The Three Little Pigs story is the best-loved of all folk tales for preschoolers and a perfect bedtime story about doing a job properly. Three pigs build three houses, a hungry wolf huffs and puffs his way through two of them, and only one pig thought far enough ahead. This short Three Little Pigs story with moral is told in simple words, and between “Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!” and “I’ll huff and I’ll puff!” your child will be shouting along within a minute.
What’s Inside This Story
Why Preschoolers Love The Three Little Pigs
This tale has been told for well over two hundred years and is still one of the best classic bedtime stories for young children. Preschoolers love it because it has:
- Two chants to shout — the wolf’s and the pigs’.
- Three houses, so children always know what comes next.
- A huffing, puffing wolf you can be as dramatic as you like about.
- An ending where thinking ahead beats being big and loud.
There’s real thinking underneath the fun. Straw, sticks, and bricks get stronger in order, so a preschooler is comparing materials and cause and effect — why did that house fall and this one didn’t? It’s the first engineering lesson most children ever get, and they think it’s a game.
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The Three Little Pigs Story for Preschoolers
Three Pigs and Three Houses
Once upon a time, there were three little pigs who set off to build houses of their own.
The first little pig was in a hurry. He built his house out of straw, and it was finished before lunchtime. Off he went to play.
The second little pig was in a hurry too. He built his house out of sticks, and it was done by teatime. Off he went to play as well.
The third little pig took her time. She built her house out of bricks, laying them one on top of another, day after day. Her brothers laughed at her for working so hard. She just kept building.
I’ll Huff and I’ll Puff!
Along came a hungry wolf. He knocked at the straw house.
“Little pig, little pig, let me come in!”
“Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!”
“Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in!”
And he huffed, and he puffed, and the straw house flew away like dandelion fluff. The first little pig ran as fast as his trotters would carry him to the house of sticks.
The wolf followed and knocked at the stick house.
“Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in!”
“Not by the hair on our chinny chin chins!”
“Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in!”
And he huffed, and he puffed, and down came the sticks in a clatter. Both little pigs ran squealing all the way to their sister’s house of bricks.
The House That Would Not Fall
The wolf strolled up to the brick house, quite sure of himself.
“Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in!”
“Not by the hair on our chinny chin chins!”
“Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in!”
So he huffed. And he puffed. And he huffed and he puffed and he huffed and he puffed — and the little brick house did not move so much as an inch. The wolf sat down, quite out of breath.
Then he spied the chimney, and up he climbed. But the third little pig had heard him scrabbling on the roof, and she quickly hung a big pot of hot water over the fire. Down slid the wolf — SPLASH! — straight into the pot. He yelped, shot back up that chimney like a rocket, and ran off over the hills, and he never came back to bother the three little pigs again.
And the two brothers, who were not laughing at their sister any more, helped her build two more brick houses right beside her own.
Short Three Little Pigs Story with Moral
Three little pigs each built a house. The first used straw and the second used sticks, because both wanted to finish quickly and go and play. The third took days to build hers out of bricks.
A hungry wolf came along and huffed and puffed the straw house down, then the stick house, and both pigs fled to their sister’s brick house. However hard the wolf huffed, the brick house would not fall. When he tried to climb down the chimney he landed in a pot of hot water, and he ran away and never returned.
👉 Moral: Do the job properly the first time. Work done in a hurry falls down when you need it most.
Lessons Preschoolers Can Learn
- Take your time and do it well. The brick house was the slowest to build and the only one still standing.
- Hard work isn’t silly. The brothers laughed — and then they were very glad of that door.
- Family helps family. The third pig opened her door without a moment’s hesitation.
- Strong things are built in layers. One brick is nothing; a wall of them stops a wolf.
Questions to Ask After Reading
Talking about a story is what turns it into a lesson:
- Why did the straw house blow down but the brick house didn’t?
- What would you build your house out of, and why?
- Were the first two pigs being clever when they built so quickly?
- Can you do your very biggest wolf huff?
Tip for grown-ups: build three little houses on the carpet — a pile of paper straws, a handful of lolly sticks, some toy blocks — and let your child be the wolf and blow each one down. The one that survives teaches the moral better than any telling can.
Read More Free Bedtime Stories Online
If your child enjoyed the Three Little Pigs story, there are plenty more classic folk tales and moral stories to read together at bedtime.
More Stories for Kids
- The Boy Who Cried Wolf Story with Moral
- The Ant And The Grasshopper Story
- Moral Story: The Hare and the Tortoise
- Story Of Cinderella With Moral For Kids
- The Lion and The Mouse Short Story Moral
- 15 Short Moral Stories for Children with Valuable Lessons
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