Compere Tig And The Three Iguanas

(A Three Little Pigs Retelling)

By Kerwin Eloise, teacher at Bouton RC Combined

Most of you think you know the story of the three little pigs.
But the truth is that they weren’t pigs but Iguanas native to the island of Saint Lucia.
And the big bad wolf? A poorly identified Compere Tig.

(Art note: the story starts in a meadow with the three iguanas heading out from their childhood
home.)
Be careful out there.” yelled their mom. She knew the woods could be a dangerous place.
Iggy, Siggy and Wiggy strode out of their mother’s house, their orange bands barely visible in
the early morning light.

Half awake beneath a nearby palm tree lay Compere Tig, a budding architect. Mother Iguana’s
words jolted him from his sleep. What a treat! He had been on the search for the perfect start to
his portfolio.

(Art note: A Tig is French Creole for tiger, and Compere Tig is a folktale character.)

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Iguanas were hard to please, so he hurried after them, his eyes and mouth bulged open.
Iggy, the youngest Iguana, had stopped for a bite of soursop and grapefruit sandwich. Two quick
bites had gone down when he noticed a whirlwind of huge eyes and sharp teeth. It was coming
towards them.

“Siggy, Wiggy, run,” he screamed. “A wolf coming,”
Not wasting time, his brothers kicked off and started running, their green and black bodies
scurrying through the forest.

Iggy was the first to stop. He couldn’t keep up and saw a nice little clearing with a stream nearby.
What a perfect place he thought to build his paper cabin.
With the help of his ruler, glue, and a few staples, he built a three-story cabin out of the finest
paper.
But for some reason, his rectangular-shaped pool kept collapsing.
As he started his fourth attempt, he noticed the wolf again.
Gulp!
He dropped his trusty Elmer’s Glue and sped inside.
Compere Tig was perplexed. He glanced at himself in the pool of water as he splashed by. Was
he ugly?
“Hey, Let me in, silly iggy,” he commanded. That silly Iguana would ruin his house if he tried to
use water.
Whoosh.
Crash.
The cabin fell with a bang.
The little iguana scurried. Luckily, a paper house, not being sturdy, was also lightweight.
“It was the wolf,” he screamed as he dashed towards his brother Siggy‘s house.
Compere chased after him yelling “Wolf! Wolf!? Where??” as he tried to escape the fearsome
creature.
Iggy scurried with a quickness that surprised him.
Soon, he got to his brother’s house.

(Art note: It was glass, the size of a condo. Floating in the air, with balloons of all colours. )

Iggy huffed and puffed up the rope yelling; “The Wolf, The Wolf, he’s behind me.”
Siggy got up with a groan, Iggy and his imagination. He turned and saw a whirlwind of fur
coming towards them.
Argh! It was a wolf, he screamed.
Compere Tig started to shiver. Where was this wolf? He needed to see a doctor if he couldn’t
locate a predator as ferocious as a wolf.
“Hey! Wait for me. Let me in! You silly little iguanas,” he bellowed.
“Before the wolf comes huffing and puffing.”
Crack! The window, then the penthouse door, started to shatter.
Whoosh. Out sped Iggy and Siggy hanging on the balloons for dear life!

(Art note: the glass house splintered into dust, the punctured balloons dropping with a thud
behind them.)

“Welp,” Compere Tig yelled as he took off running. He now had two new clients. Two couyons
based on the materials they selected, but two new ones nonetheless.
Soon, he came to a clearing and breathed in with a look of excitement.
Wiggy had built a house with clay bricks.
Yipee!
What a clever little iguana, he thought.
“Hey, little iguana, let me in,” he screeched as he got there.
Inside Iggy and Siggy were shivering.
Wiggy glared outside. He looked strange for a wolf, but if his brothers said he was a wolf, a wolf
he was!
“No, not by the hair of our black and orange bands.”
Compere Tig was mad, boiling mad. He began to huff and puff and huff again.
“Silly Iguanas,’ he bellowed, “let me in.”
Clang!

(Art note: a frisbee-like brick flew his way.)

Compere Tig took off, leaving only a trail of dust and cries behind.
And that is the true story of Compere Tig and the Three Iguanas.
Or so Compere Tig thought as out stepped from the shadows the real villain!
The Big Bad Wolf sauntered over and rang the bell.
“Those silly little iguanas were in for a treat,” he thought as a wicked grin flashed across his
face.