The Three Little Guinea Pigs

Once upon a time, three little guinea pigs said “good-bye” to their mother. They tucked the money she gave them into their knapsacks. Off they went to make their way in the world.

“Are we going to build one big house for all of us?” the first little guinea pig asked.

“No,” snapped the second little guinea pig. “It was hard enough living with you my whole childhood. Go build your own house.”

“I don’t want to live you either,” the third little guinea pig said. “Let’s go the Rodent Depot and find some materials. We can each build our own house.”

“Fine,” the first brother said.

“Dandy,” the second brother said.

The three little guinea pigs marched off to the Rodent Depot, grabbed a cart in which to put their materials and started shopping.

The first little guinea pig bought some cardboard, wood chips and glue.

The second little guinea pig picked up a huge packet of Popsicle sticks and more glue, because he knew his first brother wouldn’t share his.

The third little guinea pig, which was by far the smartest and most arrogant of them all, bought some wire and a pair of tin snips. He was quite pleased with his purchase.

The first little guinea pig glued the wood chips to the cardboard pieces, which he had cut out to form the floor, walls and roof of his house. He made a door and a window, so he could see his brothers, who were setting up their houses not too far away in the woods.

The second little guinea pig glued hundreds of Popsicle sticks together to make his house. It took a long time to put them all together, but he liked the house he made.

The third little guinea pig snipped hundreds of pieces of wire with his tin snips and twisted them together to form his house. He found some wild flowers in the woods and replanted them in front of his house. It looked marvelous! Then he decided to see how his brothers managed to build their houses.

When he saw the first little guinea pig’s house, he nearly laughed his head off. “A mouse could chew his way into that flimsy house.”

“Well, I worked hard on it, and it’s quite comfortable,” he said.

Then he walked over to the second brother’s Popsicle stick house. “What a crazy idea! Do you think that’s going to keep the wild animals out?”

“Well, I spent a lot of time gluing this together, and it’s a great place to live,” he said. “At least it’s stronger than the one our first brother built. Now go back home and leave me alone.”

One night the big bad badger, who dearly loved to eat fat little guinea pigs, came along and saw the first little guinea pig in his house of cardboard and cedar chips. He said, “Let me in, let me in, or I’ll chomp and I’ll chew and I’ll eat my way in!”

“Not by the whiskers on my furry little cheeks,” he said.

When the badger started chomping and chewing on the cedar chip house, the first little guinea pig fled out the back door and raced through the woodsto his second brother’s house. “Let me in, Brother!” he panted. There’s a badger chewing a hole into my house so he can eat me for dinner!”

“Oh, come on in,” the second brother said. “Didn’t I warn you that you were making your house out of too cheap of materials?”

Then the badger chased after him through the woods and came to the second little guinea pig’s house. “Let me in, let me in, or I’ll nibble and I’ll gnaw and I’ll eat my way in!”

“Not by the whiskers on my furry little cheeks,” he said.

When the badger started nibbling and gnawing and chomping and chewing on that house, both little guinea pigs escaped out the back door and bolted through the woods to their third brother’s house.

“Help, Big Brother! Quickly let us in! There’s a badger chewing on our houses! He’s going to eat us!”

“Didn’t I warn you that those houses you built were too cheap?”

“Yes, but hurry! Here he comes!”

“OK, come in,” he said, as his brothers scurried through the door.

The badger dashed after them through the woods until he came to the third guinea pig’s wire house.

“Let me in, let me in, or I’ll munch and I’ll crunch and I’ll eat my way in!” he said.

“Not by the whiskers on my furry little cheeks,” he replied.

So the badger started munching and crunching, and nibbling and gnawing, and chomping and chewing on the wire cage, but it was so strong that it broke off all of his teeth.

Ouch! That hurt! Besides, without teeth, he couldn’t eat the three little guinea pigs. He slinked away into the woods.

“Please let me stay with you,” the first little guinea pig begged his older brother. “I’ll do all the cooking.”

“Yes, please let me stay with you, too,” the second little guinea pig pleaded. “I’ll keep your house clean.”

The third guinea pig agreed to keep them on those conditions. From then on, one did the cooking, one did the cleaning, and the other kept the yard clean and beautiful.

“Maybe living with my brothers isn’t as bad as I thought,” he mused.
From that day on, they all got along––well, most days anyway.