<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 on June 19, 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> <P> "Little pig, little pig, let me come in ." "No, no, by the hair on my chiny chin chin ." "Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in ." </P> <P> The third little pig builds a house of bricks . The wolf fails to blow down the house . He then attempts to trick the pig out of the house by asking to meet him at various places, but he is outwitted each time . Finally, the wolf resolves to come down the chimney, whereupon the pig catches the wolf in a cauldron of boiling water, slams the lid on, then cooks and eats him . In some versions, the first and second little pigs are not eaten by the wolf after he demolishes their homes, but instead run to their brother's house, and after the wolf goes down the chimney he either dies like in the original, or runs away and never returns to eat the three little pigs, who all survive in either case . </P> <P> The story uses the literary rule of three, expressed in this case as a "contrasting three", as the third pig's brick house turns out to be the only one which is adequate to withstand the wolf . Variations of the tale appeared in Uncle Remus: His Songs and Sayings in 1881 . The story also made an appearance in Nights with Uncle Remus in 1883, both by Joel Chandler Harris, in which the pigs were replaced by Brer Rabbit . Andrew Lang included it in The Green Fairy Book, published in 1892, but did not cite his source . In contrast to Jacobs's version, which left the pigs nameless, Lang's retelling cast the pigs as Browny, Whitey, and Blacky . It also set itself apart by exploring each pig's character and detailing interaction between them . The antagonist of this version is a fox, not a wolf . The pigs' houses are made either of mud, cabbage, or brick . Blacky, the third pig, rescues his brother and sister from the fox's den after the fox has been defeated . </P>

The written story of the three little pigs