The Goat and Her Three Kids facts for kids
"The Goat and Her Three Kids" (in Romanian: Capra cu trei iezi) is a famous short story and fairy tale written by the Romanian author Ion Creangă in 1875. This story teaches us about a mother's love and why it's important for children to listen to their parents. It tells the sad tale of a goat family attacked by the Big Bad Wolf. The oldest kid, who was disobedient, let the wolf into their safe home.
Only the youngest and most obedient kid survived. This smart kid then helped his mother plan a clever revenge against the wolf. In the end, the wolf was tricked and died.
This story is very popular in Romanian schools and is often found in first reading books. It is one of the most well-known works in Romanian children's literature. "The Goat and Her Three Kids" has also been turned into plays, movies, and songs in both Romania and Moldova.
Contents
What Happens in the Story?
The story begins by introducing the main characters: a hardworking mother goat who has lost her husband, and her three young kids. The two older kids are often naughty, but the youngest one always obeys his mother.
One day, the mother goat gathers her three kids. She tells them she needs to leave to find food. She gives them a very important rule: they must not open the door unless they hear her singing a special song in her soft voice. The song goes like this:
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Trei iezi cucuieţi |
Three kids with growing horns, |
The Wolf's Trick
The Big Bad Wolf secretly listens to this conversation. Even though he is a godfather to the kids (which means he's like family to the goat), he plans to eat them. After the mother goat leaves, the wolf sneaks to the door and tries to sing her song.
The two older kids are fooled at first and rush to open the door. But the youngest kid stops them. He notices that the song sounds rough and not like their mother's soft voice.
The wolf hears this and quickly goes to a blacksmith's shop. There, he gets his tongue and teeth "sharpened" to make his voice sound smoother. He then returns to the goat's house and sings the song again, this time in a soft voice.
The Kids' Fate
The oldest kid ignores his youngest brother's warning to be careful and quickly lets the stranger in. Meanwhile, the other two kids hide. The youngest one climbs up the chimney, which is full of soot. The second-oldest hides under a large, upside-down feeding trough.
As soon as the wolf enters, he kills the careless oldest kid and eats him. The polite but unwise kid hiding under the trough then speaks up, saying "may it serve you well." Because of this, the wolf finds him, pulls him out, and eats him too.
The wolf searches for the third kid but cannot find him. Before leaving, he smears the walls with the kids' blood and places their heads on the windowsills, making them look like they are smiling. This was meant to be a cruel joke.
The Mother Goat's Revenge
After the wolf leaves, the youngest kid comes out of the chimney, safe and sound. When the mother goat returns, she is first tricked by the smiling heads in the windows. But then, the youngest kid tells her everything that happened. The mother goat is heartbroken and immediately begins to plan her revenge.
She starts cooking a large meal. She also digs a big pit near her house and fills it with hot coals and slow-burning wood. She covers the pit with thin mats and a layer of earth, then places a stool made of wax on top.
The goat then goes into the forest and finds her "godfather," the wolf. She tells him that she knows about his evil deed but has decided to forgive him. She invites him to a traditional memorial service for her kids at her house.
The wolf agrees and unknowingly sits on the wax chair. As he eats more and more of the delicious meal, the wax chair melts. Eventually, he falls into the pit and is burned by the flames. As he begs for help, the goat tells him that she is following the rule of "a death for a death and a burn for a burn." The story ends with all the goats in the area celebrating the wolf's death with a big feast.
Film Adaptation
In 2019, a short film called The Goat and Her Three Kids was released. It starred Maia Morgenstern and Marius Bodochi, was directed by Victor Canache, and produced by Luana Georgiţă. The film first showed at the Transilvania International Film Festival.
This short film wanted to show a different side of the well-known bedtime story. It aimed to explore what the mother's sadness truly felt like, beyond the happy songs and colorful characters usually shown.
Images for kids
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This picture shows costumes of a goat, sheep, and cow, used in old village parties in Romania.
