Big Bad Wolf

Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf? Yes, you guessed it my favorite bedtime story as a child was “The Three Little Pigs”. For me it was one of those Walt Disney “Little Golden Books” version. It was a second hand book I received from a garage sale for ten cents. I liked the pictures of course. Who says you can’t just a book by its cover. Those pigs were so cute. One playing the fiddle and another the flute the third dancing merrily. I love books that have rhymes or songs in them. I don’t have much of a voice but I like the way the words flow off the page into my ears. You know the part I mean. “Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, the Big Bad Wolf, the Big Bad Wolf, tra la la la la.” At one point when I was raising my own children I think I memorized the book I read it so often.

I love reading this story at bedtime because it is about a journey of three pigs who is sent off into the world to build their homes and make their fortunes. Each pig has their own story and in the end their stories merge into one. The fight against the enemy. Good over evil. Wisdom over folly. Hard Work over laziness.

The mom pig didn’t give any guidance she just let them know they needed to go because she didn’t have enough to keep them. They all seemed to take a different path. The first little pig came across a man who had straw and he took his straw to build his how. It was not a strong little house but at least the work was done. I call this one the lazy little pig. The second came across someone with sticks and he built his out of sticks, he didn’t want to work anymore than the first pig. The third pig didn’t mind hard work so he built his house out of bricks. He was the smart hardworking pig. He wanted to build a strong house because he knew that in the woods nearby there was a Big Bad Wolf who would like nothing better than to gobble little pigs up.

Next we see that the first pig went to the second pigs house of sticks and together they sang that familiar song “Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, the Big Bad Wolf, the Big Bad Wolf, tra la la la la.” When they arrived at their brother’s place he was still building his house of bricks. They made fun of him but he didn’t mind. He knew he had to build a strong house to protect himself from all the dangers that the world brings.

I always wondered how the third pig became so smart. They were all raised together so what made the third pig know what to do? Did he have an example? Did his mother warn him of the dangers that was in the woods? I am the baby in my family the third child. See why I like this book. I would always be the third pig in this story. My two brothers would be one and two. I like to think that I have the wisdom needed to live on my own and protect others.

Another reason why I liked this book so much was that the “villain” had cool lines in the book as well. I used to rehearse the Big Bad Wolf’s lines and say them in a scary voice. “Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in” or I will huff and puff and blow your house in”. Along with the pigs reply of “Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin” in a tiny voice. Any good bedtime story has to have lines you can remember and use different voices to add to your imagination.

My belief is any story that makes you use all your five senses is a great book. For example, you hold the book in your hand and turn the pages. You see pictures on the pages and if you add your voice you introduce hearing. If there are rhyming words that adds emphasis and if the book talks about smells then there you have it all five senses are engaged. At the end of this book you see the little pigs gathered around a pot of stew and you can imagine how that smells and tastes. That is why those scratch and sniff books do so well.

The story is a tale we all have to tell at some point. We all go out into the world to build our homes and make our fortunes. A crisis can bring us together. For the pigs it was the Big Bad Wolf for us it might be something else. Whatever brings you together is worth a story. I hope that you can tell take a lesson from the pigs and not mind hard work because it will pay off.