Once upon a time, nestled near a sunny meadow, lived three little pigs who were brothers. The day came when they were old enough to build their own homes. With cheerful waves goodbye to their mother, they trotted off together, excited for their new adventure.
The first little pig was eager to finish building quickly so he could spend the rest of the day playing. He saw a farmer gathering straw and thought, "Perfect! That looks light and easy." In no time at all, he had piled up the straw into a cozy-looking, if somewhat flimsy, little house. He sighed happily and went off to find butterflies in the meadow.
The second little pig also wanted to play rather than work. He saw a pile of fallen sticks near the woods. "Sticks are stronger than straw," he thought, "but still quick to build with!" He gathered the sticks and fastened them together. His house took a little longer than his brother's, but soon he too was finished and joined the first pig chasing sunbeams.
The third little pig watched his brothers finish quickly. He knew building a house was important work. "I want my house to be safe and strong, a place where I can feel truly snug," he decided. He saw a pile of sturdy red bricks and knew it would be hard work, but worth it. He carried the heavy bricks, mixed sticky mortar, and carefully laid each brick, one on top of the other. It took him all day, while his brothers played, but finally, his solid brick house stood tall and proud.
Now, living in the nearby woods was a wolf. He wasn't a particularly bad wolf, but he often felt blustery and sometimes got hungry. One afternoon, feeling a rumble in his tummy and seeing the new houses, he decided to pay a visit. First, he came to the house made of straw.
"Little pig, little pig, may I come in?" called the wolf, trying to sound friendly. "No, no, not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin!" squeaked the first little pig from inside. The wolf huffed, just a little puff, perhaps like blowing out a candle, but the straw house was so light it tumbled down in a heap! The frightened little pig scampered away as fast as his trotters could carry him to his brother's house of sticks.
The wolf ambled along and soon arrived at the stick house. "Little pigs, little pigs, may I come in?" he asked, peering through the twigs. "No, no, not by the hair on our chinny-chin-chins!" cried both pigs from inside. The wolf took a slightly deeper breath and puffed. The stick house wobbled, shivered, and then collapsed into a pile of kindling. The two little pigs squealed and ran straight to their brother's sturdy brick house.
Huffing a little from his walk, the wolf arrived at the third house. He knocked politely on the solid wooden door. "Little pigs, little pigs, may I come in?" he called out. "No, no, not by the hair on our chinny-chin-chins!" replied the third little pig confidently, while his brothers hid behind him.
"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in!" declared the wolf, feeling quite determined now. He took the biggest breath he could manage and blew with all his might! But the brick house didn't move one bit. Not a single brick rattled. The wolf tried again, huffing and puffing until his cheeks were red, but the house stood firm and strong.
The wolf scratched his head, quite perplexed. He looked up and saw the chimney. "Aha!" he thought, "I'll sneak down the chimney." But the third little pig was clever. He had heard the wolf scrambling on the roof. He quickly put a large, empty laundry basket right under the chimney opening in the fireplace.
The wolf slid down the chimney, expecting to land inside, but instead, he tumbled right into the big, awkward basket! He bumped his nose and got all tangled up. Flustered and embarrassed, he scrambled out of the basket, out the fireplace (leaving a little sooty mess), and back up the chimney. He decided getting into sturdy houses was far too much trouble.
"Building strong houses takes hard work," the wolf grumbled to himself as he trotted back towards the woods, "and trying to visit pigs in them is even harder! I think I'll just look for some nice, juicy berries instead." And off he went.
Inside the safe, strong brick house, the three little pigs breathed a sigh of relief. The first two pigs looked at their clever brother and his sturdy home. "Thank you for letting us in," they said. "We learned our lesson. Taking the easy way isn't always the best way. Hard work and planning really do pay off." They decided that the very next day, they would help their brother make his garden pretty, and then they would start building their own strong brick houses right next door. And they all felt very safe and cozy together.