<Tr> <Th> Country </Th> <Td> England </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Related </Th> <Td>' </Td> </Tr> <P> The Three Little Pigs is a fable about three pigs who build three houses of different materials . A big bad wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses, made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's house, made of bricks . Printed versions date back to the 1840s, but the story itself is thought to be much older . The phrases used in the story, and the various morals drawn from it, have become embedded in Western culture . Many versions of The Three Little Pigs have been recreated or have been modified over the years, sometimes making the wolf a kind character . It is a type 124 folktale in the Aarne--Thompson classification system . </P> <P> The Three Little Pigs was included in The Nursery Rhymes of England (London and New York, c. 1886), by James Halliwell - Phillipps . The story in its arguably best - known form appeared in English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, first published in 1890 and crediting Halliwell as his source . The story begins with the title characters being sent out into the world by their mother, to "seek out their fortune". The first little pig builds a house of straw, but a wolf blows it down and devours him . The second little pig builds a house of sticks, which the wolf also blows down, and the second little pig is also devoured . Each exchange between wolf and pig features ringing proverbial phrases, namely: </P>

Not by the hair of your chinny chin chins