My grandfather was a natural-born storyteller. He had a way of making the world magical. In my younger years, I was very afraid of the dark and bedtimes were a struggle. My grandfather would put me to bed and tell me the story of the three little pigs, his version, which was very long and detailed. He told it a little differently each time, but still kept the core details the same. It was comforting, entertaining, and just long enough to gently lull me to sleep by the time it finally ended.
Of course, with such a strong, sweet memory to carry into my adulthood and motherhood, I wanted to tell this story to my child as well. However, the attention span of a 2-year old is perhaps a little less than suited for such a long story. So I have adapted the classic three little pigs story with a few elements from my grandfather’s version to tell my toddler at bedtime, and it has been nothing short of a HIT. He demands it nightly. He will accept no board book substitutes. He will not waver in his negotiations.
So here is my short, repetitive and interactive Three Little Pigs story that I tell my toddler every night as part of our bedtime routine. I have capitalized words where the telling requires dramatic emphasis.
Once upon a time (or once a PONY time, as my grandfather would say, to my giggles), there were three little pigs.
BIG brother pig
LITTLE brother pig
And BABY brother pig
One day, BIG brother pig went out and built himself a house of STRAW.
Then one day the
BIG (pause) BAD (pause) WOLF (pause) came and knocked on big brother pig’s door
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* (you should knock on wood/wall/floor here. Major crowd pleasing moment!)
WHO ISSSSSSSSS IT???? (High pitched, drawn out voice) said big brother pig.
And the BIG BAD WOLF,
HUFFED
and PUFFED
and (blow a huge puff of air here, my toddler cackles if I blow his hair around) BLEW BIG BROTHER PIGS HOUSE DOWN
And big brother pig RAN!!!!!! out the back door and hid in the woods.
Then, LITTLE brother pig went out and built himself a house of STICKS.
One day the BIG BAD WOLF came and KNOCKED on little brother pig’s door
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
WHO ISSSSSSS IT? Said little brother pig
And the BIG BAD WOLF
HUFFED and PUFFED and BLEW LITTLE BROTHER PIG’S HOUSE DOWN
And little brother pig RAN!!! out the back door and hid in the woods.
Then one day, BABY brother pig went and built himself a house of BRICKS.
The BIG BAD WOLF came and KNOCKED on baby brother pigs door.
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
WHO ISSSSSSS IT? said baby brother pig.
And the BIG BAD WOLF,
HUFFED, and PUFFED, AND BLEW!!!!
But he COULDN’T BLOW DOWN THE HOUSE!
The house that BABY brother pig built was BIG BAD WOLF-PROOF!
So the BIG BAD WOLF—STOMPED away! *STOMP STOMP STOMP*
And Baby brother pig went to the woods and found his brothers and they all lived…
HAPPILY EVER AFTER!
THE END.
Hope your little one enjoys this version as much as mine does! Perhaps one day I’ll post my grandfather’s long version for slightly older kids and the bedtime resistant such as myself!
—Ash