Andrew Lang's The Three Little Pigs

Fairy tales are children’s first introduction to different cultures of the world. A click of heels or sprinkling of magic dust can transport children into the jungles of Africa or the countryside of England. Amongst the magical wands, princesses and frogs are the beliefs and customs of the tales’ origin. This is evident in two variations of the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs”. For example, Andrew Lang’s English version “The Three Little Pigs” represents the culture of England. Likewise, Joel Harris’ African version “The Story of the Pigs” represents the culture of Ethiopia. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term fairy tales as “a story in which improbable events lead to a happy ending”. Life is similar to fairy tales. Throughout

However, unlike the English version, the Sow had five children. In Ethiopian culture, “Families tend to be large (seven or eight children)” (Duncan and Hayden). The author made a point of stating the Sow was a widow-woman. Perhaps it was because in Ethiopia a woman upon marriage does not take her husband’s name. Therefore by identifying her as a widow, the author was indicating she had been married and did not have children out of wedlock. It is a disgrace to the family to have a child out of wedlock. The author’s selection of the children’s name also is similar to the naming tradition rooted in the African culture. “Factors such as the order of birth play significant roles in the overall naming process and in the actual name given” (African Fathers’ Initiative). Big Pig, Little Pig and Runt were given names according to birth order. They were the oldest, second oldest and youngest. Another tradition in Ethiopian culture is to bring food to the house of an ill or deceased person. This is evident in the African version when the wolf pays a visit to one of the children. “I heard tell that old Miss Sow was sick, and I said to myself that I'd ought to drop around and see how the old lady is, and fetch her this here bag of roasting ears. I know might well that if your ma was here right now, in her right mind, she'd take the roasting ears and be glad to get them, and more than that, she'd ask me in by the fire

In ancient England, the belief that foxes served no purpose except to prey on farm animals, lead to the sport of foxhunting. The fox rich history in English culture made it the obvious chosen villain. “Foxes were widely regarded as vermin and farmers and other landowners had hunted the animals for many years as a form of pest control (both to curb their attacks on farm animals and for their highly prized fur)” (Johnson). The opposite is true for the wolf in the African version. The Ethiopian wolves are rare species. They are the only wolves in Africa. These wolves are very social animals. The wolf in the fairy tale used his social ways to trick the pigs into letting him in to their homes. Similarly, foreigners pretended to travel to Ethiopian to help the people. However, just like the wolf, the foreigners’ motive in befriending the Ethiopians was greed. They stole Ethiopian’s gold and freedom. The invasion lasted many years. Perhaps this explains the unusual ending of the story whereby the author says, “At least it was the last of that Brer Wolf”