Hello lovely readers, and welcome to episode the sixth of NBC’s Grimm Season 1! This episode is called “The Three Bad Wolves” and has less of a creep factor and more a pervasive sense of foreboding.
The opening quote tells you exactly which old tale was used for the foundation of the story that Grimm is telling during this episode. Read the quote and take three guesses: the first two don’t count!
Did you guess The Three Little Pigs? Did you? Did you?! Of course you did. I don’t think I have ever met anyone who doesn’t know this story, or at the very least heard of it. However, as far as I can tell this is an extremely English fairy tale, both geographically and historically. It isn’t in my illustrated Grimm’s Tales, nor my copy of the illustrated stories of Hans Christian Anderson. So, we turn to trusty Google, which lead me straight to the trusty University of Pennsylvania archive of classic fairy tales, which had a page dedicated to versions of The Three Little Pigs.
As the tale goes, there once were three little pigs who, leaving their mother’s sty, needed to build their own homes. The first built his out of straw; the second, of sticks; and the third, of bricks. Before they left, their mother warned them to never allow the wolf to enter their homes, regardless of honeyed words, for if they did the wolf would eat them up.
One day after the houses were built, there was a knock upon the door of the house built of straw. Realizing the wolf had come to him, the little pig that had built his house of straw denied the wolf entry. Becoming angry, the wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house down; once finished he did indeed gobble up the little pig.
The next day, there was a knock upon the door of the house built of sticks. Realizing the wolf had come to him, the little pig that had built his house of sticks denied the wolf entry. Becoming angry, the wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house down; once finished he did indeed gobble up the little pig.
The next day, there was a knock upon the door of the house built of bricks. Realizing the wolf had come to him, the little pig that had built his house of bricks denied the wolf entry. Becoming angry, the wold huffed and puffed, and huffed and puffed, and failed at blowing the house down. The house built of bricks was too strong for him to knock down. Angry, the wolf tried for several days to trick the little pig into meeting the wolf outside the house, and every time he failed. Eventually, the wolf grew angry and frustrated: he climbed up on to the roof of the house built of bricks, and squirmed down the chimney. Hearing the wolf on the roof and in the chimney, however, the little big had placed a pot of water on the fire and set it to boiling; when the wolf at last cam through the bottom of the chimney, he fell directly into the pot of water and was boiled after the little pig put the lid on.
Now, depending on the version, sometimes the pig eats the wolf for dinner, which, yegh. Also, in other versions the first two little pigs are not eaten straight away, but borne back to the wolf’s den because he wants all three before eating. Then after defeating the wolf, the third little pig saves his brothers.
The corresponding episode of Grimm turns this tale totally on it’s head, though there are the deaths of a couple of porcine Wesen in the story (Bauerschwein). There are also wolves (Blutbaden, as we already know). Arson! Murder! Betrayal! This is actually quite a good episode, though with rather a surprising premise. As usual, that is all you will get from me because you should watch the show!
If you’ve watch the show or you know the story, leave a comment below or send me a message through the Contact Me page!
Main image credit: NBC’s Grimm
Quote image credit: NBC’s Grimm
Categories: Fairy Tales, Grimm Brothers, Grimm Season 1, Grimm: Tales vs. Television
Printed Pages and Coffee 
Leave a Reply