Once upon a giggle-filled time, three little pigs decided it was time to leave their mama’s cozy house and build homes of their own. “But be careful!” their mama warned. “The Big Bad Wolf is always sneaking around. Build your houses strong, my dears!” The three pigs nodded, gave her a thankful hug, and set off with their tails wiggling happily behind them.

The first little pig wasn’t too keen on hard work. He loved to play and nap in the sunshine. So, when he found a big pile of straw nearby, he thought, *Perfect!* With a whoosh and a swirl, he stacked the straw into a little house. It wasn’t fancy, but it was done quickly. “Now I can relax!” said the first little pig, plopping down in front of his new straw house.

The second little pig wanted to be a bit fancier. When he spotted some sticks lying near the forest, his eyes lit up. *Sticks are sturdy, right?* he thought. He carefully bundled and stacked them into a house that looked like a wooden fort. He admired his work and declared, “This is one fine stick house! I’m done!” Then he lounged in his hammock, feeling quite proud.

The third little pig, though, was a thinker. “I need a house that’s REALLY strong,” he said to himself. He found some bricks nearby and started stacking them carefully, one on top of the other. Day after day, he worked while his brothers relaxed. “Come play with us!” they called, but the third little pig just smiled and said, “Not yet! I need to make this strong enough for anything!”

One sunny afternoon, as the first two pigs were snoozing in their straw and stick houses, the Big Bad Wolf came strolling out from the woods. His tummy growled, and his nose twitched. “Mmm,” he said, licking his lips, “I smell a piggy snack!”

He trotted straight to the straw house and knocked on the door. “Little pig, little pig, let me come in!” he growled.

“Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin!” squeaked the first little pig, peeking through the straw.

“Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in!” declared the wolf. And with one big HUFF and a mighty PUFF, the straw house whooshed away like a pile of leaves. The first little pig squealed and dashed off to his brother’s stick house.

The wolf, feeling quite pleased, followed the scent of the two pigs to the stick house. Again, he knocked. “Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in!”

“Not by the hairs on our chinny-chin-chins!” said the two little pigs.

“Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in!” And with a huff and puff, the stick house creaked, cracked, and toppled like a game of pick-up sticks. The two pigs yelped and scampered off to their brother’s brick house.

Now the wolf was really hungry. He followed his nose to the brick house, where all three pigs were now safe inside. He banged on the door. “Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in!”

“Not by the hairs on our chinny-chin-chins!” they called back.

“Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in!” And the wolf huffed, and he puffed, and he huffed some more. But no matter how hard he tried, not a single brick budged. The house stood strong.

The wolf, gasping for breath, tried one last trick. He climbed onto the roof and started to slide down the chimney. But the clever third pig had been ready for this! He quickly lit a small fire in the fireplace just as the wolf dropped in. “Yikes!” yelped the wolf, feeling the heat. He shot straight back up the chimney, singed but unharmed, and ran away, never to bother the little pigs again.

The three little pigs cheered and hugged their clever brother. From that day on, the first two pigs decided to work just as hard as their smart sibling. And the Big Bad Wolf? Well, he preferred to stick to sandwiches.

Hard work and clever thinking can build something strong enough to keep you safe and happy.