If it’s a tale about the importance of building quality then US-Americans must not know this tale lol
Assuming the question is serious… The actual story emphasizes several important lessons I think. The pigs that build from sticks and hay are depicted as being lazy- taking the easy, cheap way to build their houses. But when the wolf comes, their homes aren’t up to the task of protecting them, in most versions costing them their lives.
The third pig is depicted as choosing to do the hard work of doing things properly. In the oldest extended versions of the tale the third pig is also shown to arrive early to events, which foils the wolfs plans. When the wolf finally tried to enter the house via the chimney, the third little pig remains level headed instead of panicking and manages to defeat the wolf soundly.
The lessons are to not take shortcuts, to do the hard work of doing things properly, to be prepared, to be timely (though this is omitted in most modern retellings), and finally to be calm and collected in the face of danger.
To add an additional moral here:
In many of the retellings the first two pigs escape to take shelter with the third. When the wolf tries to break in through the chimney, it’s the three pigs together that are able to stop it.
There’s something in there about accepting refugees and coming together in crisis.
Yes, the original had the others die, but most these days have them shelter with the third pig. An extra layer.
I find it intersting that straw and sticks are both cheap and plentiful, while brick is financially expensive and resource-intensive.
So another reading, hard to avoid, is that it reinforces the just world narrative where it just so happens rich people come out on top all the time because they are morally better and poor people come out worse because they are lazy…
In the original they are 3 brothers and begin with equal means given to them by their mother, fwiw.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard an origin story for them. It’s always been, “Once upon a time, there were three little pigs.”
When it comes to stuff like this, I don’t think it matters so much what the original authorial intent was, more how the story has been transmitted in pop culture.
No telling that I’ve ever heard starts with three little pigs having wealth disparity and only one being able to afford bricks due to generational wealth.
The implication of the story is that they are all equal and one works harder than the others. Which is a real life lesson. Regardless of your views on systemic wealth allocation, at any socio-economic class, hard work is still a virtue.
I feel like you’re seeing the lesson you want to see.
Stories can have multiple meanings, even to the same person, and different meanings can be the emotional drive behind sharing the story, even if they are never explicitly stated.
Sure, and people can read whatever they want into a text even if it’s not there.
Do you remember the phrase “to each according to their need, from each according to their ability”? Socialism and communism has always valued hard work. Pushing the value of hard work is not a capitalist conspiracy, it was literally most of the messaging of the Soviet Union.
An immediate example is what I’m taking from your comments despite, “I am media-illiterate” not being present in the text.
That’s fair.
Brick is also plentiful, it’s just more time consuming. You get clay out of the ground, it’s mud. It is resource intensive though, it does have to be shaped and fired, so that’s a whole process.
Still, I think the allegory still would have worked if the third pig had used logs instead of brick, the point would be the same. Durable materials are a better choice in the long term.
They could also have just used stone, keeping with the primitive rural theme.
It’s kind of like if one pig walked, the other rode a bike, and the third had private jet.
Well again, that’s a different story, as that’s about things they had, not things they did.
It’s a good story, a good lesson–prepare carefully for the future. I’d want my kids to learn it too, and I’d probably tell them this story for that reason.
BUT
If you can prevent bad things happening to you, when bad things happen you could have prevented them, ie it is your fault.
This story does is one more brick to the foundation of the just of the just world fallacy.
Then again, do I want my kids to have an existential crisis at 3-years-old and kill themselves in despair of living in an unfair world where they have little agency over their destiny? Probably not.
Yeah, I mean both stories are important and you can absolutely teach both of these lessons.
Teaching to prepare for the future is not inherently bad though, it’s teaching self reliance, is incredibly important. And the truth is, you can prepare for the future on a day to day basis. If you’re planning a beach trip, bring sunscreen, an extra pair of socks, your sand toys, the more prepared they are, the more fun the kid will have.
Simultaneously, since humans have existed, parents have been telling children that “life is not fair”, and that’s also a very important lesson, and a hard one to accept. As they get older you start expanding on what you mean by that, pointing out the inequities in society, and how it might affect them.
The danger of teaching children only that the world isn’t fair, and they may never be able to achieve what some others will have handed to them, is that it can leave them feeling helpless. And helplessness can be just as deadly as a big bad wolf. They do need to be prepared to take care of themselves, personally I think that’s your primary job as a parent, to help them figure out how to do that.
It’s true, the world isn’t just, but regardless, you also won’t achieve much without putting in work.
I read once that the tale of the three little pigs was modified from its original form to preach the Protestant work ethic and also as a form of Victorian-style propaganda, where the rich, educated landowner was the reasonable one.
and the incredible lung capacity of wolves
Yes! It has always been a story about aerobic exercise and the importance of having a good VO2 Max. So you can use it to… *checks notes* destroy housing, I guess
According to Green Jell-ÿ the moral of the story is that bands with no talent can easily amuse idiots with a stupid puppet show.
Their version actually expands the story a bit, it shows the first two were lazy,
Well, the first little piggy, well, he was kinda hicky
Spent most of his days just a-dreamin’ of the city
And then one day, he bought a guitar
He moved to Hollywood to become a star
But living on the farm, he knew nothing of the city
Built his house out of straw, what a pity
Then one day, jammin’ on some chords
Along came the wolf knocking on his doorWell, the second little piggy, well, he was kinda stoned
He spent most of his time just a-ganja smokin’
Hoppin’ and a-boppin’ down on Venice Beach
Getting paid money for religious speech
Built his shelter from what he garbage picked
Mostly made up of old cans and sticks
Then one day he was cranking up Bob Marley
Along came the Wolf on his big bad HarleyAfter posting this reply, I started thinking about the next verse. Basically the 3rd pig was a nepo baby.
Well, the third little piggy was a grade-A student
His daddy was a rockstar named Pig Nugent
Earned his Master’s degree from Harvard College
Built his house from his architect knowledge
A tri-level mansion, Hollywood Hills
Daddy’s rock stardom paid for the billsThe second pig, was actually making money, albeit as a preacher of some kind.
NOT BY THE HAIR OF MY CHINNY CHIN CHIN!
It’s a recommendation to boil your enemies alive.
Of course, what have you been doing?
I don’t know about a wolf’s lung capacity, but I could see it being a lesson about building materials. Of course, if a decent tornado comes along it doesn’t matter what your house is built from unless it’s underground.
