| The Three Little Pigs | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Browny, Whitey, Blacky |
|
First Appearance |
The Nursery Rhymes of England |
|
Created by |
James Halliwell-Phillipps |
Origin[]
The story begins with the title characters being sent out into the world by their mother, to "seek their fortune". The first little pig builds a house of straw, but a wolf blows it down and eats him.
The second pig builds a house of furze sticks, which the wolf also blows down before eating the pig. Each exchange between wolf and pig features ringing proverbial phrases, namely:
"Little pig, little pig, let me come in."
"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."
The third pig builds a house of bricks. The wolf fails to blow down the house. He then attempts to trick the pig out of the house by asking to meet him at various places, but is outwitted each time. Finally, the wolf resolves to come down the chimney, whereupon the pig catches the wolf in a cauldron of boiling water, slams the lid on, and cooks and eats him.
Notes[]
- The story uses the literary rule of three, expressed in this case as a "contrasting three", as the third pig's brick house turns out to be the only one which is adequate to withstand the wolf.