The three little pigs as sheep in the Navajo version

CDB

There is a children’s story originating in England and collected by James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps in 1842, called The Three Little Pigs, translated into Spanish as Los tres cerditos or Los tres cochinitos. In this article I will compare some famous phrases from the English and Spanish versions with the Navajo version.

In the Navajo version by Yazzie, Smith and Thomas (2006), the pigs are not pigs but sheep, and the wolf is not a wolf but a coyote. Thus, the title of the story is Dibé Yázhí Táá’go Baa Hane’, which means “The Story of the Three Little Sheep.” The word dibé means “sheep,” yázhí means “small” or “young,” and táá is the word for the number three with glottal closure, followed by the adverbializing suffix -go. The high tone of táá is lowered in the second mora due to the addition of a morpheme without high tone. Baa Hane’ contains the word hane’, meaning “story,” which derives from halne’ (“he/she is telling”). It has a final glottal stop. The particle baa means “about.”

How does Navajo say older, medium and younger brother?

The youngest sheep is called Dibé Yázhí ’akéédę́ę́’ naagháhígíí, the middle sheep Dibé Yázhí ’ata’ góne’ naagháhígíí, and the oldest sheep Dibé Yázhí ’alą́ąjį’ naagháhígíí. The original English version does not mention the pigs’ ages; it simply refers to them as “the first,” “the second,” and “the third.” The Spanish version appears to derive from the 1930 film by Walt Disney Productions, where the pigs’ ages are mentioned. In Spanish they are called el menor (the youngest), meaning the smallest or youngest; then el mediano or del medio (the middle one); and finally el mayor, meaning the biggest or oldest.

In Navajo, the phrase naagháhígíí is used with the morpheme -ígíí, meaning “the one who,” and the verb naaghá, the third-person singular of the verb meaning “to walk around.” In Navajo it also carries a stative sense somewhat similar to the Spanish verb estar (“to be”), yet the idiomatic expression anda por may resemble the same walking sense while referring to age. Thus, to adjectivize age, the phrase literally says “the one who walks in… (the position of age)” or in Spanish “anda ya por los cuarenta” (=he walks around the 40’s, he’s around 40).

The youngest therefore contains the word akéé, meaning “the one who follows,” with the suffix -dę́ę́’, meaning “since” or “from (in the past).” The middle one contains the word ’ata’, which probably means “half,” although I could not confirm this. The oldest uses the word ’alą́ąjį’, meaning “first.”

Thus, in Navajo they translate as follows:

• Dibé Yázhí ’akéédę́ę́’ naagháhígíí = The little sheep who walks from the furthest-behind position, or the youngest little sheep.
• Dibé Yázhí ’ata’ góne’ naagháhígíí = The little sheep who walks in the middle position, or the middle sheep.
• Dibé Yázhí ’alą́ąjį’ naagháhígíí = The little sheep who walks in the first position, or the oldest sheep.

When referring to the middle or oldest brother in relation to the youngest brother, the word bínaaí (“his older brother”) is used, or hanaaí (“the older brother”), but this word is always relative to another younger sibling.

The three dwelling styles in Navajo versus Spanish and English

The houses built by each sheep also reflect traditional Navajo architecture. The youngest sheep builds a bighan tł’oh bee ’ályaa, a house of straw or grass. The idiomatic translation “straw house” corresponds to a phrase meaning “his house made by means of grass.” The word bighan contains the prefix bi- (“his”) and the root ghan (“house”). Tł’oh means “grass,” and the postposition bee indicates “by means of.” Finally, the word ’ályaa is the perfect passive of íílééh, which means “to make” or “to build” (see Wiktionary).

The middle sheep builds a tepee, called ’ałch’į’ adeez’á, which contains the word ’ałch’į’, meaning “facing one another.” The particle ch’į’ is used as “toward” or “in the direction of,” but with ’ał the particle acquires a passive sense. The term adeez’á may be related to the singular ííʼá, which refers to something that extends upward into the air, such as a tree or a pole. Its plural for more than three is adaaz’á or deezʼá, meaning things that extend upward. However, it may also be a phonetic variant of adaaz’á, since the plural is needed to convey the meaning of several poles extending toward the center and touching each other.

The oldest sheep builds a round traditional Navajo dwelling of stronger structure, one that can sit during a long time or “Hooghan nímazí ’ál’įįhgo nízaadgóó si’ą́ą łeh” (p. 10), where si’ą́ refers to something that sits, and nízaad means in a distance. It may also refer to the fact that it can be observed from a distance sitting tough, as ’ál’įįh contains a root ’iih which is the iterative of “look” or “make”, and the prefix ’ál means “to each other” or to itself. The iterative meaning is reinforced by the presence of łeh = usually. Thus, it refers how it usually looks to itself as sitting for a long time.

Thus, the three houses built by the little sheep are as follow:

• bighan tł’oh bee ’ályaa = his house made by means of straw
• hooghan ’ałch’į’ adeez’á = several poles extending against each other, tepee
• hooghan nímazí = round house

While the English and Spanish just make a rapid reference to the material, the Navajo version enriches the story by implying traditional dwelling. The chart below displays a brief comparison:

Navajo	English	Spanish
tł’oh bee ’ályaa (=made by means of straw)	a bundle of straw	de paja (=of straw)
hooghan ’ałch’į’ adeez’á (=several poles extending against each other, tepee)	a bundle of furze (certain flower type of sturdy and thorny structure, in Spanish aulaga)	de madera (=of wood)
hooghan nímazí (=round dwelling, the one known typically as just “hogan”)	a load of brick	de ladrillo (=of brick)

What verbs in Navajo are used to describe steps in the construction of dwelling?

In addition to writing references to the names of traditional dwelling, the Navajo version describes how the houses were made:

Grass hut (P. 7):

“Lók’aa’ adaaz’áhę́ę hayiists’óód” (“He pulled willow sticks out of the ground”), containing lók’aa’ = reed, and the reference to willow may be implied in the verb adaaz’áhę́ę. This form contains a reference to something sticking up out as branches or poles in adaaz’á, and hę́ę refers to “from them” with a gliding tone as a transition to the next word starting with a lower tone. The word hayiists’óód contains the root ts’óód meaning to stretch, which might be connected to the handling verb tsooz (giving a flat, flexible object). Ha means out and yii implies a shift in position. Thus, hayiists’óód means stretching out of its original position, or pulling. The S in between implies the past tense of the third person singular or dual. Thus, hayiists’óód = he pulled.

He put them in a position of a hut, then he “lók’aa’ dayiiłtaaz yę́ę yita’ yizhbizh” (“wove the grass between the willow branches”). The verb yizhbizh means “he wove” while dayiiłtaaz contains the root taaz (perfective of “to bend” or “to twist”), which imply a passive from given the pluralizer da– contained in the verb. The prefix yii also implies that there was a shift in position. Thus, it means literally that the reed branches twisted themselves, and after that happened (the yę́ę marks a time transition in the past), he wove between (yita’). He picked the long ones ’ahą’ áyiilaa (=he made the choice).

Tepee (P. 9):

The middle brother then “chopped down” (yiyíítseel) several aspen trees (t’iisbéí), and “peeled off” (yiyíízǫ́ǫ́z) the wood. He sewed together (ahídeiidiiłkad) several deer hides (’abání). The verb ahídeiidiiłkad contains the stem kad, which the Wiktionary (based on Young) describes as:

Found in Navajo in a wide range of themes related to the moving or spreading of “flatness”, including classificatory root for the moving / falling or propelling of objects of the PlO2 (profusion) or OC (open container) classes, the herding of sheep over a surface, or the slapping of hands.

The deer hide is then probably considered an open container as it will contain the chopped down woods. The part ahí means “together,” deii “the them” (+3), and dii “bring into contact.” This way, the whole verbal formation means that the sheep put into contact against each other several open hides to contain the poles.

Then “’abání ’ałch’į’ adeez’á yik’íísti’” (“He placed the hides around the frame of the tepee”) uses yik’íísti’, with the perfective root ti’ meaning to spread the flat flexible object or cover with a flat flexible object, where k’íí works as a suffix probably connected to k’i meaning “on top of, off something, against,” and  í “against, joining” (see Young). Thus, while the deer hides were being sewed together were described as open container or probably just a large number of plural objects, and in the action of covering the tepee, they were considered flat flexible objects being spread.

The round hogan (P. 10):

This is what the oldest brother made. Cedar (gad) he chopped down (yiyíítseeł) and placed (niyiiznil) the plural objects  in the direction of eight standing poles (tsebíijį’go ’adeezą́). Then he filled the cracks by means of mud, bark and grass. The verb used to imply “filled the cracks” is dááda’deeshdléézh, with the perfective stem –dléézh meaning to paint or to coat, the third person singular perfective prefix sh, the prefix dee which may mean “along” or “over, in excess,” and the prefix dáá which means “edge, block.” He then was coating the cracks by putting over excess of blocks on it by means of mud (hastł’ish), bark (’ahásht’óózh) and grass (tł’oh).

Some verbs that express construction actions

Some of the most nuanced verbs found in the construction of the three dwellings may be summarized as follows:

• adaaz’ą́: Refers to something sticking up or protruding (such as branches or poles from the ground). It likely contains the prefix da- indicating plurality or distributive action, combined with a stem referring to upright objects emerging. The verb describes the state or action of poles or branches projecting upward.
• hayiists’óód: Means “he pulled (them) out.” It contains the root ts’óód, meaning “to stretch or extend.” The prefix ha- indicates outward motion, yii- signals a positional shift, and the -s- marks a perfective past form with a third-person subject. Altogether it conveys stretching or pulling something out of its original position.
• dayiiłtaaz: Means “they twisted or bent themselves.” It contains the root taaz, the perfective form of “to bend or twist.” The prefix da- marks plurality or distributive action and yii- indicates positional change. The verb suggests multiple reed branches bending or twisting.
• yizhbizh: Means “he wove.” The stem -bizh relates to weaving or interlacing flexible material, while yi- marks a third-person subject acting on an object.
• yiyíítseel: Means “he chopped down.” The root -tseel refers to cutting or chopping wood or trees. The repeated yi- prefixes signal transitive action and a shift in position as the tree is cut and falls.
• yiyíízǫ́ǫ́z: Means “he peeled off.” The root -zǫ́ǫ́z relates to stripping or removing an outer layer such as bark. The yi- prefixes mark transitive manipulation of the object.
• ahídeiidiiłkad: Means “he sewed them together.” The root -kad is associated with spreading or moving flat objects and bringing them into contact. The prefix ahí- means “together,” deii- refers to plural objects (“them”), and dii- indicates bringing them into contact, describing hides being joined together.
• yik’íísti’: Means “he spread over” or “he covered.” The root -ti’ refers to spreading or covering with a flat flexible object. The element k’íí is related to the sense of placing something on top of or against something else.
• niyiiznil: Means “he placed them.” The root -nil refers to setting or arranging objects. The prefix ni- indicates placement downward or into position, and yi- marks a transitive action.
• dááda’deeshdléézh: Means “he coated” or “he filled the cracks.” The root -dléézh means to paint, smear, or coat. The prefix dáá- relates to edges or blocks, dee- can indicate along or over, and sh- marks the perfective third-person form. The verb describes coating the cracks with materials such as mud, bark, and grass.

How the coyote says I will huff and puff

English

The English version of the story from 1842 contains a repetitive language that also has a musical effect. Removing the markers of reported speech, it turns being like:

Wolf: “Little Pig, little Pig, let me come in.”

Pig: “No, no, by the hair of my chinny chin chin.”

Wolf: “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.”

With the final brother, who has the sturdiest house, the answer goes:

“Well, he huffed and he puffed, and he huffed and he puffed, and he puffed and he huffed; but he could not get the house down.”

Spanish

Wolf: “¡Cerdito, ábreme la puerta!” [Little pig, open me the door]

Pig: “No, no, no, no te voy a abrir.” [No, no, no, I am not going to open you the door]

Wolf: “Pues si no me abres… ¡Soplaré y soplaré y la casita derribaré!” [Then if you don’t open, I Will blow and will blow and the house I’ll get down].

“Y sopló con todas sus fuerzas, sopló y sopló y la casita de paja se vino abajo.” [And he blew with all his strength, and blew and blew and the house of straw came down]

Navajo

Coyote: “Dibé Yázhí, yah iishą́ą́h!” [Little Sheep, Little Sheep, I will go inside]

To the youngest:

“Éí doodago t’áadoo shá ’ąą’ íinilaagóó nighan tł’oh bee ’ályaaígíí ’ałtso nits’ą́ą́’ ahxiih bízdeesoł!” (P. 13)

“Or else, if you don’t make the door open for me, I will huff and puff and blow your grass hut in”

To the middle:

“Éí doodago ni’ ’ałch’į’ adeez’a nits’ą́ą́’ ałtso ahiih bízdeesoł!” (P. 16)

“Or else I will huff and puff and blow your tepee in!”

To the oldest:

“Éí doodago ’éí nighan nímazí nihits’ą́ą́’ ałtso ahiih abízdeesoł!” (P. 22)

“Or else I will huff and puff and blow your hogan in!”

More literally, the phrases may translate: “or (your house) will end up all blowing in and down on you.”

Sheep responds: “Nówohjį’ anilyeed!” [you should run away!]

Where the youngest brother:

“Doo ná ’ąą ’ádeeshłíił da!” [I won’t make (it) open for you] (P. 13)

Where the middle brother:

“Doo ná ’ąą ’ádoołníił da” [It won’t be open for you] (P. 16)

Where the third brother:

“Hooghan nímazí ’ahiih bídzísoołgo doo bíninil’ą́ą da” [You can’t blow down this hogan!] (P. 22)

Narrator:

About youngest brother:

“’Áádóó Ma’ii hááhíyoołgo Dibé Yázhí bighan tł’oh bee ’ályaa yę́ę ’ahxiih ayídzíísol.” (P. 13)[So Coyote huffed and puffed and blew the grass hut down.]

About middle brother:

“’Áádóó Ma’ii hááhíyoołgo hooghan ałch’į’ adeez’á yę́ę ahiih ayídzíísol.” (P. 16) [So Coyote huffed and puffed and blew the tepee down.]

About oldest brother:

“’Áko Ma’ii yéego ’ádił háágáyoołgo dibé yázhí bighan nímazí yisoł. (P. 25)” [So Coyote huffed and puffed.]

“Áádóó ’ádił hanááháyoołgo dibé yázhí bighan nímazí náánéíísoł.” (X2)

[And he huffed and puffed again.]

“’Áko nidi, hooghan nímazí t’áadoo naa’ayídzíísol da.”

However, the hogan didn’t blow down.

Why are there so many differences in Navajo’s huff and puff?

The next list summarizes how the Coyote phrases the threat to blow down each of the houses:

[Name of house] +

• ałtso nits’ą́ą́’ ahxiih bízdeesoł!
• nits’ą́ą́’ ałtso ahiih bízdeesoł!
• nihits’ą́ą́’ ałtso ahiih abízdeesoł!

The simplest form of this verb is found when the narrator just stays that he huffed and puffed on the hogan of the oldest brother: “dibé yázhí bighan nímazí yisoł. (P. 25)” [huffed and puffed the hogan of the sheep] Thus, yísoł is connected to the form found in the Wiktionary yooshoł, which is a progressive mode of the root zhóód “a bulky object moves, slides.” The presence of the third person perfective marker z in bízdeesoł and abízdeesoł and the reciprocal ahiih (=into each other) indicate that it might be a passive form. The word nits’ą́ą́’ “contrary from you” or nihits’ą́ą́’ “contrary from you 3” indicates a movement of the house towards the middle and against the sheep, implying that all will be falling on them. The particle ałtso means the action will be completed and finished.  A more literal translation would be “or the house will end up all blowing in and down on you.”

One Coyote is able to complete the threat, the narrator phrases the action for the first and second brothers “yę́ę ’ahxiih ayídzíísol,” where sol with no slash should be working as a third person singular perfective. However, on the third house, when Coyote attempts the blowing once again and is unable to complete the action, the form gets slashed again as soł. Gradually it gets reinforced with náá, and once he gives up, the based root gets back again to being sol.

• ’ahxiih ayídzíísol = he blew it down
• yisoł = he would blow it down
• náánéíísoł = he would once again supposedly blow it down
• t’áadoo naa’ayídzíísol da = he didn’t blow it down even after several tries

The particle dzi according to Young means “away into space,” which is added when the particle sol makes reference to the completed action, which implies a result of the blowing down where everything goes away into space.

Conclusions

The next list compiles a list of common structures that can be found across the story:

Sheep (Characters)

• Dibé Yázhí ’akéédę́ę́’ naagháhígíí — the little sheep who comes from behind / the youngest sheep
• Dibé Yázhí ’ata’ góne’ naagháhígíí — the little sheep who is in the middle / the middle sheep
• Dibé Yázhí ’alą́ąjį’ naagháhígíí — the little sheep who is first / the oldest sheep

Housing / Structures

• bighan tł’oh bee ’ályaa — his house made by means of grass / straw house
• hooghan ’ałch’į’ adeez’á — a structure of poles facing each other / tepee
• hooghan nímází — round house / hogan

Materials

• tł’oh — grass
• łók’aa’ — reed
• t’iisbéí — aspen
• ’abání — deer hide
• gad — cedar
• hastł’ish — mud
• ’ahásht’óózh — bark

Construction Actions (Phrases)

• łók’aa’ adaaz’áhę́ę hayiists’óó́d — he pulled the reed/willow sticks out
• łók’aa’ dayiiłtaaz yę́́ę yita’ yizhbizh — he wove the grass between the twisted reeds
• ’ahą́’ áyiilaa — he chose / selected
• yiyíítséél — he chopped down
• yiyíízǫ́ǫ́z — he peeled off
• ahídeiidiiłkad — he sewed them together
• ’abání ’ałch’į’ adeez’á yik’íísti’ — he spread the hides over the frame
• niyiiznil — he placed them
• dáádá’deeshdléézh — he coated / filled the cracks

Motion / State / Structure Verbs

• adaaz’ą́ — objects stick up / protrude
• hayiists’óó́d — he pulled out
• dayiiłtaaz — they twisted / bent
• yizhbizh — he wove
• yiyíítséél — he chopped down
• yiyíízǫ́ǫ́z — he peeled off
• ahídeiidiiłkad — he put them together
• yik’íísti’ — he covered / spread over
• niyiiznil — he placed
• dáádá’deeshdléézh — he coated / smeared

Coyote Speech / Dialogue

• Dibé Yázhí, yah iishą́ą́h! — Little sheep, I will come inside!
• Éí doodago t’áádoo shá ’ąą’ íinilaagoó nighan tł’oh bee ’ályaaígíí ’ałtso nits’ą́ą́’ ahxiih bízdeesoł!
  — Or else, if you don’t open for me, your grass hut will be blowing down all towards you.
• Éí doodago ni’ ’ałch’į’ adeez’a nits’ą́ą́’ ałtso ahiih bízdeesoł!
  — Or else your tepee will be blowing down all towards you.
• Éí doodago ’éí nighan nímází nihits’ą́ą́’ ałtso ahiih abízdeesoł!
  — Or else your round hogan will be blowing down all towards you.

Sheep Responses

• Nówohjį́’ anilyeed! — You should run away!
• Doo ná ’ąą ’ádeeshłíił da! — I will not open it for you!
• Doo ná ’ąą ’ádoolníił da! — It will not be open for you!
• Hooghan nímází ’ahiih bídzísoołgo doo bínínil’ą́ą́ da! — You cannot blow down this hogan!

Narration (Blowing Actions)

• ’Áádóó Ma’ii hááhíyoołgo Dibé Yázhí bighan tł’oh bee ’ályaa yę́́ę ’ahxiih ayídízíísol
  — So Coyote huffed and puffed and blew the grass house down
• ’Áádóó Ma’ii hááhíyoołgo hooghan ’ałch’į’ adeez’á yę́́ę ahiih ayídízíísol
  — So Coyote huffed and puffed and blew the tepee down
• ’Áko Ma’ii yéego ’ádíł háágáyoołgo dibé yázhí bighan nímází yisoł
  — So Coyote huffed and puffed at the hogan
• ’Áádóó ’ádíł hanááháyoołgo dibé yázhí bighan nímází nááneíísoł
  — And he huffed and puffed again
• ’Áko nidi, hooghan nímází t’áádoo naa’ayídízíísol da
  — However, the hogan did not fall down

Key Verb Forms (Blowing / Result)

• ’ahxiih ayídízíísol — he blew it down
• yisoł — he blew / was blowing
• nááneíísoł — he blew again
• t’áádoo naa’ayídízíísol da — he did not blow it down
• bízdeesoł — it will be blown down
• abízdeesoł — it will be blown down (completely)

References:

Spanish version of The Three Little Pigs: https://web.seducoahuila.gob.mx/biblioweb/upload/lostrescerditos_ilustrado.pdf

Original English version from 1842 of The Three Little Pigs: https://www.clarkcountypublishing.com/the-three-little-pigs/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Yazzie, S., Smith, R. H., Thomas, P. A. (2006). Dibé Yázhí Táa’go Baa Hane’. The Three Little Sheep. Salina Bookshelf.

Young, R. W. (2000). The Navajo Verb System: An Overview. University of New Mexico Press. All verbal prefixes come from pages 1-26, summarized here: https://corpusofdinebizaad.in/navajo-handling-verbs/

Wiktionario: Wiktionary contributors. (n.d.). Wiktionary. Retrieved March 14, 2026, from https://www.wiktionary.org/ – Provides access to entries in: Robert W. Young and William Morgan, Sr. (1987), The Navajo Language. A Grammar and Colloquial Dictionary, Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press