Once upon a time, there was a curious and adventurous child named Elizabeth. Elizabeth loved to go on walks, especially through the forest. That's when she would dream about her favorite thing - stories! One day, Elizabeth was exploring a grassy clearing in the middle of the forest, looking at tiny ants marching in a long line. Suddenly, she heard some voices and decided to find out what all the chatter was about. Elizabeth’s creative mind was already working on a story!
Elizabeth followed the sound of the voices, sneaking behind a big oak tree. There, she saw three little piglets! They were all so different! One piglet had a curly tail and wore a pink bow. The other piglet had a short, stubby tail and wore a blue ribbon. The last piglet had a long, skinny tail and wore a red ribbon. They were all so cute!
The piglets didn’t even notice Elizabeth hiding behind the tree. They were busy talking among themselves! They immediately called Elizabeth over and without even saying hello, they asked, “Do you live in a house?”
Elizabeth was confused! “Of course, I live in a house!” she said. “It’s in San Diego, with my family. It’s a cozy house with lots of books!”
“Well, we left our mother’s house,” said the youngest piglet. “We’re all grown up now! Our mother said we should build our own houses because the forest has its dangers, like a big, bad wolf who loves to eat piglets!”
Elizabeth gasped. She couldn’t believe the piglets had left their mother’s house. They were so small! “But you’re still so little!” she said.
“That’s why we need to build a house!” said the youngest piglet.
Elizabeth immediately jumped to her feet. “I can help you!” she said.
Each piglet decided to build her own house. The first piglet used straw. She tied it together in big blocks and didn’t even put in a door or window! She wanted to finish quickly to go play.
“Come on, Elizabeth! Let’s play!” the first piglet called.
“We’ll help all three of you a little bit at a time,” Elizabeth said. “That way, everyone can play together!” Elizabeth loved to play with her superpower – entering into books! It was so much fun to have adventures in different stories.
The second piglet gathered wood from the forest and built her cabin. She put in a roof, doors, and windows, but she saw her sister playing and didn’t bother putting in many nails. Finally, she went to play, too.
Elizabeth then went to help the third piglet. She wanted to build a house like her mother’s - with bricks, cement, glass windows, and a secure roof. It took time, and Elizabeth and the piglet sweated with all the work! But they laughed while doing it! They looked over and saw the other two piglets having fun, running around and playing.
Finally, the third piglet and Elizabeth finished building the house. The piglet invited Elizabeth to eat something in her new house! Elizabeth was excited, considering how creative she was! They could cook something on the wood stove they had built!
That night, a big, bad wolf appeared! The piglets and Elizabeth were scared! The wolf went straight to the straw house and with one strong blow, knocked the whole house down! The piglet who lived there ran through the dark forest without the wolf being able to catch her.
Elizabeth worried. “We could go to my hiding place, the fairy tale castle, if we need to!” she said.
The wolf, who was hungry and didn't want to waste time, went straight to the wooden cabin. It took two strong blows, and soon the house fell apart. The second piglet ran and found her sister hiding in the forest.
The wolf, already irritated, went to blow down the third house, made of bricks, from which a delicious smell was coming out of the chimney. He blew, blew, blew, and nothing. The house didn't fall! So he decided to go down the chimney! It seemed like a good idea! And when he started to descend, he smelled something burning! His tail was on fire!
This time, it was the wolf who was scared! He quickly ran away from there!
The two hiding piglets laughed when they saw the wolf running away and finally were able to return. Their sister welcomed them, and along with Elizabeth, they had a delicious soup! It felt good to feel welcomed, inside a warm and safe house!
And so, Elizabeth and the three little piglets enjoyed that night, realizing that sometimes, good things take time!