The Big Sad Wolf

Once upon a time, there lived a very big wolf in a very big forest where many other animals lived and played. The wolf had many wolf friends when he was a cub, but as he grew and grew and got bigger and bigger, many of his wolf friends stopped playing him. So, he tried to make other friends from the woods but many of them did not want to play with him too.

One day he woke up and no longer felt happy. He felt very sad.

As the wolf was walking along a path all by himself, he saw the three little pig brothers chasing each other through the woods and decided to watch and learn their secret for happiness. They were laughing and squealing as they always were, and the wolf thought he would be happy if he looked just like them.

The wolf ran back to his house and made a mask with a snout, wore clothes that covered his fur, and practiced walking to look just like the three little pigs. He even made his tail curl just like theirs. Then, when he was ready, he left his home and searched for them in the woods again.

He looked and looked but could not see them anywhere. Then it was just by chance he came across a house made of straw in the middle of a meadow, and he saw one of the little pigs go inside and close the door behind him. The wolf gathered all the courage he could find and stood tall as he walked to the house and knocked loudly on the front door.

"Little pig, little pig let me come in," he said. He was so nervous that he thought the little pig would laugh and tell him to go away.

"Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin!" the little pig yelled from inside the house.

The big sad wolf felt mad. I look just like you and still, you don't want to play, he thought.

"Then I'll huff, and I’ll puff, and I'll blow your house in," the wolf said and took a deep breath.

His cheeks filled with air and they turned red. Then with one mighty blow, he blew that house of straw down. The little pig then ran down the path to his brothers' house in the next meadow.

The big sad wolf frowned. Why did he run away from me? he asked himself. I just wanted to make a friend.

This made the wolf mad, so he stomped down the path and as he did, he saw the little pig talking to one of his brothers then they both ran inside a house made of wood.

The big mad wolf took a deep breath in and let it out very slowly. Be nice, he thought. So, the big mad wolf decided to try and make friends with the two little pigs. This time, he thought, I will look and sound just like them. The big mad wolf gathered all the courage he could find and walked towards the house. He was smiling and pretended to be happy.

"Little pigs, little pigs please let me come in," he said with a big smile. He was still so nervous that he thought the little pigs would laugh, and still a little sad that he thought they would tell him to go away.

"Not by the hairs on our chinny-chin-chins!" the two little pigs yelled from inside the house.

The big mad wolf felt madder. In fact, he felt angry. I look and sound just like you two and still, not one of you want to play, he thought.

"Then I'll huff, and I’ll puff, and I'll blow your house in," the wolf said and took a deep breath.

His cheeks filled with air and they turned red. Then with one mighty blow, he blew at that house of wood and it rattled and shook. He took another deep breath and filled his cheeks with as much air as he could so that his whole face turned bright red. Then with a second mighty blow, he blew that house of wood down.

The two little pigs then ran to their brothers' house further down the path and in the next meadow. The big mad wolf frowned again. Why did they run away from me? he asked himself. I just wanted to make friends.

This made the wolf angrier than before, so he stomped down the path and as he did, he saw the two little pigs talking to their brother then they all ran inside a house made of brick.

The big angry wolf took two deep breaths in and let them out very slowly. Be nice, he thought. So, the big angry wolf decided to try one last time to be friends with the three little pigs. This time, he thought, I will look and sound and act just like them. The big angry wolf gathered all the courage he could find and walked towards the house. He was smiling, pretending to be happy, and danced outside the front door.

"Little pigs, little pigs please let me come in," he said with a big smile as he spun on one foot and danced outside the house. He was still so nervous that he thought the little pigs would laugh, still a little sad that he thought they would tell him to go away, and now also a little mad that they would run away from him.

"Not by the hairs on our chinny-chin-chins!" the three little pigs yelled from inside the house.

The big sad wolf felt mad again and then he felt angry. In fact, he felt angrier than before. I look and sound and act just like the three of you and still, not one of you want to play, he thought.

"Then I'll huff, and I’ll puff, and I'll blow your house in," the wolf said and took a deep breath.

His cheeks filled with air and they turned red. Then with one mighty blow, he blew at that house of brick, and nothing happened. He took another deep breath and filled his cheeks with as much air as he could so that his whole face turned bright red. Then with a second mighty blow, he blew at that house of brick and again nothing happened. He tried again and again and still nothing happened.

The big angry wolf stopped dancing and jumping around. He took another deep breath and filled his cheeks with as much air as he could then blew at the brick house... nothing happened. The big mad wolf stopped pretending to be happy and stopped smiling. He took another deep breath and filled his cheeks with as much air as he could then blew at the brick house... nothing happened. The big sad wolf took off his mask and costume and uncurled his tail. He took a final deep breath and filled his cheeks with as much air as he could then blew at the brick house... still nothing happened.

I give up, the wolf thought to himself. He hung his head low, turned his back on the house of brick, and with sagging shoulders and a big sigh, he began to walk away.

"Where are you going?" asked one of the little pigs.

The big sad wolf turned around and saw the three little pigs standing at the front of the house. The oldest of the three little pig brothers was smiling at him.

"None of you want to play with me," the big sad wolf said. "I've tried and tried to fit in."

The big sad wolf looked at the youngest little pig. "I looked just like you."

He then looked at the middle little pig. "I sounded just like you."

Then he looked at the oldest little pig. "I acted just like you."

"But who are you?" asked the oldest little pig.

The big sad wolf thought for a moment. "I am me."

"That's right," said the oldest little pig. "You are you. You are not me, or my little brothers."

"But when I was me before, everyone stopped playing with me. That made me sad... then mad," the wolf said.

"Not every single animal in the woods is going to want to be your friend wolf, " said the middle little pig. "Not every single animal wants to be our friend."

"That is true," said the youngest little pig. "Some of them think I am too lazy and want to play games too much. Look at my house... it was made of straw."

"Some of them think I am lazy too," said the middle little pig. "Not as lazy as him but still lazy. Look at my house... it was made of wood."

The wolf watched as these two little pigs laughed. He was surprised that they were all laughing at themselves while their older pig brother smiled.

"I am one of those animals that thinks they are lazy but even though I think that... I still want to play with them because they want to play games I want to play too," said the oldest little pig. "But not everyone is like me so not everyone wants to be their friend just like not everyone will want to be your friend."

"If the other animals don't want to be friends with you, then how can you all be so happy?" asked the big wolf.

"Because there are some who are like our big brother and even though they think we may be lazy... they still want to be our friend and sometimes even help us," said the middle little pig.

"They are the ones we think are our real friends because we don't have to pretend to be anything but ourselves when we are with them. They like us for who we are and if we need help, they help us to," said the youngest little pig.

"Even though we shouldn't be so lazy and work harder to build stronger homes," added the middle little pig.

The youngest little pig and the middle little pig looked at each other and agreed that sometimes being lazy and taking shortcuts got them into more trouble than what it was worth, because, fixing their mistakes took time away from playing games.

"Is there something you could work on wolf, so you won’t get into any hot water like my brothers here?" asked the oldest little pig.

The big wolf thought for a moment. "I could try to be kinder and every time someone doesn't want to play what I want to play, instead of getting mad I could take a few deep breaths then play what they want to play. I can play their game and we can play my game too, I suppose."

"That sounds like fun," the youngest little pig said. "I would like to play with you."

"Me too," said the middle little pig.

"Wait... what has to get done first?" asked the oldest little pig.

The two little pigs sighed. "We know... we have to rebuild stronger houses."

The wolf gathered all the courage he could find.

"I am big and strong... I can help you both with that," he said with a big smile. He was a little nervous and thought the little pigs would laugh, or tell him to go away, or would run away from him.

"We'd like that!" the two little pigs squealed.

"I'll help too," said the oldest little pig. "Seeing I am the only one out of us with hairs on my chinny-chin-chin."

The wolf chuckled then the three little pigs laughed. When he heard them laugh, he took a deep breath and filled his cheeks with as much air as he could and let out a mighty roar. He laughed until his face turned red, and he laughed until all those sad, mad, and angry feelings were blown far far away.

From that day on, the big sad wolf was no longer sad. He lived happily ever after knowing that even though not everyone wanted to be his friend, he had three little pig friends who liked him just the way he was... and that, he learned, was their secret for happiness.

Flipping the narrative

The Three Little Pigs I grew up watching was a short animated film originally released in 1933 during the era of the Great Depression by Walt Disney. The big bad wolf represented the Great Depression and the houses represented each pigs' dedication to hard work. So, the moral lesson was the harder one worked, the more likely they were prepared to overcome adversity.

I didn't know that then but I was well aware that doing a job right the first time around was better than taking a shortcut and having to do it all over again later. The whimsical attitudes of the first two little pigs made light of this moral which made it more appealing to younger minds, while the big bad wolf, with his sharp teeth and salivating mouth, spoke of hunger and greed which justified the need to work hard.

Work ethic is still about attitude now as it was then, however, this attitude has shifted in its' focus as times have changed. Hard work ethic was a product of the 1930s environment and was considered a duty to one's workplace and family. Also, businesses needed to increase productivity so economic rewards, such as pay increases and incentives, were external motivating factors shaping attitudes to work ethic.

However, personal reasons and experiences have more of an impact on work ethic today than external factors such as commitment to a company's productivity and success. Job satisfaction impacts individual performance which determines one's commitment to the job. Job satisfaction is reliant on good relationships with one's peers and managers, and compatibility between one's work style and personality with the company's values and culture.

This is where a fractured narrative of the Three Little Pigs would find context with parents and children today. The moral lesson is still told - that hard work pays off - but more so from a focus of internal motivation and personal strengths rather than external motivating factors and the use of violence.

Dr. Bruce Perry developed the Six Core Strengths for Healthy Child Development with the ChildTrauma Academy and described how these strengths build on each other as skills that children can learn during their development. All six are presented in this fractured fairy tale:

1. forming and making healthy relationships through attachment;

2. controlling urges through self-regulation;

3. being part of a group through affiliation;

4. being aware of the needs of others through attunement;

5. understanding and accepting all others through tolerance; and

6. appreciating oneself and others through respect.

As such, this fractured fairy tale takes a beloved classic and modernizes it so that the original meaning remains special to past generations, yet inspires younger ones to be internally inspired and motivated in their interactions with themselves in their own environments, and each other in theirs.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my first attempt at writing a fractured fairy tale. If you enjoyed it, please send me a like by clicking the heart below or by sending a tip. I appreciate your support.