Reading Notes: Week 12, English Fairy Tales: The Three Little Pigs, Part A

I am very familiar with this story and vividly remember my mother telling me this fairy tale when I was a little girl before bed. In the author's note of the story, I thought it was very interesting that the editors originally used goats instead of pigs. I want to know the reasoning why and the significance of the animals' symbolism. The caretaker of the pigs was not able to provide the resources for survival, so he sends them to find them on their own. The story depicts the pigs as nomads travelling throughout the land. One pig acquires straw from a pig to build a house for himself. A wolf, the predator of pigs, comes and demands for the pig to let him in. The straw could not withstand the breath of the wolf, and this was ultimately the downfall of the pig. The dialogue throughout this story has a lot of contagious and memorable literary devices, such as the alliteration and rhyming of the phrases both the pig and wolf uses. In my opinion, the pig was not foolish, as many people seem to view these characters. For one, the pig build a living space and was not immediately submissive to opening the door to the wolf. The pig was trying to be safe, but it was the situation and tools that he was given that turned out  to be very unfortunate. I think an important gap in this story that has potential to be readdressed, is the background of the wolf. Is there a historical event that caused tension between the wolf and pig creatures? Or is it just natural predatory instincts kicking in? Also, how did the wolf know that the pig was located in the house? Perhaps, a good perspective when retelling the story from the perspective of the wolf.

The three pigs, South London Press 

Bibliography: J. Jacobs, English Fairy Tales: The Three Little Pigs (link)