Fractured Fairy Tales ~ The Three LIttle Wolves and the Big Bad Pig

I have had a propensity for fairy tales and fractured fairy tales for many years. A "fractured fairy tale" is a fairy tale that has been modified in such a way as to make us laugh at an unexpected characterization, plot development or contrary point of view.

Many fractured fairy tales have been written based on the classic story of "The Three Little Pigs." I recently wrote about "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" by Jon Scieszka.

Today I am going to tell you about another version of "The Three Little Pigs".  "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig", by Eugene Trivizas, tells about three cuddly little wolves and a big bad pig. This book was published in 1993 and is still considered one of the most popular "fractured" versions of "The Three Little Pigs".

About The Author

 Eugene Trivizas is a Greek sociologist and author of children's books.

Three Cuddly Little Wolves

Once upon a time, there were three cuddly little wolves who lived with their mother. One day their mother told them it was time for them to go out into the world and live on their own.

The first wolf built a house of bricks, the second built a house of concrete and the third little wolf built his house with concrete, barbed wire, iron bars, armor plates and heavy metal padlocks.  Wow! What kind of pig could break down these houses?

This pig was very, very bad. He knocked down the brick house with a sledge hammer. He smashed down the concrete house with a pneumatic drill. He BLEW UP the concrete compound with DYNAMITE!

The wolves did not know what to do. They were seriously afraid for their lives. A friendly flamingo just happened to be passing by with a wheelbarrow full of flowers. The wolves decided to build a house with the flowers!

When the big bad pig came to destroy the house of flowers, something very unexpected happened. When he smelled the fragrant scent of the flowers, his heart grew tender and he realized how bad he had been. The wolves invited the pig to live with them, and they lived happily ever after.

My Thoughts

At the end of the story, we can draw the conclusion that the pig was mean because he didn't have any friends. The wolves were worried at first because they thought it might be a trick. They soon realized that the pig had truly changed, so they played with him and invited him into their house.

I have read this book aloud to children dozens of times. It never fails to hold their attention to the very end. The pig needed friendship and acceptance. This is a wonderful lesson for children of all ages.

Click HERE to see "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig" on YouTube.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Golden Oldies For Kids ~ The True Story Of The Three Little Pigs

Was Alexander T. Wolf framed? Was it all an unfortunate accident?

"The True Story of The Three Little Pigs", by A. Wolf (As Told To Jon Scieszka) is one of my favorite "fractured" fairy tales. This story was published in 1989 and has been very popular with children for over 20 years.

You may think you know the story of The Three Little Pigs but there are two sides to every story. The story begins with A. Wolf explaining that the real story is about a sneeze and a cup of sugar. He was making a birthday cake for his dear old granny and ran out of sugar. He also happened to have a terrible sneezing cold.

Was The Wolf Really Big And Bad?
Mr. Wolf walked down the street to borrow a cup of sugar from his neighbor. The neighbor happened to be a pig. The pig also happened to  have a house made of straw.
Mr. Wolf knocked on the door but the pig did not answer. Unfortunately, the wolf felt a sneeze coming on. He huffed and snuffed and sneezed a great sneeze. The whole darn house fell down and the little pig was dead. The wolf did not want to let a perfectly good ham go to waste, so he ate the pig for dinner.
Mr. Wolf had a similar experience at another neighbor's house. He finally came to a brick house and knocked on the door. The pig was rude and insulted the wolf's granny. When the cops arrived, the wolf was huffing and puffing and sneezing and making a real scene.
The story ends with the wolf behind behind bars and a police officer (a pig, of course) was guarding his cell. He had been framed.

My Thoughts
I read this book aloud many times when I worked as an elementary school librarian. The children could hear this same story over and over again...they always loved it.
The wolf is so convincing that he almost convinces the readers that he really was framed and it was all an accident. This is a perfect book for a "point-of-view" lesson. It was fun to ask the children to compare the original "Story of the Three Little Pigs" with this book. The final question was always, "Who do you believe and why?"

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

The Three Little Pigs

"Everyone can do more than he thinks he can."
Henry Ford

What you do with your life depends almost entirely on your self-concept.  No matter how unreal the premise on which your self-concept is based, it makes real things happen to you. You may say, "I can do this" and "I can't do that," simply because of remarks that others have made about you.  The chances are that you underestimate your own abilities.
Self-concepts might be compared to the houses built by the three little pigs. If a man builds up an image of himself that has no basis in reality, he's building his mental house of straw. A daydream about yourself that you don't follow up to make it come true can be blown down as easily as the house of straw.
Like the second little pig, you can build your mental house out of sticks, and it can also be blown down. If you build your self-concept on casual remarks made by others, you're building it out of sticks.
If you build your mental house out of bricks, who can knock it down? The wolves can come and howl at your door, but they will never knock down one single brick. Those bricks that build your self-concept can be academic or psychological tests showing exactly what you can do, personal experiences, or the encouragement of a loved one.  If you have had personal experience in succeeding at something, no matter how small or big, you can build the house of your self-esteem on what you have done in the past. No matter how many failures you have had, somewhere in the midst of them was something you did well, which others praised.
Build your life on what you have already done successfully.