." According to the Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts, the short film inspired many Americans through the Great Depression. Americans used the Big Bad Wolf as a symbol of strife in their lives. J​ ust as the three little pigs were able to overcome adversity through hard work, many Americans believed that their hard work would eventually lead them out of the Great Depression. ​

The modern-day version of "The Three Little Pigs" was adapted by Joseph Jacobs, who made changes to appeal to a younger audience. According to Roli Books, in the original story, the "Big Bad Wolf" was boiled in a pot and eaten by the piglets. ​ Rather than end the fairy tale in such a gruesome manner, Jacobs adapted the short story, so that the "Big Bad Wolf" came down the chimney and burned his tail. ​ In the Disney interpretation, the wolf lands in a pot of boiling turpentine but runs away in pain through the chimney.

Maddie Maloy is a junior at Indiana University (IU) studying journalism and minoring in marketing and public and environmental affairs. She is passionate about advancing social justice globally through communication and storytelling. At IU, she works as a reporter for the Arnolt Center of Investigative Journalism. She also serve as the vice president and philanthropy chair for Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Inc.

The Three Little Pigs Story

Once upon a time, there was a mother pig who had three little pigs. The first pig was incredibly lazy and constructed a straw hut, while the second pig put in a little more effort and made a stick house. The third pig, on the other hand, worked diligently all day and made a sturdy brick house that looked capable of withstanding any force of nature.

The pigs spent the remainder of the day singing, dancing, and playing together. However, the next day a wolf came down the lane and noticed the straw and stick homes. He could smell the pigs inside and desired to eat them for dinner.

The wolf knocked on the first pig’s door and demanded entry, but the pig refused. The wolf then threatened to huff and puff and blow the house down, which he did, but the pig managed to escape to the second pig’s home. The wolf then attempted to enter the second pig’s home, but the pigs refused and ended up fleeing to the third pig’s brick house.

The wolf was determined to capture the pigs, so he attempted to blow the house down, but the sturdy brick structure withstood his efforts. The three pigs were terrified and knew the wolf was waiting outside to eat them.

The story continues with the wolf approaching the door of the pig’s house, requesting to be let inside. He attempted to persuade the pigs by calling out “Little pigs! Little pigs! Let me in! Let me in!” However, the pigs noticed the wolf’s sneaky narrow eyes peering through the keyhole and replied with a firm “No! No! No! Not by the hairs on our chinny chin chin!”

The wolf bared his teeth and declared, “Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!” He proceeded to blow with all his might, huffing and puffing continuously, but he was unable to bring the house down. Exhausted from his efforts, the wolf paused to catch his breath and pondered his next move.

In a fit of rage, the wolf threatened to climb down the chimney and capture the small pig. However, the quick-thinking pig had already prepared a boiling pot of water and a blazing fire, which he placed beneath the chimney. As the wolf attempted to descend, the pig removed the lid, causing the wolf to plummet into the boiling water with a loud splat.

The small pig then covered the pot and boiled the wolf, preparing a delicious meal for himself and his brothers.

Summary of the story: Three Little Pigs

The story is about three little pigs who each build their own houses out of different materials. The first two pigs are lazy and build flimsy houses out of straw and sticks, respectively, while the third pig works hard to build a sturdy brick house. A hungry wolf comes along and tries to blow down each of the first two houses, but the pigs manage to escape to the next one. When the wolf tries to blow down the brick house, he fails, so he tries to come down the chimney but falls into a pot of boiling water and gets eaten by the pigs. The story teaches the importance of hard work, resourcefulness, and perseverance in the face of danger.

Moral of the story: Three Little Pigs

The moral of the story is that hard work, determination, and resourcefulness pay off in the end. The third little pig is able to survive and protect his siblings because he put in the effort to build a sturdy house out of bricks. The story encourages readers to persevere through challenges and to be proactive in preparing for adversity, rather than relying on luck or taking shortcuts. It also highlights the dangers of greed and laziness, as exhibited by the first two pigs who were not prepared for the wolf’s attack.

Conclusion of the story: Three Little Pigs

In conclusion, the story of the Three Little Pigs is a classic tale that has been enjoyed by generations. It tells the story of three young pigs who set out into the world to seek their fortunes, each building a different kind of house. The first two pigs, who were lazy and took shortcuts, were not able to withstand the attack of a hungry wolf, while the third pig, who put in the hard work and effort to build a sturdy house out of bricks, was able to survive and protect his siblings. The story teaches the importance of hard work, determination, and resourcefulness in the face of adversity, and the dangers of greed and laziness. Overall, the story remains a timeless reminder of the value of perseverance and preparation in overcoming challenges.

Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

What is the story of the three little pigs about, what is the moral of the story of the three little pigs, what age group is the story of the three little pigs suitable for, is the story of the three little pigs a fairy tale, are there any adaptations of the story of the three little pigs.

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What Three Little Pigs Can Teach About Reading & Writing

This post was submitted by Liz Buchanan, originally published in her blog  on March 17, 2015.

What’s with all the threes? Plus there are all the variations and parodies of the above stories: The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs , The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig , Los Tres Cerditos . How about  The Three Little Tamales or  The Three Little Javalinas!  The three-character theme is a staple of many a kindergarten curriculum.

Why three? This is probably all explained similarly elsewhere, but here’s my take. The three somebodies are a perfect way to teach about the elements of the typical linear story. Stories have a beginning, middle and end. Stories have a protagonist who wants something. Stories have an antagonist who thwarts what the protagonist wants. Protagonist figures out in the end how to overcome antagonist.

Hey, that’s just what they taught us when I got my MFA in fiction writing (though of course there are the feminist variations that just go in circles). What makes a good story all comes down to … The Three Little Pigs !

So at my most recent kindergarten concert, I lined up three children holding their three cut-out houses, of straw, sticks and bricks. I said, “Just like these three pigs, stories have three parts: a beginning, middle and end.” The first pig is the beginning of the story, the second pig is the middle, and the third pig finally figures out how to solve the problem.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff unfolds in exactly the same way. The Three Bears gets more complicated, because Goldilocks isn’t your classic bad-wolf antagonist, she’s just a bit confused about what to do upon encountering a strange house in the woods. But in a slightly more advanced way, the story’s scenes develop with essentially the same three-part structure.

It also occurred to me that The Three Little Pigs is a perfect way to lay the groundwork for writing a simple, cohesive essay. You know: state your premise, develop your ideas in three tidy segments, and tie it all together in a conclusion.

Now, I wouldn’t go telling kindergarteners to write essays based on the three pigs structure (though in this current weird world of ‘kindergarten is the new high school’ somebody might be trying to do that). But I do think that learning the structure of the ‘story of three’ provides an effective overlay for the logical analysis, organization and presentation of ideas.

Again, I’m sure I’m not the first person to think of this. But for me, it was an aha moment.

Do kids get the connection? Do they better understand literature and write more cohesive essays after carefully studying The Three Little Pigs? I don’t know. I’d love to hear from teachers on this topic.

I do firmly believe that giving students a chance to embody the story through singing, moving and acting deepens their understanding and might even make them better writers. Plus they’re having a lot of fun – we can still do that in education, right?

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The Three Little Pigs

The first little pig was very lazy. He didn't want to work at all and he built his house out of straw. The second little pig worked a little bit harder but he was somewhat lazy too and he built his house out of sticks. Then, they sang and danced and played together the rest of the day.

The third little pig worked hard all day and built his house with bricks. It was a sturdy house complete with a fine fireplace and chimney. It looked like it could withstand the strongest winds.

The next day, a wolf happened to pass by the lane where the three little pigs lived; and he saw the straw house, and he smelled the pig inside. He thought the pig would make a mighty fine meal and his mouth began to water.

So he knocked on the door and said:

But the little pig saw the wolf's big paws through the keyhole, so he answered back:

So he huffed and he puffed and he blew the house down! The wolf opened his jaws very wide and bit down as hard as he could, but the first little pig escaped and ran away to hide with the second little pig.

The wolf continued down the lane and he passed by the second house made of sticks; and he saw the house, and he smelled the pigs inside, and his mouth began to water as he thought about the fine dinner they would make.

But the little pigs saw the wolf's pointy ears through the keyhole, so they answered back:

So the wolf showed his teeth and said:

So he huffed and he puffed and he blew the house down! The wolf was greedy and he tried to catch both pigs at once, but he was too greedy and got neither! His big jaws clamped down on nothing but air and the two little pigs scrambled away as fast as their little hooves would carry them.

The wolf chased them down the lane and he almost caught them. But they made it to the brick house and slammed the door closed before the wolf could catch them. The three little pigs they were very frightened, they knew the wolf wanted to eat them. And that was very, very true. The wolf hadn't eaten all day and he had worked up a large appetite chasing the pigs around and now he could smell all three of them inside and he knew that the three little pigs would make a lovely feast.

So the wolf knocked on the door and said:

But the little pigs saw the wolf's narrow eyes through the keyhole, so they answered back:

Well! he huffed and he puffed. He puffed and he huffed. And he huffed, huffed, and he puffed, puffed; but he could not blow the house down. At last, he was so out of breath that he couldn't huff and he couldn't puff anymore. So he stopped to rest and thought a bit.

But this was too much. The wolf danced about with rage and swore he would come down the chimney and eat up the little pig for his supper. But while he was climbing on to the roof the little pig made up a blazing fire and put on a big pot full of water to boil. Then, just as the wolf was coming down the chimney, the little piggy pulled off the lid, and plop! in fell the wolf into the scalding water.

So the little piggy put on the cover again, boiled the wolf up, and the three little pigs ate him for supper.

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Book Citations / Learn how to cite “The true story of the three little pigs” by Jon Scieszka

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The Three Little Pigs Activities

There is a reason that certain books and stories become classics. The Three Little Pigs , is a story that has been told countless time, in countless ways. It is a story that children know and enjoy.

I love reading stories to my children at home, and my students at school. Even stories like, The Three Little Pigs , they are happy to listen to over and over again.

I am always looking for new, creative ways to tell these well known stories to children. I recently created a story play where I retell a story, but with small props and characters. The children were mesmerized and I had a new way of story telling!

Story plays are basically a creative form of storytelling that allow a story to be told in a hands-on way.

One of my favourite things about teaching is working with other teachers and learning from them. My teaching partners are a source of inspiration to me on a daily basis.

I have also had the rewarding experience of working with a student teacher who held so much enthusiasm and passion for teaching that I wanted to share one of my favourite activities that he created.

When preparing an activity/lesson for the kindergarten class, he created a story play based on the classic story, “The Three Little Pigs”.

Our students have been introduced to story plays before and always enjoy them.

Story plays use small props and characters to retell a story. If you are looking for a new way to tell a story, this form of story telling is magical for kids.

We all know that reading is an essential skill. Read more with this post about the Importance of Reading .

The Three Little Pigs Props

It can take some time to prepare the props for this story play. However, you can always simplify the props by either printing off pictures of the props that you need, i.e. a picture of a straw house. Some main items to create the props for The Three Little Pigs include:

• Construction Paper
• Pipe Cleaners
• Twigs/Sticks
• 3 Little Pig Figures
• 1 Wolf Figure

With these materials, you can create beautiful props for the story play. The more materials you add to create with, the more details you can add, but if you are looking to keep it fairly simple, these materials will work well.

Or you can also get the children involved, by having them create the props. They will love being given the opportunity to do some arts and crafts and use their imagination to create.

The props that our student teacher created caught, and kept, children’s attention immediately. He put a lot of detail and thought into every prop he used.

Each of the pigs homes are made from different materials. The materials are simple, but area used in a way to show all parts of the story.

For example, to create the straw house, pipe cleaners were used.

Presenting The Three Little Pigs as a Story Play

For a story play, the story teller sits on a small mat or carpet with the audience looking at them. Typically a few props are set on the carpet before the story begins.

These few initial props give children a chance to see a few items from the story. It also is a great time to have children predict what they think the story is going to be about.

As the story is told, the story teller moves the characters and props to correspond to the story.

For example, as the story is told, and the wolf blows down the houses, the houses are turned over and ‘destroyed’.

Even for a popular story like “The 3 Little Pigs,” presenting the story in this way engages children in a way that you have to see to believe.

While our student teacher was presenting, it was interesting to be an observer and watch the children be completely focused and engaged on the story being told.

I like the variety of materials used to create the different props. The trees and apples are made from felt.

Although the props are detailed and beautifully created for this story play, another option for a story play within a classroom is for the children to be given a variety of materials and create their own props.

I love the details and thought that went into each prop for this retelling of “The Three Little Pigs”. It sparked an interest in story telling in this way with the children

Extension Ideas

An additional feature that was used during this story play was sound effects (i.e. the wolf’s voice, the wolf splashing into a pot of water.) The use of sound effects added a whole other element to the story play.

This addition of sound was something that I was really impressed by and something that I will be integrating into my story plays from now on.

To add sound effects, the voices and sounds were recorded on a cell phone and hidden speaker were used to project the sounds.

The props that our student teacher created for this retelling of “The Three Little Pigs”, were perfect and beautiful. You can create a story play for any story you want. You don’t need a prop for every single location and part of the book, just enough to tell the story.

The student teacher who created this story play is an excellent story teller to begin with; however, this interactive form of story telling raises the bar for all story telling.

One of the benefits of story plays is that afterwards, children always find ways to create their own story plays and retell stories using props and toys that they have on hand.

I am always open to new ideas and activities for kids. This story play gave me lots of ideas to add to my own teaching!

For your convenience, this post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

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The three little pigs activity book.

Since the children enjoyed the activity so much, I wanted to extend it in class and with my own kids at home. I created a flipbook full of activity for young children. Kids will love doing the fun, engaging activities including some math and language as well as a word search and crossword puzzle.

The flipbook is FREE to all Hands-On Teaching Ideas subscribers. Click the image below to subscribe and gain access to my FREE Resource Library and receive emails about my latest activities and products.

More Hands-On Teaching Ideas

If you enjoyed the story play ideas for “The Three Little Pigs”, then you may also enjoy some more hands-on learning activities for home, or school. Below is a collection of my favourite, and most popular blog posts.

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