Friday, July 08, 2011

3 Little Piggies

Photo from 1.funny.com The real culprits aren't available to pose.
The sun was setting in a welter of pinks; the air was warm and muggy. I sat at the table on my patio sipping a cup of tea, admiring the way the clouds changed from crimson to rose to mauve within moments. Off to the north a looming cloud, not in the least pastel, rumbled intermittently and flashed with long, jagged spears of lightning. I collected my cup and book and the cat who'd been lounging in my lap and went inside. Just as I was closing the door behind me a bolt of lightning lit the cloud, thunder boomed, and an unearthly squeal reverberated in the woods. I paused, hand on the door handle, wondering what in the world?


My first thought was a fox in the neighboring hen house but I was raised on a chicken farm and decided that sound had not come from a chicken, even it its death throes. A cat maybe? Or a bunny caught in an owl's talons? It came again, a long squeal like a pig would make. There were no pigs at the farm next door that I knew of. What you don't know can surprise you.

Moments later I hear a shout. "This way, this way!" followed by a galloping form, shadowy in the darkening woods. An answering shout came from further away. "Over here, over here!"

There was a thud, a sharp squeal, a sudden splash and silence.

I stood on the patio listening. Nothing. Whatever it was, it was gone now. I closed the door and went to bed.

The next morning I went to the mulch bin at the edge of the yard with the kitchen compost. I had the lid in my hand when I heard a pattering of feet. I looked up to see a piglet heading straight for me. Just as its beady little eyes caught sight of me, it veered into the woods, squealing in surprise. Behind it raced the neighbor's white and yellow cat, its tail fluffed, its whole body bent on catching that pig. I lost sight of the two of them in the underbrush. Moments later the farmer's son, B,  came panting down the path. "Did you see a... " he gasped, bending over to catch his breath.

"Your cat?" I asked. "Chasing a pig?"

He grinned at me. "I was using a little cat food as a bribe," he said. "The pig liked the idea but the cat didn't." He dashed off again in pursuit.

Later I learned he'd brought 3 little piglets home to raise for fall meat. One went straight from the travel box to the barn but the other two bolted. B and his mother spent what remained of the daylight chasing those two pigs. The splash I'd heard was one of the piglets jumping into the pond across the road. B grabbed its hind leg as it started to paddle away but lost his footing and fell. The retrieved pig hit the ground running and disappeared in the bushes.

As of this morning, one pig of three is still in the barn, the cat is sitting guard over his food dish on the farmhouse porch, and the other two piglets are out there somewhere in the neighborhood, hiding out. I'm hoping there's a reward of pork chops for anyone with information on their whereabouts.

14 comments:

steven said...

pauline i really enjoyed this story. it could open out nicely into a little book couldn't it!!! steven

Brian Miller said...

haha...what a funny tale and a sight to see i am sure...mmm...perhaps you should ge tto finding to see about that reward...

Kerry said...

Well I'd bolt too, if I were a little pig and with no Charlotte in sight to save my bacon.

Judith said...

Funny pig tail!
You lead an exciting life out there in that quiet cottage!

Hilary said...

Aww those two deserve their freedom.. but are probably too young to look out for themselves. Funny tale. They're intelligent creatures.

Pauline said...

That they are, Hilary - both truants made their way back to the barn where their sibling was happily ensconced. All 3 little piggies are now in a solid house :) (Till November, anyhow.)

Out on the prairie said...

Lovely tale and glad to hear they made it back safe.

Marion said...

This was really enjoyable...I love this sentence..."The sun was setting in a welter of pinks"...

I'm so glad they're back. I once ran after a piglet...they are the slipperiest little devils to get hold of. I grabbed a leg, thinking for sure that would stop the piglet...all that happened was I fell in the mud and that piglet laughed all the way home...xx

Gary said...

Never a dull moment, huh? I would love to be surprised by a little piglet running towards me. Great story.

June said...

What a surprise to see a little piglet running out of the woods! Piglets are cute little things!

Friko said...

And I hope that the third piglet escapes too.
And that the three of them will live happily ever after in the woods. When they're grown, I want them to come back and take revenge on the cat.

Stafford Ray said...

That is a funny story. It reminds me of the need to prepare. In this case, accommodation for the piglets before they come home. But I too rarely do it and often can be seen holding something heavy searching for a place to put it!

Ruth said...

I have mixed feelings about the pigs being found . . .

:-)

Pauline said...

Ruth - they returned to the barn of their own accord. They will be raised humanely, having some meadow to forage in and a safe place to sleep at night. They are being raised for food but they will have a good life until the knife...

Stafford - how true. Pigs are very intelligent - those two have no intention of being "meat" if they can help it...

Friko - I like your scenario! I've never seen a cat chase a pig before but then the piggie was helping himself to the cat's food...

I am not a vegetarian and I have raised meat for my own consumption. I've killed and dressed rabbits and chickens (my dad had a chicken farm when I was a child and he hunted often). I raised pigs for meat but had them butchered and cut up by a professional. It is impossible not to become attached to animals you raise yourself. I suffer when they do, and hope if it ever comes to it, I will be willing to part with my own body so something else can live. It's mostly an guilt-assuaging thought as that probablility is highly unlikely!