In search of the real three little pigs.

• Author: Waldman, Steven
• Position: Different versions of the story 'The Three Little Pigs'

My search for the real "Three Little Pigs" began after viewing a disturbing puppet show. I had taken my two-year-old son Joe to a production of the classic tale at a nearby park. In this rendition, the moral of the story was not that hard work will be rewarded, but that the wolf had been woefully misunderstood.

The wolf, it seems, had actually been pursuing the pigs so he could encourage them to pick up their litter. In their panic, the narrow-minded pigs mistakenly thought that the wolf was shouting, "I'll huff and I'll huff and blow your house in," when actually, it turns out, he was wheezing, "Enough, enough. I have to lay down" The wolf was tired from having to pick up all those recyclables.

Part of the cause of the confusion may have been that the wolf delivered his message in verse, accompanied by rap music. I took this to mean not only that "pigs" were ruining the environment, but that minorities get a raw deal.

I left the show thinking, this is Bill Bennett's worst nightmare. It's not that there's anything wrong with conservation and racial tolerance as lessons, but what was wrong with the old one about hard work and diligence?

I went to the library to find the "correct" version. In the first contemporary children's edition I took home, written by Glen Rounds in 1992, the wolf was appropriately wicked but the pigs didn't come close to getting their roles right. The third pig finds a brick house--already built. "It had a good strong door, and when the little pig went inside, he found there was even a fireplace and a big black kettle on the hearth."

The moral of this story seemed to be the importance of using a good realtor. "Remember, son," I could explain to doe during a heartfelt fatherson chat, "always remember to find out what conveys with the house."

I went back to the library. This time I got an edition written by James Marshall in 1989. This came closer to my memory. The first two pigs were, in fact, warned by the merchants that straw and sticks were not ideal building materials for houses, and the pigs disregarded the warnings with suitable arrogance. "Oh pooh," one said. "What would you know?"

But the author ruined it by making the third little pig a foppish chap with an elegant walking cane, derby, and British accent. "Capital idea my good fellow!" he said to the brick salesman. It was hard to admire the third pig. One suspected that he came to his fortune not by hard work but through good trust fund investments.

Enough is...