• Another Brick in the Wall
    I first came into contact with one of the pigs when he bought me from a merchant; he said it was time to make a living on his own. He also said to him “Whatever I do, I will do it the best I can. That’s how I will get along in this world.” As I was carried to the lot in the pig’s wheelbarrow where I would fulfill my destiny of structural soundness, I saw two other pigs; I assumed they were his relatives. The first one we passed was constructing his home of straw. How silly, it would blow down in an instant, I thought. The second one we passed was being made from sticks. I thought this was a little better, but it still didn’t seem right. We finally arrived at my lot, and I was here to stay.

    Then came the night when my strength would be tested. I heard an angry quarrel from down the road. The harsh sounding voice was unfamiliar to me, for I had grown used to the soft, friendly voices of my owner and his brothers. I heard the voice say “Let me in, let me in little pig, or I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in!”
    “Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!” was the pig’s reply.

    I then heard a fierce wind, and a swish of straw tumbling to the ground. About two seconds later, I heard a scamper to the stick house beside me, and the door slammed. I heard the two pigs mumbling, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I knew they were trying to be silent because the thing could be listening to them. It came again.

    “Let me in, let me in little pigs, or I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in!” the voice shouted once more.

    Again the response was “Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!” but said by two of the brothers. After the first turbulent blow, I didn’t think that stick house could take it. I, unfortunately, was right.

    Lucky for them, my owner was woken up by this commotion, and brought them inside. To tell the truth, I was nervous after knowing what had happened to the other houses. There was no telling how powerful that blast was, and I knew I would be the next one to take it. I was awaiting the arrival of this monster, gathering my strength, bracing for the bombardment to come. I finally saw him. I’ve heard stories about wolves, but I’d never seen one until then. What a monster he was, covered with hair, long nose, large fangs, but the smell was the worst. He smelled like ham.

    For the final time, the words I began to dread “Let me in, let me in little pigs, or I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in!” I thought to myself; no, no you will not blow me down. I will stay right here and protect this family. I am stronger than you, so be my guest, just try to bring me down, I dare you! He gathered his breath, and blew his formidable blow, but there I stood. “Was that all?” I thought. He tried again, but blew harder, I would still not budge. He worked up the most air he could, and put his all in this one. It was take me down, or go home: He never blew me over.

    I did it I thought, and the pigs thought this too. They were celebrating, and they were boiling water for food for their festivities. I suddenly saw the wolf coming back with a ladder. I heard him muttering “I will get you pigs one way or another.” The ladder was placed right in front of me. He was going down the chimney. How I wished I could have done something, but a not more than a minute later, I remembered the boiling water within the house. I was just waiting for the screams of the roasted monster to make my day.

    How wonderful it was! “Never again! Never again will I go down a chimney!” screaming while he tried to pat the flames out of his tail. Of coarse the pigs were surprised when they saw the wolf appeared in their chimney, but they squealed in delight as he shot back up from the heat. Within a couple weeks, the other pigs had brick houses up and functional, with the most beautiful chimneys imaginable. The wolf would occasionally walk along our road, and I could see the expression on his face go somber as he witnessed these marvelous structures.