Once upon a time, there lived an old mother pig. She had three little pigs, and not enough food to go around. So when they were old enough, she sent her three little pigs into the wide world to find their fortunes.

The first little pig was very lazy. He wanted to finish his house quickly, so he built it out of straw. Then he sat back, relaxed, and sang himself a little song.

The second little pig was not so lazy, but he was still too lazy to build a good house. He built his house out of wooden twigs. Then he sat back, relaxed, and sang himself a little song.

The third little pig was a hard worker. He wanted to build a house that was big and strong, so he built his house out of bricks. It was a good house with a fireplace and chimney. Then he sat back, relaxed, and sang himself a little song.

The next day, a big, bad wolf walked by the lane where the three little pigs lived. He saw the straw house, and he smelled the little pig inside. So he knocked on the door to the straw house and said, “Little pig, little pig, let me come in!”

But the little pig saw the big, bad wolf’s furry paws through the keyhole, so he replied, “Not by the hairs of my chinny-chin-chin!”

The big, bad wolf said, “Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house down!”

But before he could, Wentaway came down and blew all the houses away.

Goldyn’s New Poems for Children