Saturday Rave: The Three Little Pigs.

"Little pig, little pig, let me come in."
"No, no, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin."
"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down."

The trouble with the story of the three little pigs is that the silly animals are so irritating that I've always felt they rather deserve to be eaten.

The hair on my chinny chin chin?

What on earth is that all about?

But then I came across this picture by L Leslie Brook:




And, oh, what tenderness and pride is shining from the face of the mother! And look, the little ones are only piglets, really, just starting out in life. How thrilled they are to be grown up. And how much their mother loves them.

Oh dear. Suddenly I really do care about those pigs.

This old story, like most old stories, exists in lots of versions. The Disney one doesn't involve anyone getting eaten, but most versions end up with just about everyone yummed right up.

The very best versions (because the longest and funniest and most cunning) include a series of attempts by the wolf to lure the last pig out of his brick-built house.

Here's what must be the best picture ever drawn of a pig climbing an apple tree:



In the end of all the versions the big bad wolf gets his come-uppance, of course. Sometimes he gets his bottom toasted, and sometimes he's just...well...toast.

The L Leslie Brooke version from which that these pictures have come is available here, for free.

So all hail the glory of the internet.

Word To Use Today: chin. This word comes from the Old English word cinn, and is related to the Latin gena, which means cheek, and the Old Irish gin, which means mouth.