Throwback: The Three Little Pigs
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Welcome to Stories Podcast. I'm your host, Amanda Weldon. Today's story is a throwback episode. Tune in to hear one of our classic stories from the archive that you might have missed the first time around.

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Want to learn more? Visit nextplayground.com. That's N-E-X playground dot com to explore active family gaming today. And now, the three little pigs. Once upon a time, in the middle of a thick oak forest was a small brick house with a tall brick chimney and an apple tree in the front yard. Mom and Pop Pig lived in the little brick house with their three sons, Henry Pig, Howard Pig, and Fred Pig.

Mom and Pop were very proud of their boys, and they tried to teach them everything they knew about how to have happy, successful lives. Mom liked to say, Eat at least one apple from the apple tree every day. They make you strong. And, Always wear clean underwear. You never know. Pop liked to say, Brush your teeth every day or they'll fall out of your head. And, Be nice to everyone you meet and always say please and thank you.

And they both liked to remind their boys that when it came time for them to go off and build homes of their own, they needed to build your house out of bricks. That last one was the most important of all. You see, Mom and Pop Pig didn't want to scare Henry, Howard, or Fred, but they knew that sometimes big bad wolves like to roam around in their oak forest, and big bad wolves sometimes like to eat vulnerable little piggies.

Big bad wolves could eat plenty of other things in the forest, though, like spiders and mushrooms and stuff like that. So as long as the piggies were smart and kept themselves safe in strong little brick houses, the big bad wolves would probably leave them alone. Mom and Pop Pig had been telling their boys to build brick houses since they were tiny piglets. The day finally came when Henry, the oldest of the pig boys, was ready to go out and start a life of his own.

Mom and Pop Pig fed Henry a great big breakfast so that he would have plenty of energy to build his house. Mom also gave Henry a big sack of apples and told him to plant some of the seeds from the core in his own front yard. Don't forget, Mom said, eat at least one apple from the apple tree every day. They make you strong. And always wear clean underwear. You never know.

"'Listen to your mother,' Pop said. "'And brush your teeth every day or they'll fall out of your head. "'And be nice to everyone you meet and always say please and thank you.' And Pop handed Henry a brand new toothbrush. "'And remember,' they chorused together, "'build your house out of bricks.' And with an armful of apples and a rucksack over his shoulder, Henry set out into the forest to find a spot to build his house. A few hours later, Henry was still walking. He hadn't found a spot yet and he was starting to get tired.

When he finally came upon a clear spot of land with enough room for his own little house and its own little chimney and its own little front yard with an apple tree, Henry was beat. "'Oh, I'm too sleepy to build a brick house right now,' he said out loud to himself. "'Bricks are so heavy. I just want to curl up and eat four or five apples and then go to bed. What's the harm in building a house out of something lighter like straw? That'll be pretty quick.'

So Henry gathered up some of the straw that was all around him and hastily built a little hut to sleep in. It was kind of small and a little crooked, but Henry didn't care. He was too tired. So he crawled inside and started eating apples. He was halfway through his fifth apple when he heard a knock on the door. "'Who could that be?' he wondered and got up to answer it. "'No, young man,' said a very tall gentleman at the door."

And Henry trailed off as he realized, For one thing, he was only carrying one volume of the encyclopedia, W. For another, he was very hairy.

So hairy that he didn't really look like a man. Or a pig, for that matter. He looked like a big bad wolf! Henry cried out in a panic, and the big bad wolf roared loudly and threw his single encyclopedia volume to the side. He reared back and drew a giant breath in, and then he huffed and he puffed, and he blew the crooked straw house down with one single breath. Henry was upset.

"'What was I thinking building a house out of straw?' he cried out. And then he summed up all of the strength he had in him, the strength he had gotten from eating the apples from the apple tree in the front yard, and he made a break for it. Henry could hear the big bad wolf thumping away behind him, but he just concentrated on moving his piggy little body as fast as he could towards home, and before he knew it, he was there. Henry ran up to the front door and threw it open and spilled the whole story to his parents and his two little brothers during dinner time."

Henry, Mom said. We're so glad you're safe. Oh, son, Pop said. We're so glad you're home. And they handed him a glass of water, and they each kissed him on the cheek. And then they said, You know, you really should have listened to us when we told you to build your house out of brick. Howard was the second oldest of the pig boys. And just a few weeks after Henry came home after his brush with a big bad wolf, Howard was ready to go out and start a life of his own.

Mom and Pop Pig fed Howard a great big breakfast so that he would have plenty of energy to build his house. Mom also gave Howard a big sack of apples and told him to plant some of the seeds from the core in his own front yard. Don't forget, Mom said, eat at least one apple from the apple tree every day. They make you strong. And always wear clean underwear. You never know. Listen to your mother, Pop said. And brush your teeth every day or they'll fall out of your head. And be nice to everyone you meet and always say please and thank you.

And Pop handed Howard a brand new toothbrush. "'And remember,' they chorused together, "'build your house out of bricks!' And with an armful of apples and a rucksack over his shoulder, Howard set out into the forest to find a spot to build his house. Howard found a spot pretty quickly. He remembered that his parents had told him to make his house out of bricks, but Howard decided that it was really more cost-effective to build his house out of sticks.'

"'Sticks are all over the place in the forest,' Howard reasoned. "'And bricks are so hard to come by. I'm sure I can build just as strong a house with sticks as my parents could with bricks. After all, how different are sticks and bricks, really? They rhyme.' And Howard set about meticulously creating a house for himself out of sticks."

In a few hours, Howard had finished. He had made himself a very nice new home, with a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom, and even a little mudroom where Howard could leave wet umbrellas or snowy boots so as not to muck up the floors in the other rooms. This looks pretty good, Howard said as he surveyed his work. I'm exhausted. I think I'll turn in. Howard made his way to his bedroom and changed into his pajamas. Then, like he did every night, Howard brushed his teeth and flossed.

Just as Howard was gently tucking himself into bed, he heard a knock at the door. Who could that be at this hour? Howard wandered aloud to himself, and then got up to answer. Hello, young man, said a very tall gentleman at the door. I noticed that you just moved in, and I was wondering, might you need an industrial-strength vacuum cleaner in your new home? Oh, thank you very much for your offer, sir, but I'm not interested, and...

And Howard trailed off as he realized there was something strange about this vacuum cleaner salesman. For one thing, he didn't have a vacuum cleaner with him, just a long rubbery tube with a brush attached to one end. For another, his eyes looked odd. They weren't brown or blue or any other normal color. They were sort of golden and glinting, not like a man or like a pig for that matter, but like a...

Henry cried out in panic, and the big bad wolf roared loudly and threw his makeshift vacuum hose to the side. He reared back and drew a giant breath in, and then he huffed and he puffed and he blew the magnificent house of sticks over. Howard was angry. All that work I did for nothing, he cried out. And when the big bad wolf lunged at Howard, Howard lunged back and bit the big bad wolf.

And because Howard was diligent about brushing his teeth every night, they were very strong. And the big bad wolf fell back in surprise. Howard seized that moment, turned on his heels, and ran off towards home. He could hear the big bad wolf thumping away behind him, but Howard just kept hustling on towards the little brick house he had grown up in, and before he knew it, he was there. Howard ran up to the front door and threw it open and spilled the whole story to his parents and his two brothers during dinnertime.

Oh, Howard, Mom said. We're so glad you're safe. Oh, son, Pop said. We're so glad you're home. And they handed him a glass of water, and they each kissed him on the cheek. And then they said, You know, you really should have listened to us when we told you to build your house out of brick. Now for a quick ad break. We'll be back with the rest of the story after this. If you'd like Stories Podcast and other favorite kid podcasts ad-free, subscribe to Wondery Plus Kids on Apple Podcasts.

Fred was the littlest of the pig boys, and shortly after his older brothers came home after their encounters with big bad wolves, Fred decided he was ready to start a life of his own. Fred was confident that he wouldn't make the same mistakes that his brothers made. He knew that he needed to build his house out of bricks, no matter what. When the day came, Mom and Pop Pig fed Fred a great big breakfast so that he would have plenty of energy to build his house. Mom also gave Fred a big sack of apples and told him to plant some of the seeds from the core in his own front yard.

Don't forget, Mom said, eat at least one apple from the apple tree every day. They make you strong. And always wear clean underwear. You never know. I know, said Fred. Listen to your mother, Pop said. And brush your teeth every day or they'll fall out of your head. And be nice to everyone you meet and... I know, I know. Fred cut him off, grabbing the brand new toothbrush in his father's outstretched hand. And I'll remember, he added. I'll build my house out of bricks.

And with an armful of apples and a rucksack over his shoulder, Fred set out into the forest to find a spot to build his house. Fred had looked carefully at a map of the forest weeks before he set out and arrived at an empty plot of land about a half an hour after breakfast. Then, even though it was hard, Fred set out to find bricks to build his house. It took a long time, and the bricks were very heavy, and it was a hot day outside, but still Fred carried on. By sundown, Fred had built a small, sturdy brick house.

he was very tired from all that work so fred ate some apples for dinner and brushed his teeth to get ready for bed just then fred heard a knock at the door hello young man said a very tall gentleman at the door

happened to notice that you just moved in, and I was wondering if you might be interested in... You know, it's awfully late. You really shouldn't be out knocking on people's doors at this hour. It's a terrible intrusion. I am quite confident that I'm not going to buy anything you're selling, so you can leave now. I'd really like to go to bed.

And Fred was about to continue berating this unwelcome stranger when he really took a look at the man and realized there was something very odd about him. For one thing, he didn't have anything with him to sell. He was totally empty-handed, and his hands had very long claws on them. Not like a man, or like a pig for that matter, but like a wolf.

Fred cried out in panic, and the big bad wolf roared loudly, and then he reared his head back and drew a giant breath in, and then he huffed, and he puffed, and Fred slammed the door. He could hear the wolf blow a giant gust of wind at his house, but it didn't budge. Fred was terrified and hid under his bed. He could hear the big bad wolf roaring outside the house, but no matter how many times he huffed and puffed, the little brick house stood sturdy and strong, and eventually Fred heard the big bad wolf run off.

In the morning, Fred woke up and called his parents first thing and told them, Uh, the big bad wolf came to my house last night and tried to blow it down, but it didn't fall over because I made it out of bricks. He went on to tell them the rest of the story. After he was finished, his parents said, We're so glad you listened to us and brushed your teeth and ate your apples and built your house out of bricks, but Fred, it doesn't sound like you were very nice to your visitor. Uh, what are you talking about? It was a big bad wolf.

"'Big Bad Wolves have feelings too, Fred,' Mom said. "'They don't all eat pigs. Some of them eat mushrooms and spiders and stuff like that,' said Pop. "'Maybe he was just your neighbor and coming to borrow some sugar.' "'You could have been a little kinder, Fred,' said Mom. "'Treat others the way you would like to be treated.' After the phone call, Fred thought about how he'd treated the Big Bad Wolf at the door last night. He realized he had been kind of rude to him. Maybe he wasn't going to eat him. He'd never even given him a chance to explain why he'd come over.'

Fred kind of wanted to apologize. He didn't know where the Big Bad Wolf lives, so he decided to post a note at his own front door. The note read, Dear Wolf, Uh, I'm sorry if I was rude last night. I hope I didn't hurt your feelings, unless you were trying to eat me. Sincerely, Fred Pig. Shortly after he posted the note, Fred heard a knock on his door. When he opened it, the same tall, hairy, golden-eyed, long-clawed Big Bad Wolf stood on his welcome mat.

"'I got your note,' the big bad wolf said. Fred's eyes were wide, and he swallowed loudly. "'Uh, yeah, sir, I'm sorry if I was rude last night. I thought you were going to eat me.' "'I don't eat pigs,' the big bad wolf said, and then he smiled. "'I'm sorry I knocked so late. I'm sorry I scared you. I'm just very shy, and I wanted to be your friend, so I found an excuse to come over.'

But then when you shouted at me and called me big and bad, I got a little upset. Several pigs have lived here recently, and they've all shouted those words at me when I knock. It's very hurtful. I'm sorry for trying to blow your house down. I don't always handle stress well. Fred breathed a sigh of relief.

and told the wolf that he shouldn't worry about losing his temper, and invited him in for some apples. The wolf, whose name was Gary, and Fred really hit it off and became fast friends. They started to spend lots of time together, and eventually, Fred brought Gary home to meet Mom and Pop and Henry and Howard. And Henry and Howard apologized for yelling at him when he was just trying to be friendly.

Gary eventually introduced his whole family of wolves to the pig family, and from then on, they would all have dinner together once a week, and spent most major holidays together too. And they all lived happily ever after. The end. When your parents give you advice, and they say you should be nice, you should probably listen. Because big bad wolves have feelings too. And when they tell you to brush your teeth and eat healthy food so you'll be strong, they're

And always build your house out of bricks. Don't forget. Always build your house out of bricks. Sing it with me. Always build your house out of bricks. One more time. Always build your house out of bricks.

Today's episode was written by me, Amanda Weldon, and produced by Jake Letizia. If you would like to support Stories Podcast, you can leave us a five-star review on iTunes. Check out all of our merch available at storiespodcast.com slash shop, commission a special video on Cameo, follow us on Instagram at storiespodcast, or simply tell your friends about us. Thanks for listening!