Week 3 Story: The Three Little Pigs (In Verse)
The current version of this story is at my portfolio site.
Hearken! and gather ye round the fire
I've tales in verse to tell
A story perchance that yet thou know
But a version ye know not well
Such yarns I quoth in tongues most olde
With syllabic meter fixed;
Employing medieval-sounding words
Like "thither" and "wherefore" and "'twixt"
Pigs three, our stout protagonists
Their lives soon fraught with woe
For frightful dull, two pigs they were
And frightful large, their foe
Pigs three, they gathered verily,
To seek for new abode
Set off for yonder marketplace
Down scenic country road
Chanced they upon a merchant
Answ'ring their residential prayers
Fair were the prices asked by he
And triplicate, his wares
"Step nigh!" cried he, the merchant old
"Step nigh!" he didst implore
"Fit for gods, the wares they are,
that I've for ye in store!"
A handsome cache spied foremost pig
Gleaming golden 'neath the sun
Ten score and seven bales of straw --
Purchased he every one
Then sallied forth, the second pig
And perused that which remained
He eyes lit 'pon a hoard of sticks
Which promptly were obtained
Yet final pig proved shrewder still,
Of clever mind, and quick
When queried, "Ye'll build thine home of what?"
He opted for the brick
Then parted they, the travelers four
Pleased for the bargains struck
They tarried not, as piglets three
Hadst dwellings to construct
Hark! Peril seizes now our tale!
And trauma doth it bring:
The Moor is housed by sticks and straw,
Iago in the wings...
The Wolf! That cursed beast, most damned
That scourge of deepest Hell;
Dreamt he of tender, porcine flesh --
His hunger, for to quell
Crept Wolf to straw-built entryway
Of piglet listed first
The portal bore a keyless lock
So thusly he coerced:
"O kindly pig! I find myself
In hunger's callous throes
Shalt thou invite me then to sup?
I hope I shan't impose."
Wailed piglet one, from cottage safe
"I'll nary let thee in!
I swear it, by both Virgin mild,
And hairs that fleck my chin!"
So Wolf, with fearsome, frightful howl
Did wreak a wretched gust
What once was pig, 'hind straw bales' shield
Now dinner, 'mongst the dust
His hunger piqued, the Wolf slunk next
To stick-built domicile
Though barred his way, did door of twigs
So sweetly, he beguiled:
"O goodly pig! I tell thee true --
I've not a crumb of bread.
A whiff caught I of hearty fare
That wafted from thine stead."
"Tempt not thou me!" came shrill reply,
From second pig, with scorn
"Ye'll not intrude by mine own hairs,
Nor chin which they adorn!"
A blacken'd rage did grasp the Wolf,
His vengeance thusly wrought
For breaketh bone, may stick (and stone);
But house pig, it will not
Self-satisfied, the Wolf now bore
Smug face and sated gut
Lumbered he, with stomach gorged
Toward third and final hut
Sturdy brick didst render pig
Here squarely out of reach
So Wolf, 'fore stalwart entryway,
Adroitly did beseech:
"O pig! Do grant me passage in --
And spare thee me disdain.
I bring ye thine compatriots
From dwellings down yon lane."
"O Wolf! O beast! O wrathful thing!
Crawl back into thine Hell!
For not a tomb of brick shall be
This shelter where I dwell.
Methinks both pigs ingested be;
Mine heart doth sag with grief.
Ye'll not come in by hair on chin --
So endeth this motif!"
Now braced the door, did piglet third
His part had such been spake
And Wolf drew breath so vast it caused
The noonday clouds to quake
And now doth Wolf exhale in rage!
And now breath meets with door!
And now the wind, it rattles 'round
With a-thousand tempests' roar!
But steady stands the cottage brick
Impassive 'bove the ground
Huffed he, the Wolf, and puffed, but nay --
Couldst not he blow it down
Author's Note: This piece was based on the Robin Hood Unit in the UnTextbook. I really enjoyed the flavor that the rhyming verse (originally performed over music) gave the stories about Robin and the Merry Men, so I decided to give it a try myself. Obviously, I didn't utilize the characters from Robin Hood, but I felt like I would be able to better mimic Francis James Child's writing style if I did a story I was a little more familiar with (i.e. The Three Little Pigs).
Hearken! and gather ye round the fire
I've tales in verse to tell
A story perchance that yet thou know
But a version ye know not well
Such yarns I quoth in tongues most olde
With syllabic meter fixed;
Employing medieval-sounding words
Like "thither" and "wherefore" and "'twixt"
Pigs three, our stout protagonists
Their lives soon fraught with woe
For frightful dull, two pigs they were
And frightful large, their foe
Pigs three, they gathered verily,
To seek for new abode
Set off for yonder marketplace
Down scenic country road
Chanced they upon a merchant
Answ'ring their residential prayers
Fair were the prices asked by he
And triplicate, his wares
"Step nigh!" cried he, the merchant old
"Step nigh!" he didst implore
"Fit for gods, the wares they are,
that I've for ye in store!"
A handsome cache spied foremost pig
Gleaming golden 'neath the sun
Ten score and seven bales of straw --
Purchased he every one
Then sallied forth, the second pig
And perused that which remained
He eyes lit 'pon a hoard of sticks
Which promptly were obtained
Yet final pig proved shrewder still,
Of clever mind, and quick
When queried, "Ye'll build thine home of what?"
He opted for the brick
 |
| Source: Wikipedia. |
Then parted they, the travelers four
Pleased for the bargains struck
They tarried not, as piglets three
Hadst dwellings to construct
Hark! Peril seizes now our tale!
And trauma doth it bring:
The Moor is housed by sticks and straw,
Iago in the wings...
The Wolf! That cursed beast, most damned
That scourge of deepest Hell;
Dreamt he of tender, porcine flesh --
His hunger, for to quell
 |
| Source: Wikipedia Commons. |
Crept Wolf to straw-built entryway
Of piglet listed first
The portal bore a keyless lock
So thusly he coerced:
"O kindly pig! I find myself
In hunger's callous throes
Shalt thou invite me then to sup?
I hope I shan't impose."
Wailed piglet one, from cottage safe
"I'll nary let thee in!
I swear it, by both Virgin mild,
And hairs that fleck my chin!"
So Wolf, with fearsome, frightful howl
Did wreak a wretched gust
What once was pig, 'hind straw bales' shield
Now dinner, 'mongst the dust
 |
| Source: Wikipedia. |
His hunger piqued, the Wolf slunk next
To stick-built domicile
Though barred his way, did door of twigs
So sweetly, he beguiled:
"O goodly pig! I tell thee true --
I've not a crumb of bread.
A whiff caught I of hearty fare
That wafted from thine stead."
"Tempt not thou me!" came shrill reply,
From second pig, with scorn
"Ye'll not intrude by mine own hairs,
Nor chin which they adorn!"
A blacken'd rage did grasp the Wolf,
His vengeance thusly wrought
For breaketh bone, may stick (and stone);
But house pig, it will not
Self-satisfied, the Wolf now bore
Smug face and sated gut
Lumbered he, with stomach gorged
Toward third and final hut
Sturdy brick didst render pig
Here squarely out of reach
So Wolf, 'fore stalwart entryway,
Adroitly did beseech:
"O pig! Do grant me passage in --
And spare thee me disdain.
I bring ye thine compatriots
From dwellings down yon lane."
"O Wolf! O beast! O wrathful thing!
Crawl back into thine Hell!
For not a tomb of brick shall be
This shelter where I dwell.
Methinks both pigs ingested be;
Mine heart doth sag with grief.
Ye'll not come in by hair on chin --
So endeth this motif!"
Now braced the door, did piglet third
His part had such been spake
And Wolf drew breath so vast it caused
The noonday clouds to quake
And now doth Wolf exhale in rage!
And now breath meets with door!
And now the wind, it rattles 'round
With a-thousand tempests' roar!
But steady stands the cottage brick
Impassive 'bove the ground
Huffed he, the Wolf, and puffed, but nay --
Couldst not he blow it down
Author's Note: This piece was based on the Robin Hood Unit in the UnTextbook. I really enjoyed the flavor that the rhyming verse (originally performed over music) gave the stories about Robin and the Merry Men, so I decided to give it a try myself. Obviously, I didn't utilize the characters from Robin Hood, but I felt like I would be able to better mimic Francis James Child's writing style if I did a story I was a little more familiar with (i.e. The Three Little Pigs).
This story was awesome. I love how you wrote it in verse (very impressive how you stuck to the rhyme scheme!) and also used a more old-fashioned tone and word choice. I was pretty blown away (heh heh) by the vocabulary you used and the general flow of the story, as well as the detail you added to the classic story.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what happened to the wolf and the pigs at the end of the story - was there revenge involved? Did the pig live in fear for the rest of his life, or is there a happy ending?
The only real suggestion I would make is to clean up the rhythm a little bit. There are a few places where the lines have inconsistent numbers syllables, which I think would be a pretty easy fix if you wanted to make it a little more cohesive.
Over all, I think this was really great. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of your portfolio!
Spencer,
ReplyDeleteYour skill at writing in verse totally blew me away. I loved how you levelled up a classic children's tale and made it so poetic. The flow of everything was really great and your own tone came through nicely as well. I especially appreciated the way you edited the site to go along with the story; the pictures added a nice ambiance to the story and to your site overall. I would love to see another verse from you, but perhaps with different language? Perhaps I'm just not cultured enough, but this type of old-fashioned writing is sometimes difficult to understand as the reader is trying to fluidly read the piece. Your effort really shone through in this. Great job!