The Three Little Pigs

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

There was once an old sow with three little pigs, and, as she had not
enough to keep them, she sent them out to seek their fortunes. The first
little pig met a man with a bundle of straw and said, “Please give
me....”

You likely know the rest. Or most of it. This is the real Three Little
Pigs, written in an era when wolves were wolves and pigs were porkchops.
The first two little pigs pay the ultimate price for living in
substandard housing. The third little pig not only has the brains to
build with bricks, he also bests the wolf in three more encounters. His
eventual reward is wolf stew.

This version is not for parents who cannot answer hard questions. Do
wolves eat pigs? Do pigs eat wolves? Even the concept of three little
pigs being sent out to seek their fortunes seems a little harsh for the
“social safety net” generation.

But, for those who like their fairy tales straight, this is a wonderful
book. There will be hard questions, but this is what separates modern
mush from real storytelling. From the delight that seems to emanate from
every one of Marie-Louise Gay’s illustrations, it seems obvious she
could not have done a soft version of this story. This is not a new
gloss on an old tale, it is an act of restoration to a children’s
classic. Highly recommended.