Once upon a time, there was a curious and adventurous child named Michael. Michael had bright blonde hair that fell straight down his back, and his eyes were the color of warm chocolate. Michael loved to go on walks in the forest. He would often dream about the birds he saw flying high above the trees. One day, Michael was exploring a grassy clearing, looking at a line of ants marching in a single file. He heard some voices and decided to see what all the chatter was about. Michael was very calm, so he quietly crept closer to the sounds.
There, in the middle of the clearing, were three little piglets! One had a pink nose and a curly tail, the second had a spotted coat and a big grin, and the third piglet had tiny little hooves and always seemed to be sniffing the ground. They were all very excited and talking so fast that Michael could barely understand them.
The little piglets saw Michael and called him over. "Hello!" they squealed. "Do you live in a house?" They didn't even wait for Michael to say hello back.
Michael was a little confused. Of course, he lived in a house! It was a cozy home in Austin, where he lived with his family. "Yes, I do," he said. "I live with my mom and dad."
The youngest piglet with the tiny hooves said, "Well, we left our mother's house! We're all grown up now! Mom said we should build our own houses, because there is a wolf in the forest who likes to eat piglets." Michael's eyes got wide. He was only four years old, and he had never heard of a wolf!
"I can help you build houses!" Michael said. "I'm good at building things!"
The piglets were thrilled. The first piglet, with the curly tail, decided to use straw. She quickly tied it together in big blocks, but she didn't even put in a door or window! She wanted to finish quickly so she could go play. "Come on, Michael," she called, "Let's play!" But Michael said, "I'll help each of you a little bit, so we can all play together. I love to play with my superpower, flying like an eagle!"
The second piglet, with the spotted coat, decided to build her cabin out of wood from the forest. She made a roof, doors, and windows, but she saw her sister playing and didn't bother putting in many nails. She decided to go play, too. Michael then went to help the third piglet.
The third piglet wanted to build a house just like her mother's, with bricks, cement, glass windows, and a secure roof. That took time. Michael and the piglet sweated as they worked hard, but they laughed while they were doing it. They saw the other two piglets playing in the forest, having so much fun.
When Michael and the third piglet finally finished building the whole house, the piglet invited Michael inside to eat something. Michael was so excited! They could cook something on the wood stove they had built.
That night, the wolf appeared! The piglets and Michael were scared. The wolf went straight to the straw house, and with just one strong blow, the whole house collapsed. The piglet who lived there ran through the dark forest without the wolf catching her. "Oh no!" said Michael, "I'm worried! We can go to my hiding place at Enchanted Lake if we need to."
The wolf was hungry and didn't want to waste time. He 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 was irritated. He went to blow down the third house, made of bricks, from which a delicious smell was coming out of the chimney. He blew and blew and blew, but nothing happened. 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 were finally able to return to their sister. Michael was there, too. The sister welcomed them all, and they had a delicious soup. It felt good to be safe and warm inside the house.
And so, Michael and the three little piglets enjoyed that night, realizing that sometimes, good things take time!
