fables folktales · Ages 6-8

The Straw House Fell Before the Lesson Did

Three pigs learn that quick work may not be strong work, and the careful brick house becomes shelter for all of them.

The whole story

1. At sunrise, Pip the piglet carried straw to a sunny patch of meadow. He wanted a house before lunchtime.

2. Pip stacked the straw quickly. The walls leaned left, then right, but Pip kept building.

3. By lunchtime, Pip had a house. He tapped the roof once and called it finished.

4. Moss came by with wooden sticks. He worked more slowly, but Pip had already started celebrating.

5. Moss measured each stick and tied it tightly. Pip stretched out by his straw wall and said, “You will still be building at supper.”

6. Then Slate arrived with bricks. He checked the ground first, because a strong house needs a strong beginning.

7. A strong wind swept across the meadow. Pip grabbed the doorway, but the straw wall folded like a blanket.

8. Pip landed safely in the grass. His house had fallen before the lesson did, and the wind was still whistling.

9. Pip and Moss hurried to Slate's worksite. Slate opened the stick-house door and said, “Come inside. We can build together.”

10. Inside the brick house, the three pigs listened to the rain. Pip watched Slate check every brick, and Moss checked every strong knot.

11. When morning came, Pip did not rush. He carried bricks, Moss tied supports, and Slate showed them how to check the walls.

12. At last, the careful brick house stood firm. Pip smiled at the strong walls, and the house became shelter for all three pigs.

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