Three Little Pigs

For the Disney animated short film, see Three Little Pigs (film).

Three Little Pigs is a fairy tale featuring talking animals. Published versions of the story date back to the late 18th century, but the story is thought to be much older. The story was assured its place in world's folklore thanks to an immensely popular 1933 Walt Disney animated cartoon.

Plot summary

Mother Pig sends her three little piglets out into the world to live on their own.

The first little pig builds a house of straw, but a wolf blows it down and eats the pig. The encounter between wolf and pig features ringing proverbial phrases:

One day the big bad wolf came and knocked on the first little pig's door and said, "Little pig, little pig, let me come in." And the little pig answered, "No, no, I won't let you come in, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin." "Well," said the wolf, "then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in." So he huffed and he puffed and he blew the house down and ate the little pig.

The second pig builds a house of sticks, has the same conversation with the wolf, and meets the same fate.

The third pig builds a house of brick. The wolf cannot huff and puff hard enough to blow the house down. He attempts to trick the third little pig out of his house, but the pig outsmarts him at every turn. Finally, the wolf threatens to come down the chimney, whereupon the third little pig boils a pot of water into which the wolf plunges. The little pig cooks the wolf and eats him.

The phrases used in this story, and the various morals that can be drawn from it, have become enshrined in western culture.

In recent years, the story, as has happened to other fairy tales, often is softened from its original version. In these versions, neither the wolf or the pigs end up eating each other. For instance, the two less prudent pigs escape to the house of the third pig while the wolf is captured rather than boiled.

History

Printed versions - Traditional

The tale has several similarities with "The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids" (the "kids" being young goats) included in Grimm's Fairy Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen, or Children's and Household Tales) by The Brothers Grimm, a collection that was first published in 1812 and had several revisions and additions until 1857.

The tale of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf was included in Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Tales by James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps, first published around 1843. It seems to have become popular during the late 19th century. Variations of the tale appeared in His Songs and Sayings in 1881. The story also made an appearance in Nights with Uncle Remus in 1883, both by Joel Chandler Harris, in which the pigs were replaced by Brer Rabbit. The story in its arguably best-known form appeared in English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, first published in 1898 and crediting Halliwell as his source

Printed versions - Re-envisioned

The Three Little Pigs were prominently featured in the second story arc of the Fables comic book. Two of them were prominently involved in an attempt to overthrow the Fabletown government, and were beheaded for the murder of the third pig, who had tried to warn Snow White of trouble brewing at the "Farm" where non-human-looking Fables are required to live. At the end of the story arc, they were replaced by transformed giants, since the Fables believe that the existence of real-life counterparts of well-known figures from stories is necessary. The giants had agreed to this transformation because the only other option they had was an enchanted sleep---they are difficult to hide and impossible to explain.

A more recent version titled The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig switches the character roles of the traditional story.

The Disney cartoon

Today, the most popular version of the story is an animated short film produced by Walt Disney and directed by Burton Gillett, Three Little Pigs, first released on May 27, 1933 by United Artists. The short introduced names for the pigs: Fifer Pig, Fiddler Pig and Practical Pig. It was hugely successful and won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons.

Works influenced

In Japan, the puppet show that draws the subsequent story of Three Little Pigs, Bū-Fū-Ū , was aired in 1960 to 1967. The show named the Three Little Pigs Bū, Fū and Ū.

References

Maltin, Leonard (1987). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons (revised ed.). United States: Plume. ISBN 0-452-25993-2.

External links

19th century versions of the Three Little Pigs story
Similar tale by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm
A page examining Disney's Three Little Pigs (not valid as of 16MAR2005, moving servers)
Lyrics of "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf"
Free audio story of the Three Little Pigs at Storynory

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