First she leapt, and then she ran, Till she came to the farmer, and thus began: "Pray, farmer, give me hay, that I may give cow hay, that cow may give me milk, that I may give cat milk, that cat may give me my own tail again." "No," said the farmer, "I'll give you no hay till you go to the butcher and fetch me some meat." First she leapt, and then she ran, Till she came to the butcher, and thus began: "Pray, butcher, give me meat, that I may give farmer meat, that farmer may give me hay, that I may give cow hay, that cow may give me milk, that I may give cat milk, that cat may give me my own tail again." "No," said the butcher, "I'll give you no meat till you go to the baker and fetch me some bread." First she leapt, and then she ran, Till she came to the baker, and thus began: "Pray, baker, give me bread, that I may give butcher bread, that butcher may give me meat, that I may give farmer meat, that farmer may give me hay, that I may give cow hay, that cow may give me milk, that I may give cat milk, that cat may give me my own tail again." "Yes," said the baker, "I'll give you some bread, But if you eat my meal, I'll cut off your head." Then the baker gave mouse bread, and mouse gave butcher bread, and butcher gave mouse meat, and mouse gave farmer meat, and farmer gave mouse hay, and mouse gave cow hay, and cow gave mouse milk, and mouse gave cat milk, and cat gave mouse her own tail again. 151 The following story is in the most familiar version of Halliwell's collection. Another much-used form of the story may be found in Lang's _Green Fairy Book_, in which the pigs are distinctly characterized and given the names of Browny, Whitey, and Blacky. Jacobs uses the Halliwell version in his _English Fairy Tales_, but prefixes to it an opening formula which seems to have been much in use by old story-tellers as a way of beginning almost any oral story for children: "Once upon a time when pigs spoke rhyme And monkeys chewed tobacco, And hens took snuff to make them tough, And ducks went quack, quack, quack, O!" THE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS Once upon a time there was an old sow with three little pigs, and as she had not enough to keep them, she sent them out to seek their fortune. The first that went off met a man with a bundle of straw, and said to him: "Please, man, give me that straw to build me a house." Which the man did, and the little pig built a house with it. Presently came along a wolf, and knocked at the door, and said: "Little pig, little pig, let me come in." To which the pig answered: "No, no, by the hair of my chinny chin chin." The wolf then answered to that: "Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in." So he huffed, and he puffed, and he blew his house in, and ate up the little pig.