Once upon a time there was a grumpy old farmer who was fed up of his three sons sponging off of him, so one day having had enough, he threw them from the house telling them to 'grow up' and 'become independent'. Because he wasn't a horrible old man, however, he gave each of them the gift of a big fat pig.
The first son was very lazy. He wandered along the road and went to live at the next farmhouse. Grabbing a couple of pitchforks of straw he built a crude sty for his pig, and then he went into the house and forgot all about it.
The second son was a bit more adventurous. He went to live in a cottage on the outskirts of a big forest. One day he decided that the pig ought to move out of the kitchen and he therefore built a sty out of sticks and twigs. He then went back into the house, remembering to prop the sty back up every time it blew over in the wind.
The third son headed for the city. On his way he stopped off and bought some bricks and mortar. When he reached his new house he built a large sty in the back garden for his pig to stay in; it took him a long time to build but it was strong and sheltered the pig from the wind. He then went into his house and studied to become an accountant.
The weeks passed.
One night a large hungry wolf started to prowl round, sniffing the air for something big and juicy and that tasted good. He approached the farmhouse where the first son lived. In a flash he had found the pig, crashed through the straw and gobbled him up.
Because the first son was lazy he didn't bother to go outside in all the commotion; it was only in the morning he found his pig was gone. Then he went back into the house and forgot all about it.
But the wolf was still hungry. He prowled around the woods until he came to a small cottage. He sniffed the air and smelt a big juicy pig that he knew would taste good. He knocked over the wooden house with a crash. The second son came running out but he was too late – the wolf had gobbled up the second little pig and ran.
Because the second son was quite a conscientious man, he rang the third son and warned him about the wolf. So the third son set up motion sensors and alarms around his brick sty.
Finally the wolf came to the city; even among the concrete and pollution he could smell a third big juicy pig that he knew would taste good. He licked his lips and jumped into the back yard. But the bricks would not knock over, and an alarm began to sound until the wolf howled. Then the third son took a rifle and BANG! that was the end of the wolf.
And the third little pig lived happily ever after, until she was turned into sausages.
THE END