040 The Three Little Pigs

In this episode, we'll be talking about the story The Three Little Pigs, which is probably the most well known story in the US. I'll be retelling the story in Kuli English, and we'll also be talking about the theme of the story, and how it relates to real life.

Chapter Bookmarks:

00:00 Start
05:58 Three Little Pigs Start
15:28 Story Review
25:49 Applying the story to real life

Chapters

• 0:00 Start
• 5:58 Three Little Pigs Start
• 15:28 Story Review
• 25:49 Applying the story to real life

Transcript

Hello everyone, it's time for another episode of Kuli English Podcast and I'm going to be your host, Chris. So today, let's talk a little bit about school stuff. And I'm going to get more into it, but in school, which everyone probably has to go to at some point in their life, there are a bunch of different subjects.

So there's like math and there's like history and maybe there's science and maybe there are other subjects, but there's also this one big subject that probably everyone has had before, which is English. So English, when I say English, if you did not grow up in the US, then probably you had an English class where you study like English language stuff. So you learn about, you know, like how to make sentences and you learn about grammar.

Maybe you learn about vocabulary and you probably didn't learn about pronunciation because people don't really teach that, but you know, if you did, then that's great. And that's something that I think is pretty fun to learn.

But English language stuff is a little bit different than like the English classes that people in the US actually take. So in the US, if you go to school, you have the same subjects, right? You have math, history, science, and then for English class, well, at a certain point, like, you know, since all the students are native English speakers, because everyone grows up speaking English in school, then what happens is, well, I guess instead of learning about English language stuff, you just say, okay, that's good enough. And then now we're going to use English to talk about like books.

And so instead of just English, it becomes like English literature class. Literature meaning like books or like writing stuff. And so people like they have to read books, the teacher will give you books for you to take home, maybe like one book every, I don't know, two weeks or three weeks.

And then it's the same book usually. So in the class, the teacher says, hey, class, we are going to read this famous book called The Grapes of Wrath, or we are going to be reading a famous book called The Great Gatsby or something like that. And it's some book that's like, you know, kind of famous, and maybe it has some deeper meaning and people think it's really well written.

And like most of the students, they like read it, and they probably don't really like it that much. And it's like, oh, this is boring. I would rather watch Netflix or I would rather play games at home or something.

But you know, for school, you have to do it. And then so you read the story, you read the story, and then, you know, reading, it takes a while. So you read the story.

And then at school, after everyone has read the story, or maybe they didn't read the story and they have to pretend like they've already read the story, then everyone has time to talk about it. And so, you know, the teacher's like, okay, so what did you think about this part? What did you think about this chapter? What did you think about this character? Do you think this character is a nice character or something like that? And you have to talk about it. And so I always had this English class and I didn't really like it that much, I guess, because there wasn't really like a right answer.

So like in history, if someone asks you like, you know, what year did this war start and what year does this war end? Like usually there's a right answer and there's like a year that is the right answer. And then for math class, you know, people ask you like, okay, what is four plus eight? And the answer is 12. Like the answer is just 12.

There is no other answer. And then for English class, well, a lot of the times, like the answer, there is no answer. It's very subjective.

So subjective means like it depends on the person. It depends on who is talking. It depends on who's looking at it.

So for example, maybe I read this book and I think, oh, the meaning of this book is people are evil and you shouldn't trust people. And then if someone else reads the same book, they'll think, oh, rich people are evil and poor people are good. And so these are like different opinions and there's not really a right answer.

I guess if you really, really want to look at it, maybe you could ask the author and whatever the author's opinion is. So the author is the person who wrote the book, whatever their opinion is, maybe that's the right answer, but it's kind of like confusing. So anyways, I spent a long time talking about like what English class is, but in this episode, what I want to do is I want to tell you about the story of the three little pigs.

So if you don't know the story, the three little pigs, well, that probably means you didn't grow up in the U.S. because I think everyone who grows up in the U.S., every single person knows the story of the three little pigs. And it's like a really, really short like story for kids. And it's not even really known who actually wrote the story.

Like the story has been retold many, many times and there are also different versions of the story. And then there are also like, you know, modern, like extra additional parts to the story that other people wrote that like got popular or something like that. But anyways, I'm going to be telling you the story of the three little pigs, and then we are going to talk about it as if we are in an American English class.

And when I say we, you know, it kind of means like both you and me. But what I really mean is since in this podcast, I'm just talking alone, I'm going to be talking about the three little pigs, and then I'm going to be breaking down like what the deeper meanings of the story could be. And also give examples of, you know, what students might say.

And of course, as always, since this is like my podcast and I try to keep things interesting, I'll also tell you stories about my life that are a little bit related to the story. So anyways, let's first take a short little break here and then we're going to come back. I'm going to be talking about the three little pigs.

Okay, so let's go ahead and talk about the three little pigs. So I'm going to be reading you this story, but actually I'm not going to be reading anything. I'm going to be telling you the story.

And when I tell you this story, then that means, of course, it's not going to be like the original version. By the way, no one knows like which one is the actual original version because it's so old. But it's going to be like the Kuli English version where I explain things and I try to explain it in a way that's easier to understand.

And every now and then I'll be explaining like random stuff. So anyways, without further ado, so without any more delays, let's go ahead and get started. So this is the story of the three little pigs by, I don't know, nobody knows who wrote it.

But once upon a time, there were three little pigs. You know, it's what the story is named. So there are three little pigs and the three little pigs, they are all siblings and they are brothers.

So there's three brothers. There's like the oldest brother, there's the middle brother, and then there's the youngest brother. And so, you know, like the oldest brother is kind of like big and a little bit stronger.

And then like the middle brother is like kind of normal. And then the smallest brother is like the smallest and the weakest pig. And you know, it's good to be strong.

So being strong is useful. And these three little pigs, they decided for some reason to move away from home. So they used to live at home with a little pig family.

So they have a pig dad and a pig mom. And then I don't know, maybe they had like a happy house or something. But anyways, these three brothers, they need to move to someplace else.

So those three brothers, they go far away from home and then they decide to build their own home. So I don't really know why, but each brother has to build their own home. Okay.

It's not that the three brothers work together and build a new house. No, no, no, no, no. I don't know why, but everyone has to make their own home.

That's the rules. So what happens is, each brother, they kind of take a different approach. They take a different way.

So the first brother, the oldest brother, the big strongest brother, he goes and he collects a bunch of straw. So if you don't know what straw is, straw is like dried grass, but it's like kind of like plants, I guess. So he gets a bunch of straw and he gets a bunch of grass and he makes a house out of it.

I don't really know how he makes the house. No one ever says how, I mean, this book is, the story is meant for like kids, so they don't really explain exactly how, but he makes a house out of grass. He makes a house out of straw and then he's done.

He's like really fast because it's easy. And so he's sitting inside and he's thinking, ah, this is great. I've made a house.

Now I can live here. I can live happily ever after. And then he thinks, oh, you know what, since I'm done, maybe I should go visit the middle brother.

And then, so he goes, he goes to visit the middle brother and the middle brother, he took a different approach. He took a different way to build a house. So instead of building a house out of grass, he built a house out of wood.

He built a house out of sticks. So he picked up a lot of sticks. And by the way, sticks are just like, you know, pieces of wood that like fall from trees, I guess.

So he got a lot of sticks and then he put them together and it took more time because sticks are like heavier and wood is harder to, to like carry around and work with than grass. So grass is the easiest. And then the sticks or the wood is like the medium level.

So he finally finishes his house and then the older brother's like, oh, finally you finished your house. And this, uh, both of them are like hanging out inside the stick house. And then they say, Hey, you know what, let's go visit the youngest brother.

So the youngest brother is like weak. Okay. He's like weak and he's small.

And so, you know, they're kind of thinking, oh, I wonder if he's going to be okay. So then they go to go visit the youngest brother and the youngest brother. He took a different path, of course.

So he is building his house out of something else. So again, to review the first brother built the house out of straw, out of grass, and it was really fast. And then the second brother, the middle brother, he built his house out of sticks or wood.

And it took like a medium amount of time. It took longer, but it didn't take as much time as the third brother who is still building his house. And it took a really, really long time.

And it's made out of bricks. So what are bricks? Bricks are like, it's kind of made out of cement. Cement is like the same thing as like what the sidewalk or what the road is made out of.

But you know, that takes a really, really long time to make a house out of bricks. So he's spending a lot of time. And then so the first two brothers are kind of laughing at the third brother.

So the oldest and the middle brother are laughing at the youngest brother and saying, ha ha, you're spending too long making this house. So you have to work so hard and you don't get to like relax. And then they go back to their homes and you know, the brothers aren't very nice.

And the youngest brother is just thinking like, oh no, okay, well, I'm just going to keep making my house. And then, so then the next big part of the story comes. So you know, we have the three little brothers, the three little pigs, and they all have their own house.

And you know, the third brother is still like making his house. And then in comes the big bad wolf. Okay, so he is a famous wolf.

And he's a wolf, but you always call him the big bad wolf. And it's like a set word, it's like a set phrase, because he's a wolf and he's big and he's bad. And he's bad because he wants to eat the pigs and the pigs are like, you know, the good guys in the story.

So the wolf goes to the first house, goes to the oldest brother's house, which is made out of straw. And it's made out of straw, which is the same thing as grass kind of. And then the wolf says like, little piggy, little piggy, come out, like, I want to eat you.

I'm hungry. And I'm a wolf and you're a pig. So I'm going to eat you.

And then the little the pig says, no, you can't. I'm going to hide in my home. And then so then the wolf says, okay, no problem.

And so, and this phrase here is kind of a famous phrase, but and the wolf, he huffs and he puffs, and then he blows the house down. So huffing and puffing is kind of like breathing really hard. It's like, so, you know, imagine the wolf is like, taking like a deep breath, and then he blows the house down.

And since the house is made out of like straw or grass, then it's a pretty weak house. So then the house like falls apart. And then the wolf is like, I'm going to eat you.

And then the pig is like, oh, no, that's, that's really bad. So he runs to his brother's house, he runs to the middle brother's house, the house made out of wood or sticks. And then he goes, oh, it's me, let me in.

And so he makes it in, and the wolf follows him, right? And the wolf is like, okay, no problem, I'm going to follow you. And now instead of eating one pig, I'm going to eat two pigs. So then he goes to the wood house, and he, the wolf, he knocks on the door, says, hello, it's me, I'm the big bad wolf.

And I would like to eat you and your brother. So please come out of the house. And then the two pigs are like, no, you can't come eat us.

And then the wolf says, okay, no problem. And so here comes the famous phrase again, the wolf, he huffs, and he puffs, and he blows the house down. So again, huffing and puffing is like.

And then so he like blows really, really hard. And for this house, because it's made out of sticks, or it's made out of wood, then it's a little bit harder to blow down. But the wolf, you know, tries really hard and then blows a bunch of times.

And then the house falls down. And you know, like the sticks, they all fall apart. And then the two brothers, they're like, oh, no, our house is gone.

So then they decide to run to the third brother's house. And then the wolf says, okay, no problem. You know, I'm just going to follow you.

And then I'm going to eat three pigs instead of two pigs. Like this is great. I get three times the amount of food.

And so they make it to the youngest brother's house. And the youngest brother's house just finished. Okay, so he just finished making the house.

It's made out of bricks, which is like really, really solid. And then the two brothers are like, hey, let us in, let us in right now. The wolf is coming.

And the youngest brother is like, okay, sure, no problem. And then so all three pigs are hiding inside the house, inside a brick house. And then the wolf comes and it's the same thing.

The wolf knocks on the door and he says, hello, three little pigs. My name is, I'm the big bad wolf. And I would like to eat you, so please come out of the house.

And then the three pigs are like, no, you can't eat us. And then the wolf is like, okay, no problem. I'm going to blow this house down as well.

So then he huffs and he puffs and he tries to blow the house down. Okay, so he blows, he blows. But because the house is made out of bricks, like even though he blows like really, really hard, he still can't blow the house down.

So he keeps trying to blow the house down, but it doesn't work because the house is really, really, really solid. And then the three little pigs are like, yay, we're safe. And so they just stay inside the house until the wolf gets really tired.

And the wolf thinks, okay, well, I tried blowing the house down and I can't. So I'm just going to leave. And then so the wolf leaves.

And then the three little pigs, they're like happily living inside this brick house. And the end. So let's take a short little break here and then we're going to talk some more about the story.

Okay, so how was that story? So we just finished talking about the three little pigs, and this is a really famous story. And we got to move on to this next part, which is where we talk about our feelings. So again, if we're pretending to have like a little English class, and I'm the teacher, then I would ask like, Oh, hey, everyone, what did you think about this story? How did it make you feel? Did you think it was a good story? And then we go around the room, and then we ask all the students, Hey, what do you think? What do you think? And then so, you know, like a, an answer that I think is a pretty reasonable answer, a pretty normal answer would be something like, Oh, it's a cute story. 

It's a little bit funny, but it seems kind of stupid and unrealistic. And that's like, you know, my, my true feeling about it. But because in school, like you can't say mean stuff. 

You can't say like, Oh, this story is stupid. That's just, that's the rules. You can't say mean stuff like that. 

Then you can say it another way. You can say, Oh, this story was very interesting. It was very interesting. 

And it was very fictional. So fictional meaning like it, it's very fiction. It's very like made up. 

It's very story-like. It's not realistic. Fictional is like the opposite of realistic. 

So, you know, if you say that, then that's fine. You can't say it's stupid. And then we move on to this next part, which is where if we were to have a little English class, I would ask you, what is the theme of the story? What is the moral of the story? And those two things just mean like, okay, what is the story trying to tell you? Like, what is the deeper meaning behind the story? And, uh, you know, there are no like right answers or wrong answers, but because I'm the teacher, like whatever I say is probably the right answer. 

And if you say something that's different from what I think, that's like the opposite of what I think, then even though I just said there is no right or wrong answer, then probably you are the wrong answer. And I am the right answer. And it depends on the teacher. 

It's kind of annoying. 

But anyways, when I say this, I really mean it, but there's not really like a right answer. So what is the main theme? 

What is the main moral? Well, if you look at the three pigs, you know, you have the first pig who kind of did a sloppy job. 

He like made us, he made his house out of straw and grass. It was like really easy. And he made his house really quickly. 

And because he spent, you know, very little time making the house, he didn't make like a great house. And then what is the house supposed to do? It's supposed to protect him from the wolf. And then the big bad wolf came and then the big bad wolf blew the house down. 

So then the house got like, you know, destroyed. So you know, a small amount of effort gives you a small amount of quality. And then like the medium brother, he made a house out of sticks and stone. 

Uh, actually, no, sorry. It was sticks and wood, uh, or, or like just sticks or just wood. And he spent a medium amount of time in a medium amount of effort. 

So not a small amount, but a medium, not a lot, but a medium. And he got a medium quality house. So like when the wolf came, he like the wolf wasn't able to blow it down with like just one blow. 

It was just like, whew. And then it's over. No, no, no, no, no. 

The wolf had to spend a lot of effort. So the wolf was like, and he blew really, really hard. And then the house finally fell. 

So in this case, it's a medium amount of effort and a medium amount of time gives you a medium quality. And then what is the highest quality? It's the brick house, the brick house. Like that dude spent a really, really long time making all the bricks, making the house. 

And because he spent so much time and effort, he got a really high quality house. And then the high quality house was really nice. And it saved, uh, you know, the lives of the three little pigs. 

So it saved the life of the smallest pig. And also like the pigs brothers who came to like beg for protection, like the older brothers were like, I'm sorry, we made fun of you. Please, please, please just let us live. 

Let us get in your house. And so they got in the house and it's a brick house and it's safe. So like the theme or the moral of the story is like, uh, if you spend a small amount of time, you get a small amount of quality. 

And if you spend a lot of time and a lot of effort, then you get something that's really high quality. And in this case, in this story, like high quality is good. Like you want high quality and it's okay that he spent a long time. 

So that is like, you know, the theme that's like the moral of the story. And then, uh, so as we continue this class, then, um, I think, uh, something that's pretty nice about American education is, uh, American education often ask people about their opinions. So instead of asking like, okay, let's just talk about the book. 

And then let's just talk about the author. And then we're done. There's a little bit more to it. 

No, there's a little bit more to it. There is like the part where you ask for opinions. So it's like, okay, so now that we talked about the theme of the story, we talked about how, if you spend a lot of time on something and a lot of effort, then you get a higher quality. 

Can you talk about something in your life that like is similar to this? So is there something in your life where you spent a lot of time, you spent a lot of effort and then you got some high quality stuff. And then, so that is like the homework usually. And, uh, you know, the students, so you, or like, I don't know if you're actually listening much, but if you are in this fake class that I'm talking about, then you have to go home and you have to write something or like, well, for me, I spent a long time drawing this picture. And then I got a nice like picture and people said it's nice or something like that. And then you submit that. 

And then the teacher looks at it and goes, Hmm, okay, that sounds good. And then if you write something kind of ridiculous, like, oh, uh, yesterday I played the game Fortnite and I won a lot. And then, and then the teacher is going to say like, no, that's not related to the three little pigs. 

Uh, there's nothing in that story of you playing Fortnite where you spent like a lot of time and you got something high quality. No, no, no, no, no. So then like the teacher comes and says like, okay, I can't give you a good grade because you didn't do a good job. 

Um, but let's take a step back from that and let's talk about some general life stuff. So, uh, keeping in mind this theme from the three little pigs, uh, I want to talk about how certain things in life actually, like what happened in the three little pigs is a little bit true in life. And so a good example of this is probably like uhh, health stuff. 

So health stuff, you know, so how healthy you are, uh, for example, like eating healthy is good for you. Uh, but then eating junk food is like easier eating, like, you know, food that is not healthy, but tastes good. That is, it's like really easy, but it's not really good for you. 

But so that one is like, you know, it's low effort. If you, if you don't really do your best to eat healthy and you just eat like junk food, then that's not really good for you. But if you spend more effort and you try to eat healthy and you try to take care of your body, you try to like a workout and stuff like that, then that's good for your body. 

So you get like a higher quality result. So, uh, you know, health is something that is a great example where if you, you know, spend a lot of effort and spend a lot of time being careful with it, then like you get this nice result, which is like a high quality body. If you don't do a good job and let's say, let's say I want to lose weight, uh, but I didn't really spend any effort. 

And then I don't know on, in like two months, I'm going to, let's say in two months, I'm going to do some kind of competition where I tried to like lose as much weight as possible. And then I didn't actually like do anything for like one month and three weeks. So there's like one week left until the deadline. 

Then in that case, then I didn't really do much. But in the last week I can like try to do something. I can, I don't know, try to take like a diet pill or something. 

And then there's not really like a shortcut to like having a really healthy body because if there was, then probably everybody would be taking that shortcut. Uh, so I think health is a great example. And, uh, I had a couple of examples written, but let me, um, write, let me, sorry, let me talk about one more example. 

And then, uh, I got, I got to pick which one I want to talk about here. 

Uh, I think, um, yeah, let's, uh, let's talk about studying. So studying is another example where you can't really take any shortcuts. 

You don't want to study the equivalent of like a grass house. You want to study like high quality stuff. You want to, you want to do a good job studying. 

So for example, um, if you are studying for like a subject for a class or something in school, then, uh, you know, if you are really interested in the subject, then you would probably do a good job studying because you'll learn about and you'll think, oh, okay, that's interesting. Let me find out what this means. Oh, okay. 

How do you use this? Okay. That's cool. And then, uh, you'll kind of remember naturally, and it's kind of easy to study a lot, but if you really don't like the class and I'm thinking of a certain biochemistry class, so there's like a science class that I took in high school and I really didn't like it, but I wanted a good grade. 

So what did I do? I would study just like for the tests. So when there were tests, uh, right before the test, I would study like the previous year's tests or, you know, study the parts that I think would be on the test. And I didn't really care that much about like, you know, like the details about like, why this is the case. 

I just like try to memorize, uh, you know, what kind of questions come up, what kind of answers come up. And that way I can try to answer the test and, and try to do a good job and get a good grade. But the truth is I didn't really learn it that well. 

And, uh, so I think that's a good example where like, you know, if you spend a lot of time and effort studying, then, you know, you get a good result. If you don't really spend much time or effort and you try to cram it all like at the end, then you don't really get a good result. Uh, maybe you do, maybe you pass the test, but you don't really learn that much like from the class. 

And, you know, I guess it depends on what you want to do. If you just want to pass the test and you don't care about the subject at all, then that's not good. But for me, like, it's nice to like learn stuff and kind of remember it and have it be useful later in life. 

Uh, but I, I didn't get that from just studying from the test. I think you only really get that if you're actually kind of interested in the subject. 

And, uh, I had another example, but, uh, let's take a short little break here and then we'll talk about that example and we'll move on to the next section. 

So music break.

All right. So I've got one more little example of, uh, where the morals or the theme of the three little pigs can be applied. 

And, uh, that is, uh, in one of my favorite sports, which is jujitsu. So jujitsu is a type of martial arts. Uh, martial arts is like a way of saying like, I don't know, fighting, I guess, how to study like ways to fight. 

And then for example, everyone knows probably like boxing where people put on gloves and they fight each other. And then there are like different kinds of martial arts. There's like karate, there's like kickboxing, there's like Muay Thai. 

And then, uh, you don't have to know these things, but there is my favorite one, which is jujitsu, which is a grappling martial art. So like when you fight people in jujitsu, you don't do punches or kicks, but you do a lot of stuff besides those things. You do a lot of like grabbing, do a lot of grappling, you do a lot of locking and a joint attacks and stuff like that. 

So you don't have to really know what it is, but, uh, let me explain this like short little story about how it's kind of related to the three little pigs. But, um, in, uh, jujitsu, when you fight people, it's actually a really safe fighting. So it's kind of intense, but you really usually don't really get injured because there's no punching, there's no kicking. 

So, uh, that removes a lot of like nasty injuries that you can get from martial arts. So there are a lot of like joint locks and stuff, but when someone has you and they, they kind of beat you, like you have to give up or they know that you already lost. And so it's like a very safe practice thing.

But when you fight people like your experience in jujitsu, a lot of the times, um, your experience counts for a lot of power. So of course, when you fight people, if you're really strong and you've got like a lot of muscles, then, you know, you'll do better in fighting. That's just true. 

Okay. No amount of skill can, can like overcome a massive weight difference or like a massive fitness difference. Of course, strong people are just strong, but if two people are like, kind of similar in like, you know, muscle composition or like how strong they are or how big they are and how like athletic they are. 

So how fit they are, uh, if they're like pretty similar, but one person has much more experience, then probably the person with much more experience is, is going to win the fight. And so like I did jujitsu, I think for like two years at a certain point there, I remember the story because it was kind of an embarrassing story, but I had been doing jujitsu for about two years. So for two years, I like did a bunch of fighting stuff and I would go home and watch YouTube and try to learn things on how to like fight and then how to do certain tactics.

And then I think about it a lot at night. And then like the next time when I go to practice, like sometimes I try new things and sometimes I have good days, sometimes I have bad days, but I did it for two years. 

And then, uh, I had this thing where I would tell people, uh, you know, people ask me like, okay, so do you think like you actually got better? And I would say yes, because if I were to fight someone about my size, so about my weight, uh, the way that you measure, I guess, like how strong someone is, it's like kind of hard to measure, but a good gauge is like how much they weigh. 

So, you know, if somebody weighs the same as me, then probably they're about like, you know, the same strength as me, but if they have no experience and I have two years of experience, then I'm pretty sure I can win. And I said that, and then, you know, after two years, after I did it a bunch, I was like, I had some more confidence and I was like, oh yeah, I'm like good at this. And then I said, okay, so now if I fight somebody and they are 30 pounds heavier than me, so 30 pounds is like, like 14 kilograms or so. 

And if they're 14 kilograms heavier than me, but they have no experience and I have two years of experience, then I think I can win. And then I'm like, hmm, yeah, I feel good about myself. And I told people, and then here comes the next part of the story, which is a little bit embarrassing, but I was taking a class and this was back when I lived in California, not Japan. 

Uh, and I went to this, this guy's class and he, he was, he's a funny guy. He's kind of a racist teacher. Um, but that teacher, um, he, he had a guest, like student, come and that guest student, uh, he was 14 years old. 

So at the time I was much older than 14. Okay. So this was like, I don't know, like four or five years ago. 

Um, so I was fighting this 14 year old and the 14 year old is like much smaller than me. So, you know, like if he's much smaller than me, I'm not gonna like try to use all my strength. I'm not going to try to beat up kids, but this kid had a lot of experience. 

So then I fought this kid. And then, uh, this kid, he doesn't even weigh as much as me. He definitely weighs much less than me because he's smaller. 

He's not done growing up. And then I fought this guy and then I like lost a lot. So, uh, I mean, it was a different style. 

We were fighting with a different style than the style that I'm used to, but this kid like absolutely destroyed me and he destroyed me like back to back to back. So we were like fight a little bit and then he beats me and then I give up and then we reset and we fight again. And I think he beat me like, I don't know, six or seven times. 

And that was like a real shock. And I think it was actually a really good experience because, uh, it made me kind of believe in, okay, so skill actually matters a lot in this. So it's not just size and stuff like that. 

So, so this story is like kind of related to the three little pigs, because, um, I think, um, when it comes to certain things like studying or even like sports, uh, just technique, experience and like, uh, just skill is like a huge difference. So when it comes to fighting someone, yes, it's true that if you are like big and strong, then it's better. You're going to be better at fighting. 

But if you have spent a lot of time, like, uh, practicing and you've spent a lot of time, like learning how to do it. And instead of just like, you know, watching YouTube stuff, you actually like practice it with like friends, you go to a gym and you practice, then that is like the brick house version. And then for me, like, you know, going home and watching YouTube, that's like the stick version.

That's like the stick house version where it's like, I spent a medium amount of time and effort. Like I go home, I think about it. I'm like, oh yeah. 

But then I don't actually like, you know, practice at home because there's no way to practice. And then, uh, we didn't talk about it, but there's probably like a grass or straw house version, which is like the sloppiest version to do is, uh, maybe you like you go to class and then for the, maybe one hour or one hour and a half, you like do it. And the outside of that, you don't do anything. 

Then it's kind of like, yeah, you're studying it. You're kind of learning it, but you're not really spending effort. You're not really like learning it. 

So that's like the, the lowest effort, the lowest, uh, quality results. And the highest brick quality result is that 14 year old kid who beat the crap out of me. So that's the, that is the little exercise story. 

Um, so, uh, okay, actually let's just go and continue into this last section here. So in this last section, um, in the English class, you know, we talked about, you know, the story we talked about, you know, what the story made you feel. And, uh, we talked about the morals, the theme, and then we talked about, uh, things in life that can be related to the story. 

And, uh, now comes the part, which I think is actually kind of important. Um, and it's not something that you really learn in school, but it's like, uh, to, uh, I, I just, I don't know. I've never really talked about it or taught it before, but I just call it the process of like rejecting what rejecting things and like kind of questioning things. 

So, you know, in the story of the three little pigs, the straw house, the grass house was bad. Okay. That was bad. 

And then the brick house is like really good. So then you say, okay, so, you know, high quality things and high effort, high cost, high amount of time is okay for high quality stuff. And then in the case of the story, that was true, but it's not always the case in real life because sometimes, you know, you don't want to spend like that much time. 

You don't want to spend that much effort doing this thing. Like sometimes it doesn't really matter. And, um, sometimes it's actually kind of different. 

So what I want to, what I want to suggest here is that even though like in this story, it was a good thing. And we have examples in life where yes, it's true. There are also examples in life where no, it's not always true or it really depends.

And I think a great example of this is, uh, like making friends or talking to people. So when you are trying to make friends or talk to people, um, you know, like imagine if you were thinking, okay, so I don't want to be a straw house. I don't want to be a grass house. 

I want to make a brick house. So when I talk to people, I want to make like the highest quality friends. And when I say things to my friends, I want to say like the highest quality sentence. 

I have to say it like perfectly. So as an example, let's say like you are, you just met someone and you're becoming friends. And the friend is kind of like, Hey, uh, I'm going to go to, you know, this place tomorrow.

Do you want to come with me? And we can hang out. And then imagine if your response is something like, hold on one second. I got to think about what to say. 

I'm going to say yes. But before I say yes, I got to make sure that I say it in like a cool way. So the friend thinks I'm smart. 

And that way I can make like a good friend. Cause I, I want to be like a brick house person. 

And you know, if you were thinking this kind of thing and you're really delaying your response, then again, the person who just asked you, Hey, uh, did you hear me? I said, tomorrow I'm going to go to something. And I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me and we can hang out. 

And like, I think the best answer here is actually, uh, you should have just immediately said yes. And if you have other things in your mind, but the answer is still yes, then you can start with yes. 

Okay. So again, the best response that I would recommend here is maybe the friend says, Hey, uh, I'm going to go to something tomorrow. I was wondering if you want to come and we can hang out. 

Then you can answer yes. And then if you have something else to say like, yes, but I just want you to know that I'm not confident in my English and I'm not really sure if I can be a good friend of yours. So it would be something like, uh, you know, Hey, do you think you want to come with me and we can hang out? Yes. 

I, my English is bad and I don't know if we can be friends, but I want to be friends. 

Like if you say something like that, it's not perfect. It's not the brick house version of a sentence. 

It's a really like a straw or maybe like stick house version. It's like very fast and it gets straight to the point, but the important stuff is still there. And it's because like when you make friends or you talk to people and you interact with people, like people are people and it's more complex and like feelings are usually like, um, it's a, it's a people thing. 

So we're not making houses, we're making relationships. And so it's like a different situation. And if you give a really warm answer, uh, but it isn't like perfect grammar or I don't know, maybe the pronunciation isn't good. 

It's still okay. Because when you talk to people, the main point of it is like communication. So if you are able to communicate some like feeling of, Oh, I want to be friends. 

Maybe you're not saying I want to be friends, but you're just saying like, yes, I want to hang out or something like that, then that's going to make it across. And that's probably good for making friends. And, uh, I think I, um, sometimes, uh, some students will come to me and they have like a, like they, they want to talk about something and they say, Hey, uh, when I talk to people, um, a lot of times people say something to me and it's kind of fast.

And then my response is just so slow that it like, it's kind of hard. And this is like, you know, this kind of situation is really common and there's not really that much you can do about it because, you know, you are still learning English. And I think, um, if there's any one tip that I have, it's that it's, you gotta be okay with not being perfect. 

Um, so there's a saying that people used to say at Google a lot. Uh, and it would be something like, um, what is it? Perfection is the enemy of done. So what that means is perfection, so being perfect, is the enemy, meaning it's like, it's like the opposite, of done. So, um, what that, what people meant by that at Google is like, you know, if you're working on making something, if you're trying to create some software, um, if you spend too much time trying to make it perfect, then you'll spend forever. 

Cause there are a lot of small things that you can fix. So imagine like in the house case, uh, if you make a brick house, you could probably like, you know, make it make the brick house. And then you could also spend a lot of effort on each brick. 

So you could make it like perfectly shaped and you could like put a little design on each one. And then like, I don't know, put like a pearl on each one, but then it's like too much. Okay. 

So you can imagine if you want to make a brick house and you spend too much effort on each brick, then that's too much. And that's not really good. And so then there's the saying, you know, perfection is the enemy of done. 

So if you're trying to be perfect, then sometimes it's actually already good enough, but you still keep spending more time. And then that's not really a good thing. You want to just reach a certain level or reach a certain quality that you think is good enough.

And then that's fine. And I think, uh, when talking to people, because most people are like grownups and they have like feelings that are like normal people. And when they talk to people, they just don't know how to put those feelings into the shape of English. 

Um, well, if you can somehow communicate those feelings and it's not in perfect English, but the feelings get communicated, then that's a success. And so in that case, it's not a perfect, beautiful English sentence, but you're still able to communicate the meaning. Uh, so that, that is like my recommendation. 

And I think that's a good example of, um, uh, like, uh, you know, the story of the three little pigs, there's something that is trying to say, which is like the morals and the theme and stuff, but it's not always true in the end. I think a really good answer to almost everything in life is, it depends. So is it good to make a house out of straw? And it's like, uh, usually not in the story of the three little pigs. 

The answer is no, but in real life, the answer is sometimes it, it depends. Uh, you know, like, it's like, if you are going to blow your nose, um, do you want to blow your nose kind of quickly and then throw it away? Or do you want to do a really, really good job blowing your nose? You pick up the tissue, very fancy, and then you hold it very fancy and then you blow it. And then while you blow it, you go, Oh, I'm blowing my nose.

Like this is just like too much, right? So some stuff, you just want to do it quickly and be done with it. Like blowing your nose, just do it and be done with it. If you need to, then blow your nose twice and that's fine. 

So anyways, uh, we had our little fake English class here. And, uh, just as a reminder, remember when I say English class, I don't mean like an English language class. Uh, I'm, I mean like an English literature class. 

And this is something that probably most people who go to high school in the US have experienced. And so with that, maybe that's enough. Uh, let's go ahead and wrap up. 

Uh, so again, we talked about the story, the three little pigs, and if you ever have a chance to read the story, it's a really, really quick read. Okay. The version that I told is like my version where I try to make it like more story like, and it's like a dialogue. 

So people have a lot of things that they say just so that it's a little easier to follow along. But if you ever have a chance to read it, it's really fast. You can go, go for a read. 

And, uh, as always, uh, you know, thanks for listening. And, uh, this is Kuli English Podcast. I'm your host, Chris. 

And if you want to support me, feel free to support me. If you want to share this with people, feel free to share it with people. Uh, but otherwise thank you. 

And hope to see you next Tuesday on Kuli English Podcast.