CHAPTER VSQUINTY AND THE BOYDid you ever have a little brother or sister who ran away from home, and was very glad to run back, or be brought back again, by a policeman, perhaps? Of course your little brother or sister may not have intended to run away, it may have been that they only wandered off, around the corner, toward the candy store, and could not find their way back again. But, when he or she did get home--how glad you were to see them! Weren't you?It was just like that at the pen where Squinty, the comical pig, lived. When the farmer picked him up, and dropped him down among his brothers and sisters, in the clean straw, Wuff-Wuff, Squealer, and Curly Tail, and the others, were so glad to see Squinty that they grunted, and squealed and walked all over one another, to be the first to get close to him."Oh, Squinty, where were you?""Where did you go?""What did you do?""Weren't you awfully scared?""Where did the dog find you?""Did he bite you very hard?"These were some of the questions Squinty's brothers and sisters asked of the little runaway pig. They pressed close up to him, rubbing their funny, wiggling, rubber-like noses against him, and snuggling up against him, for they liked Squinty very much indeed.Then, after the young pigs had had their turn, Mr. Pig and Mrs. Pig began asking questions."What made you run away?" asked Squinty's papa."Oh, I wanted to have an adventure," said Squinty."Well, did you have one?" asked his mamma."Oh, yes, lots of them," answered the little pig. "But I didn't find very much to eat." Squinty was very hungry now."Oh dear!" exclaimed Mrs. Pig. "You are just too late for supper. It is all eaten up. We did not see that you were not here until too late. It's too bad!"Squinty thought so himself, for the smell of the sour milk that had been in the feeding trough made him more hungry than ever.Squinty walked over and tried to find a few drops in the bottom of the wooden trough. These he licked up with his red tongue. But there was not nearly enough."Ha! I guess that little pig must be hungry," said the farmer looking down in the pen, after he had put some more stones and a board over the hole where Squinty had gotten out. "I guess I'll have to feed him, for the others have had their supper."And how glad Squinty was when the farmer went over to the barrel, where the pigs' feed was kept, and mixed a nice pailful of sour milk with some corn meal, and poured it into the trough."Squee! Squee!" cried Squinty as he made a rush over to get his supper."Squee! Squee!" cried all the other little pigs, as they, too, made a rush to get more to eat."Here! Hold on! Come back!" cried Mr. Pig. "That is Squinty's supper. You must not touch it. You have had yours!" and he and Mrs. Pig would not let Squinty's brothers and sisters shove him away from the trough. For sometimes pigs are so hungry that they do this, you know. Being pigs they know no better.So Squinty had his supper, after all, though he did run away. Perhaps he should have been punished by being sent to bed without having had anything to eat, but you see the farmer wanted his pigs to be fat and healthy, so he fed them well. Squinty was very glad of that."Now all of you go to sleep," said Mrs. Pig, when it grew darker and darker in the pen. So she made them all cuddle down in the straw, pulling it over them with her nose and paws, like a blanket, to keep them warm. For only part of the pen had a roof over it, and though it was summer, still it was cool at night.But Squinty's brothers and sisters had no notion of going to sleep so soon. They wanted to hear all about what had happened to him when he had run away, and they wanted him to tell them of his adventures. So they grunted and whispered among themselves."What happened to you, Squinty?" asked Wuff-Wuff."Oh, I had a fine swim in a brook," said Squinty."I wish that had happened to me," said Wuff-Wuff. "What else?""I found a nice field of corn," went on Squinty, "but I did not like the taste of it. I got lost in the cornfield.""That's too bad," said Wuff-Wuff. "Did anything else happen?""Yes, I found some pig weed, and ate that, and some little potatoes.""Oh, how nice!" exclaimed Twisty Tail. "I wish that had happened to me. Did you do anything else, Squinty?""Yes," said the comical little pig. "I saw something I thought was a potato, and it jumped away from me. It was a hoptoad.""That was funny," said Squealer. "I wish I had seen it. Did anything else happen?""Yes," said Squinty. "I thought I saw another potato, but when I bit on it I found it was only a stone, and it hurt my teeth.""That's too bad," said Wuff-Wuff. "I am glad that did not happen to me. Tell us what else you saw."But just then Mrs. Pig grunted out:"Come, now! All you little pigs must keep quiet and go to sleep. Go to sleep at once!"So Squinty and the others cuddled closer together, snuggled down in the soft straw, and soon were fast asleep. Now and then they stirred, or grunted during the night, but they did not wake up until morning. They were running around the pen before breakfast, squealing as loudly as they could, for the farmer to come and feed them. But the farmer had his cows and horses and chickens to feed, as well as the pigs, and he did not get to the pen until last. And when he did, all the pigs were so hungry, even Mr. and Mrs. Pig, that they were squealing as hard as they could."Yes, yes!" cried the farmer, as though he were talking to the pigs. "I'm coming as fast as I can."Soon the farmer poured some sour milk and corn meal down into the trough, and how eagerly Squinty and the others did eat it! Some of the smaller pigs even put two feet in the trough, they were so anxious to get their share. Squinty had an especially good appetite, from having run away, so perhaps he got a little more than the others.But finally the breakfast was all gone, and the pigs had nothing more to do until dinner time--that is, all they had to do was to lie down and rest, or get up now and then to scratch a mosquito, or a fly bite."Well, I guess none of you will get out again," said the farmer, after a while, as he nailed a bigger board over the hole by which Squinty had gotten out. "Don, watch these pigs," the farmer went on. "If they get out, grab them by the ear, and bring them back.""Bow wow!" barked Don, and that meant he would do as his master had told him.For several days after this nothing happened in the pigs' pen except that they were washed off with the hose now and then, to clean them of mud and make them cool. Once in a while the farmer would take a corn cob and scratch the back of Mr. or Mrs. Pig, and they liked this very much. The other pigs were almost too little for the farmer to reach over the top of the pen.One day the pigs heard merry shouts and laughter up at the farmhouse. There were the sounds of boys' and girls' voices. Then came the patter of many feet."Oh, look at the pigs!" someone cried, and Squinty, and his brothers and sisters, looking up, saw, over the edge of the pen, some boys and girls looking down on them."Oh, aren't they cute!" exclaimed a girl."Just lovely!" said another girl. "Pigs are so nice!""I wonder if any of them can do any tricks?" asked a boy who stood looking down into the pen."These aren't trained circus pigs," spoke one of the girls. "They can't do tricks."The boy and the girls stayed for a little while, watching the pigs. Then the boy said:"Let's pull some weeds and feed them.""Oh, yes, let's!" cried the girls. The pigs were glad when they heard this, and they were more glad when the boy and the girls threw pig weed, and other green things from the garden, into the pen. The pigs ate them all up, and wanted more.After that, for several days, Squinty and his brothers and sisters could hear the boy and the girls running about the garden, but they could not see them because the boards around the pig pen were too high. The boy and the girls seemed to be having a fine time.Squinty could hear them talking about hunting the hens' eggs, and feeding the little calves and sheep, and riding on the backs of horses.Then, one day Squinty looked up out of the pen, and, leaning over the top board he saw the farmer, the boy and another man."Oh, Father!" exclaimed the boy, "do let me have just one little pig. They are so nice!"'Oh, Father!' exclaimed the boy, 'do let me have just one little pig.''Oh, Father!' exclaimed the boy, 'do let me have just one little pig.'"A pig!" cried Father. "What would you do with a pig in our town? We are not in the country. Where would you keep a pig?""Oh, I could build a little pen for him in our yard. Look, let me have that one, he is so pink and pretty and clean.""Ha! So you want that pig, do you?" asked the farmer. The boy and his father and sisters were paying a visit to the farm."Yes, I want a pig very much!" the boy said. "And I think I'd like that one," and he pointed straight at Squinty. Poor Squinty ran and tried to hide under the straw, for he knew the boy was talking about him."Oh, see him run!" cried the boy. "Yes, I think he is the nicest pig in the lot. I want him. Has he any name?""Well, we call him Squinty," the farmer said. "He has a funny, squinting eye.""Then I'll call him Squinty, too," the boy went on. "Please, Father, may I have that little pig?""Well, I don't know," said his father slowly, scratching his head. "A pig is a queer pet. I suppose you might have him, though. You could keep him in the back yard. Yes, I guess you could have him, if Mr. Jones will sell him, and if the pig will behave. Do you think that little pig will be good, Mr. Jones?" asked the father of the farmer man."Well, yes, I guess so," answered the farmer. "He has run away out of the pen a couple of times, but if you board up a place good and tight, I guess he won't get out.""Oh, I do hope he'll be good!" exclaimed the boy. "I do so want a little pet pig, and I'll be so kind to him!"When Squinty heard that, he made up his mind, if the boy took him, that he would be as good as he knew how."When can I have my little pig?" asked the boy, of his father."Oh, as soon as Mr. Jones can put him in a box, so we can carry him," was the answer. "We can't very well take him in our arms; he would slip out and run away.""I guess so, too," laughed the boy.CHAPTER VISQUINTY ON A JOURNEY"Mamma, did you hear what they were saying about Squinty?" asked Wuff-Wuff, as the boy and the two men walked away from the pig pen."Oh, yes, I heard," said Mrs. Pig. "I shall be sorry to lose Squinty, but then we pigs have to go out and take our places in this world. We cannot always stay at home in the pen.""Yes, that is so," spoke Mr. Pig. "But Squinty is rather young and small to start out. However, it may all be for the best. Now, Squinty, you had better keep yourself nice and clean, so as to be ready to go on a journey.""What's a journey?" asked the comical little pig, squinting his eye up at the papa pig."A journey is going away from home," answered Mr. Pig."And does it mean having adventures?" asked Squinty, flopping his ears backward and forward."Yes, you may have some adventures," replied his mother. "Oh dear, Squinty! I wish you didn't have to go and leave us. But still, it may be all for your good.""We might hide him under the straw," suggested Wuff-Wuff. "Then that boy could not find him when he comes to put him in a box, and take him away.""No, that would never do," said Mr. Pig. "The farmer is stronger and smarter than we are. He would find Squinty, no matter where we hid him. It is better to let him do as he pleases, and take Squinty away, though we shall all miss him.""Oh dear!" cried Curly Tail, for she liked her little brother very much, and she loved to see him look at her with his funny, squinting eye. "Do you want to go, Squinty?""Well, I don't want to leave you all," answered the comical little pig, "but I shall be glad to go on a journey, and have adventures. I hope I don't get lost again, though.""I guess the boy won't let you get lost," spoke Mr. Pig. "He looks as though he would be kind and good to you."The pig family did not know when Squinty would be taken away from them, and all they could do was to wait. While they were doing this they ate and slept as they always did. Squinty, several times, looked at the hole under the pen, by which he had once gotten out. He felt sure he could again push his way through, and run away. But he did not do it."No, I will wait and let the boy take me away," thought Squinty.Several times after this the boy and his sisters came to look down into the pig pen. The pigs could tell, by the talk of the children, that they were brother and sisters. And they had come to the farm to spend their summer vacation, when there was no school."That's the pig I am going to take home with me," the boy would say to his sisters, pointing to Squinty."How can you tell which one is yours?" asked one of the little girls."I can tell by his funny squint," the boy would answer. "He always makes me want to laugh.""Well, I am glad I am of some use in this world," thought Squinty, who could understand nearly all that the boy and his sisters said. "It is something just to be jolly.""I wouldn't want a pig," said the other girl. "They grunt and squeal and are not clean. I'd rather have a rabbit.""Pigs are so clean!" cried the boy. "Squinty is as clean as a rabbit!"Only that day Squinty had rolled over and over in the mud, but he had had a bath from the hose, so he was clean now. And he made up his mind that if the boy took him he would never again get in the mud and become covered with dirt."I will keep myself clean and jolly," thought Squinty.A few days after this Squinty heard the noise of hammering and sawing wood outside the pig pen."The farmer must be building another barn," said Mr. Pig, for he and his family could not see outside the pen. "Yes, he must be building another barn, for once before we heard the sounds of hammering and sawing, and then a new barn was built."But that was not what it was this time.Soon the sounds stopped, and the farmer and the boy came and looked down into the pig pen."Now you are sure you want that squinty one?" the farmer asked the boy. "Some of the others are bigger and better.""No, I want the squinty one," the boy said. "He is so comical, he makes me laugh.""All right," answered the farmer. "I'll get him for you, now that you have the crate all made to carry him home in on the cars."Over into the pig pen jumped the farmer. He made a grab for Squinty and caught him."Squee! Squee! Squee!" squealed Squinty, for he had never been squeezed so tightly before."Oh, I'm not going to hurt you," said the farmer, kindly."Squinty, be quiet," ordered his papa, in the pig language. "Behave yourself. You are going on a journey, and will be all right."Then Squinty stopped squealing, as the farmer climbed out of the pen with him."At last I am going on a journey, and I may have many adventures," thought the little pig. "Good-by!" he called to his papa and mamma and brothers and sisters, left behind in the pen. "Good-by!""Good-by!" they all grunted and squealed. "Be a good pig," said his mamma."Be a brave pig," said his papa."And--and come back and see us, sometime," sniffled little Curly Tail, for she loved Squinty very much indeed."I'll come back!" said the comical little pig. But he did not know how much was to happen before he saw his pen again."There you go--into the box with you!" cried the farmer, as he dropped Squinty into a wooden box the boy had made for his pet, with a hammer, saw and nails.Squinty found himself dropped down on a bed of clean straw. In front of him, behind him, and on either side of him were wooden slats--the sides of the box. Squinty could look out, but the slats were as close together as those in a chicken coop, and the little pig could not get out.He did not want to, however, for he had made up his mind that he was going to be a good pig, and go with the boy who had bought him for a pet from the farmer.Over the top of the box was nailed a cover with a handle to it, and by this handle the pig in the little cage could be easily carried."There you are!" exclaimed the farmer. "Now he'll be all right until you get him home.""And, when I do, I'll put him in a nice big pen, and feed him well," said the boy. Squinty smacked his lips at that, for he was hungry even now."Oh, have you caged him up? Isn't he cute!" exclaimed one of the boy's sisters. "I'll give him the core of my apple," and she thrust it in through the slats of the box. Squinty was very glad, indeed, to get the apple core, and he soon ate it up."Come on!" cried the boy's father. "Is the pig nailed up? We must go for the train!""I wonder what the train is," thought Squinty. He was soon to know. The boy lifted him up, cage and all, and put him into the wagon that was to go to the depot. Squinty knew what a wagon was and horses, for he had seen them many times.Then away they started. Squinty gave a loud squeal, which was his last good-by to the other pigs in the pen, and then the wagon rattled away along the road.Squinty had started on his journey.CHAPTER VIISQUINTY LEARNS A TRICKSquinty, the comical pig, tried to look out through the slats of the box, in which he was being taken away, to see in which direction he was going. He also wanted to watch the different sights along the road. But the sides of the farm wagon were so high that the little pig could see nothing. He stretched his fat neck as far as it would go, but that did no good either. Squinty wished he were as big as his papa or his mamma."Then I could see what is going on," he thought.But just wishing never made anyone larger or taller, not even a pig, and Squinty stayed the same size.He could hear the farmer and the children talking. Now and then the boy who had bought Squinty, and who was taking him home, would look around at his pet in the slatted box."Is he all right?" one of the girls would ask."He seems to be," the boy would say. "I am glad I got him.""Well, he acts real cute," said another girl, who was called Sallie, "but I never heard of having a pig for a pet before.""You just wait until I teach him some tricks," said the boy, whose name was Bob. "Then you'll think he's fine!""Ha! So I am to learn tricks," thought Squinty in his box. "I wonder what tricks are, anyhow? Does it mean I am to have good things to eat? I hope so."You see Squinty, like most little pigs, thought more of something to eat than of anything else. But we must not blame him for that, since he could not help it.Pretty soon the wagon rattled over some stones, and then came to a stop."Here we are!" called the children's father. "Bring along your little pig, Bob. Here comes the train.""Ha! It seems I am to go on a train," thought Squinty. "I wonder what a train is?"Squinty had many things to learn, didn't he?The little pig in the box felt himself being lifted out of the wagon. Then he could look about him. He saw a large building, in front of which were long, slender strips of shining steel. These were the railroad tracks, but Squinty did not know that. Then all at once, Squinty heard a loud noise, which went like this:"Whee! Whee! Whee-whee!""Oh my! what a loud squeal that pig has!" exclaimed Squinty. "He can squeal much louder than I can, I think. Let me try."So Squinty went:"Squee! Squee! Squee!"And then the big noise sounded again, louder than before:"Whee! Whee! Toot! Toot!""Oh my!" said Squinty to himself, snuggling down in the straw of his box. "I never can squeal as loud as that. Never!"He looked out and saw a big black thing rushing toward him, with smoke coming out of the top, and then the big black thing cried out again:"Whee! Whee! Toot! Toot!""Oh, what a terrible, big black pig!" thought Squinty. And he was a bit frightened. But it was not a big black pig at all. It was only the engine drawing the train of cars up to the station to take the passengers away. And it was going to take Squinty, also.Squinty thought the engine whistle was a pig's squeal, but it wasn't, of course.Pretty soon the train stopped. The passengers made a rush to get in the cars. Bob, the boy, caught up the handle of Squinty's box, and, after some bumping and tilting sideways, the little pig found himself set down in a rather dark place, for the boy had put the box on the floor of the car by his seat, near his feet.And there Squinty rode, seeing nothing, but hearing many strange noises, until, after many stops, he was lifted up again."Here we are!" the little pig heard the children's papa say. "Have you everything? Don't forget your pig, Bob.""I won't," answered the boy, with a jolly laugh."Well, I wonder what will happen next?" thought Squinty, as he felt himself being carried along again. He could see nothing but a crowd of persons all about the boy who carried the box."I don't know whether I am going to like this or not--this coming to live in town," thought the little pig. "Still, I cannot help myself, I suppose. But I do wish I had something to eat."I guess the boy must have known Squinty was hungry, for, when he next set down the box, this time in a carriage, the boy gave the little pig a whole apple to eat. And how good it did taste to Squinty!"Are you going to make a pen for him?" asked one of the boy's sisters, as the carriage drove off."Yes, as soon as we get to the house," said the boy.By this time Squinty was thirsty. There was no water in his cage, but, a little later, when he saw through the slats, that he was being carried toward a large, white house, he was given a tin of water to drink."I'll just leave him in that box until I can fix a larger one for him," the boy said, and then, for a while, Squinty was left all to himself. But he was still in the box, though the box was set in a shady place on the back porch.All this while Mr. Pig and Mrs. Pig, as well as the brother and sister pigs, in the pen at home, were wondering what had happened to Squinty."Where do you think he is now, Mamma?" Wuff-Wuff would ask."Oh, I don't know," Mrs. Pig answered."And will he ever come back to us?" asked Twisty Tail."Perhaps, some day. I hope so," said Mrs. Pig, sort of sighing."Oh, yes, I think he will," said Mr. Pig. "When he gets quite large the boy will get tired of having him for a pet, and perhaps bring him back.""Were you ever carried off that way, Papa?" asked Grunter, as he rubbed his back, where a mosquito had bitten him, against the side of the pen."Oh, yes, once," answered Mr. Pig. "I was taken away from my pen, when I was pretty large, and given to a little girl for a pet. But she did not keep me long. I guess she would rather have had her dolls, so I was soon brought back to my pen. And I was glad of it.""Well, I hope they will soon bring Squinty back," Wuff-Wuff said. "It is lonesome without him."But, after a while, the other pigs found so many things to do, and they were kept so busy, eating sour milk, and getting fat, that they nearly forgot about Squinty.But, all this time, something was happening to the comical little pig.Toward evening of the first day that Squinty had been put in the new little cage, the boy, who had not been near him in some time, came back to look at his pet."Now I have a larger place for you," the boy said, speaking just as though Squinty could understand him. And, in fact, Squinty did know much of what was said to him, though he could not talk back in boy language, being able to speak only his own pig talk."And I guess you are hungry, too, and want something to eat," the boy went on. "I will feed you!""Squee! Squee! Squee!" squealed Squinty. If there was one word in man-talk that he understood very well, it was "feed." He had often heard the farmer say:"Well, now I must feed the pigs."And right after that, some nice sour milk would come splashing down into the trough of the pen. So when Squinty heard the word "feed" again, he guessed what was going to happen.And he guessed right, too.The boy picked Squinty up, box and all, and carried him to the back yard."Now I'll give you more room to run about, and then I'll have a nice supper for you," the boy said, talking to his little pig just as you would to your dog, or kittie.With a hammer the boy knocked off some of the slats of the small box in which Squinty had made his journey. Then the boy lifted out the comical little pig, and Squinty found himself inside a large box, very much like the pen at home. It had clean straw in it, and a little trough, just like the one at his "home," where he could eat. But there was nothing in the trough to eat, as yet, and the box seemed quite lonesome, for Squinty was all alone."Here you are now! Some nice sour milk, and boiled potatoes!" cried the boy, and then Squinty smelled the most delicious smell--to him at least. Down into the trough came the sour milk and potatoes."Squee! Squee!" yelled Squinty in delight, And how fast he ate! That was because he was hungry, you see, but pigs nearly always eat fast, as though they were continually in a hurry."Oh, isn't it cute!" exclaimed a voice over Squinty's head. He looked up, half shutting his one funny eye, and cocking one ear up, and letting the other droop down. But he did not stop eating."Oh, isn't he funny!" cried another voice. And Squinty saw the boy and his sisters looking at him."Yes, he surely is a nice pig," the boy said, "In a few days, when he gets over being strange, I'm going to teach him some tricks.""Ha! There's that word tricks again!" thought Squinty. "I wonder what tricks are? But I shall very soon find out."For a few days Squinty was rather lonesome in his new pen, all by himself. He missed his papa and mamma and brothers and sisters. But the boy came to see Squinty every day, bringing him nice things to eat, and, after a bit, Squinty came to look for his new friend."I guess you are getting to know me, aren't you, old fellow?" the boy said one day, after feeding Squinty, and he scratched the little pig on the back with a stick."Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty. That, I suppose, was his way of saying:"Of course I know you, and I like you, boy."One day, about a week after he had come to his new home, Squinty heard the boy say:"Now I think you are tame enough to be let out. I don't believe you will run away, will you? But, anyhow, I'll tie a string to your leg, and then you can't."Squinty wished he could speak boy language, and tell his friend that he would not run away as long as he was kindly treated, but of course Squinty could not do this. Instead, he could only grunt and squeal.The boy tied a string to Squinty's leg, and let him out of the pen. The comical little pig was glad to have more room in which to move about. He walked first to one side, and then the other, rooting in the dirt with his funny, rubbery nose. The boy laughed to see him."I guess you are looking for something to eat," the boy said. "Well, let's see if you can find these acorns."The boy hid them under a pile of dirt, and watched. Squinty smelled about, and sniffed. He could easily tell where the acorns had been hidden, and, a moment later, he had rooted them up and was eating them."Oh, you funny little pig!" cried the boy. "You are real smart! You know how to find acorns. That is one trick.""Ha! If that is a trick, it is a very easy one--just rooting up acorns," thought Squinty to himself.Squinty walked around, as far as the rope tied to his leg would let him. The other end of the rope was held by the boy. Once the rope got tangled around Squinty's foot, and he jumped over it to get free. The boy saw him and cried:"Oh, I wonder if I could teach you to jump the rope? That would be a fine trick. Let me see."The boy thought a moment, and then lifted Squinty up, and set him down on one side of the rope, which he raised a little way from the ground, just as girls do when they are playing a skipping game.Squinty gave a little spring, and over the rope he went.Squinty gave a little spring, and over the rope he went.On the other side of the rope the boy put an apple."Now, Squinty," said Bob, "if you want that apple you must jump the rope to get it. Come on."At first Squinty did not understand what was wanted of him. He saw nothing but the apple, and thought how much he wanted it. He started for it, but, before he could get it the boy pulled up the rope in front of him. The rope stopped Squinty."Jump over the rope if you want the apple," said the boy. Of course Squinty could not exactly understand this talk. He tried once more to get the apple, but, every time he did, he found the rope in front of him, in the way."Well!" exclaimed Squinty to himself, "I am going to get that apple, rope or no rope. I guess I'll have to get over the rope somehow."So the next time he started for the juicy apple, and the rope was pulled up in front of him, Squinty gave a little spring, and over the rope he went, jumping with all four legs, coming down on the other side, like a circus man jumping over the elephant's back."Oh, fine! Good!" cried the boy, clapping his hands. "Squinty has learned to do another trick!""Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, as he chewed the apple. "So that's another trick, is it?"CHAPTER VIIISQUINTY IN THE WOODSBob, the boy who had bought Squinty, the comical pig, laughed and clapped his hands. His two sisters, who were playing with their dolls in the shade of an evergreen tree, heard their brother, and one of them called out:"What is it, Bob? What is it?""Oh, come and see my pig do a trick!" answered the boy. "He is too funny for anything!""Can he really do a trick?" asked the smaller sister, whose name was Mollie."Indeed he can," the boy said. "He can do two tricks--find hidden acorns, and jump a rope.""Oh, no, not really jump a rope!" cried Sallie."You just come and see!" the boy called.All this while Squinty was chewing on the apple which he had picked up from the ground after he had jumped over the rope. He heard what the boy said, and Squinty made up his mind."Well," said the little pig to himself, "if it is any fun for that boy and his sisters to watch me jump over a rope, and dig up acorns, I don't mind doing it for them. They call them tricks, but I call it getting something to eat."And they were both right, you see.Sallie and Mollie, the two sisters, laid down their dolls in the shade, and ran over toward their brother, who still held one end of the rope, that was fast to Squinty's leg."Make him do some tricks for us," begged Mollie."Show us how he jumps the rope," said Sallie."First, I'll have him dig up the acorns, as that's easier," spoke Bob. "Here, Squinty!" he called. "Find the acorns! Find 'em!"While Squinty had been munching on the apple, the boy had dug a hole, put some sweet acorn nuts into it, and covered them up with dirt. Squinty had not seen him do this, but Squinty thought he could find the nuts just the same.There were two ways of doing this. Squinty had a very sharp-smelling nose. He could smell things afar off, that neither you nor I could smell even close by. And Squinty could also tell, by digging in the ground with his queer, rubbery nose, just where the ground was soft and where it was hard. And he knew it would be soft at the place where the boy had dug a hole in which to hide the acorns.So, when Bob called for Squinty to come and find the acorn nuts, even though the little pig had not seen just where they were hidden, Squinty felt sure he could dig them up."He'll never find them!" said Sallie."Just you watch!" exclaimed the boy.He pulled on the rope around Squinty's leg. At first the little pig was not quite sure what was wanted of him. He thought perhaps he was to jump over the rope after another apple. But he saw no fruit waiting for him. Then he looked carefully about and smelled the air. The boy was very gentle with him, and waited patiently.And I might say, right here, that if you ever try to teach your pets any tricks, you must be both kind and gentle with them, for you know they are not as smart as you are, and cannot think as quickly."Ha! I smell acorns!" thought Squinty to himself. "I guess the boy must want me to do the first trick, as he calls it, and dig up the acorns. I'll do it!"Carefully Squinty sniffed the air. When he turned one way he could smell the acorns quite plainly. When he turned the other way he could not smell them quite so well. So he started off in the direction where he could most plainly smell the nuts he loved so well.Next he began rooting in the ground. At first it was very hard for his nose, but soon it became soft. Then he could smell the acorns more plainly than before."See, he is going right toward them!" cried the boy."There, he has them!" exclaimed Sallie."Oh, so he has!" spoke Mollie. "I wouldn't have thought he could!"And, by that time, Squinty had found the hole where the boy had covered the acorns with dirt, and Squinty was chewing the sweet nuts."Now make him jump the rope," said Mollie."I will, as soon as he eats the acorns," replied the boy."Ha! I am going to have another apple, just for jumping a rope," thought Squinty, in delight.You see the little pig imagined the trick was done just to get him to eat the apple. He did not count the rope-jumping part of it at all, though that, really, was what the boy wanted.Once more Bob placed the apple on the ground, on the far side of the rope. One end of the rope the boy held in his hand, and the other was around Squinty's leg, but a loop of it was made fast to a stick stuck in the ground, so the boy could pull on the rope and raise or lower it, just as you girls do when you play."Come on, now, Squinty! Jump over it!" called the boy.The little pig saw the apple, and smelled it. He wanted very much to get it. But, when he ran toward it, he found the rope raised up in front of him. He forgot, for a moment, his second trick, and stood still."Oh, I thought you said he would jump the rope!" said Mollie, rather disappointed."He will--just wait a minute," spoke the boy. "Come on, Squinty!" he called.Once more Squinty started for the apple. This time he remembered that, before, he had to jump the rope to get it. So he did it again. Over the rope he went, with a little jump, coming down on the side where the apple was, and, in a second he was chewing the juicy fruit."There!" cried the boy. "Didn't he jump the rope?""Oh, well, but he didn't jump it fast, back and forth, like we girls do," said Mollie."But it was pretty good--for a little pig," said Sallie."I think so, too," spoke the boy. "And I am going to teach him to jump real fast, and without going for an apple each time. I'm going to teach him other tricks, too.""Oh dear!" thought Squinty, when he heard this. "So I am to learn more tricks, it seems. Well, I hope they will all be eating ones.""Make him do it again," suggested Mollie, after a bit."No, I haven't any more apples," the boy answered. "And at first I'll have to make him jump for an apple each time. After a bit I'll not give him an apple until he has done all his tricks. Come on now, Squinty, back to your pen."The boy lifted up his pet, and put him back in the pen that had been especially built for the little pig. As soon as he was in it Squinty ran over to the trough, hoping there would be some sour milk in it. But there was none."You've had enough to eat for a while," said the boy with a laugh. "Later on I'll give you your milk.""Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, and I suppose he meant he would be glad to have the milk now. But he got none, so he curled himself up in the clean straw and went to sleep.When he awakened, he thought at first he was back in the pen at home, and he cried out:"Oh, Wuff-Wuff! Oh, Twisty Tail. I had the queerest dream! I thought a boy had me, and that I could jump a rope, and hunt acorns, and do lots of tricks. But I--!" And then Squinty stopped. He looked around and found himself all alone in the new pen. None of his brothers or sisters was near him, and he could not hear his mamma or papa grunting near the feed trough."Ha! It wasn't a dream, after all," thought Squinty, a bit sorrowfully. "It's all real--I can do tricks, and a boy has me."Every few days after that the boy took Squinty out of his pen, and let him do the rope-jumping and the acorn-hunting tricks. And it did not take Squinty long to learn to jump the rope when there was no apple on the other side. The boy would say:"Jump over the rope, Squinty!"And over it the little pig would go. But if he did not get the apple as soon as he jumped, he did get it afterward, which was just as good. It was sort of a reward for his tricks, you see."Now you must learn a new trick," said the boy one day. "I want you to learn how to walk on your hind legs, Squinty. It is not going to be easy, either. But I guess you can do it. And I am going to take the rope off your leg, for I do not believe you will run away from me now."So the rope was taken off Squinty's leg. And he liked the boy so much, and liked his new home, and the nuts and apples he got to eat were so good, that Squinty did not try to run away."Up on your hind legs!" cried the boy, and, by taking hold of Squinty's front feet, Bob raised his pet up on the hind legs."Now stand there!" the boy cried, but when he took away his hands of course Squinty came down on all four legs. He did not know what the boy meant to have him do."I guess I'll have to stand you in a corner to start with," the boy said. "That will brace you up."Then, kindly and gently, the boy took Squinty over to the place where the corn crib was built on to the barn. This made a corner and the little pig was stood up on his hind legs in that. Then, with something to lean his back against, he did not feel like falling over, and he remained standing up on two legs, with his front feet stuck out in front of him."That's the way to do it!" cried Bob. "Soon you will be able to stand up without anything to lean against. And, a little later, you will be able to walk on your hind legs. Now here's an apple for you, Squinty!"So you see Squinty received his reward for starting to learn a new trick.In a few days, just as the boy had said, the little pig found that he could sit up on his hind legs all alone, without anything to lean back against.But learning to walk on his hind legs was a little harder.The boy, however, was patient and kind to him. At first Bob held Squinty's front feet, and walked along with him so the little pig would get used to the new trick. Then one day Bob said:"Now, Squinty, I want you to walk to me all by yourself. Stand up!"Squinty stood up on his hind legs. The boy backed away from him, and stood a little distance off, holding out a nice, juicy potato this time."Come and get the potato," called the boy."Squee! Squee!" grunted Squinty. "I can't!" I suppose he meant to say."Come on!" cried the boy. "Don't be afraid. You can do it!"Squinty wanted that potato very much. And the only way to get it was to walk to it on his hind legs. If he let himself down on all four legs he knew the boy would not give him the potato. So Squinty made up his little pig mind that he would do this new trick.Off he started, walking by himself on his hind legs, just like a trained bear."Fine! That's the way to do it! I knew you could!" the boy cried when Squinty reached him, and took the potato out of his hand. "Good little pig!" and he scratched Squinty's back with a stick."Uff! Uff!" squealed Squinty, very much pleased.And from then on the comical little pig learned many tricks.He could stand up a long time, on his hind legs, with an apple on his nose. And he would not eat it until the boy called:"Now, Squinty!"Then Squinty would toss the apple up in the air, off his nose, and catch it as it came down. Oh, how good it tasted!Squinty also learned to march around with a stick for a gun, and play soldier. He liked this trick best of all, for he always had two apples to eat after that.Many of Bob's boy friends came to see his trained pig. They all thought he was very funny and cute, and they laughed very hard when Squinty looked at them with his queer, drooping eye. They would feed him apples, potatoes and sometimes bits of cake that Bob's mother gave them. Squinty grew very fond of cake.Then one day something happened. Bob always used to lock the door of the new pig pen every night, for, though he knew his pet was quite tame now, he thought, if the door were left open, Squinty might wander away. And that is exactly what Squinty did. He did not mean to do wrong, but he knew no better. One evening, after he had done many tricks that day, when Squinty found the door of his pen part way open, he just pushed it the rest of the way with his strong nose, and out he walked! No one saw him."Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, looking about, "I guess I'll go take a walk by myself. I may find something good to eat."Out of the pen he went. There was no garden here, such as the farmer had at Squinty's first home. But, not far from the pig pen was the big, green wood."I'll go over in there and see what happens," thought Squinty. "Perhaps I may find some acorns."And so Squinty ran away to the woods.CHAPTER IXSQUINTY'S BALLOON RIDEThis was the third time Squinty had run away. But not once did he intend to do any wrong; you see he knew no better. He just found his pen door open and walked out--that was all there was to it."I wonder what will happen to me this time?" thought the comical little pig, as he hurried along over the ground, toward the woods. "I don't believe Don, the dog, will find me here, for he must be back on the farm. But some other dog might. I had better be careful, I guess."When Squinty thought this he stopped and looked carefully around for any signs of a barking dog. But he saw none. It was very still and quiet, for it was nearly supper time in the big house where Bob lived, and he and his sisters were waiting for the bell to ring to call them to the table.But Squinty had had his supper, and, for the time, he was not hungry."And if I do get hungry again, I may find something in the woods," he said to himself. "Acorn nuts grow in the woods, and they are very good. I'll root up some of them."Once or twice Squinty looked back toward the pen he had run away from, to see if Bob, his master, were coming after him. But Bob had no idea his little pet had run away. In fact, just then, Bob was wondering what new trick he could teach Squinty the next day.On and on ran the comical pig. Once he found something round and yellow on the ground."Ha! That looks like a yellow apple," thought Squinty, and he bit it hard with his white teeth. Then his mouth all puckered up, he felt a sour taste, and he cried out:"Wow! I don't like that. Oh, that isn't an apple at all!"And it wasn't--it was a lemon the grocery boy had dropped."Oh! How sour!" grunted Squinty. "I'd like a drink of water to take the taste of that out of my mouth."Squinty lifted his nose up in the air, and sniffed and snuffed. He wanted to try to smell a spring of water, and he did, just on the edge of the big wood. Over to the spring he ran on his little short legs, and soon he was having a fine drink."Now I feel better," Squinty said. "What will happen next?"Nothing did for some time, and, when it did it was so strange that Squinty never forgot it as long as he lived. I'll tell you all about it.He walked on through the woods, Squinty did, and, before very long, he found some acorns. He ate as many as he wanted and then, as he always felt sleepy after he had eaten, he thought he would lie down and have a nap.He found a place, near a big stump, where there was a soft bed of dried leaves, nearly as nice as his straw bed in the pen at home. On this he stretched out, and soon he was fast asleep.When Squinty awoke it was real dark. He jumped up with a little grunt, and said to himself:"Well, I did not mean to stay away from my pen so long. I guess I had better go back."Squinty started to go back the way he had come, but I guess you can imagine what happened. It was so dark he could not find the path. He walked about, stumbling over sticks and stones and stumps, sometimes falling down on soft moss, and again on the hard ground. Finally Squinty thought:"Well, it is of no use. I can't get back tonight, that is sure. I shall have to stay here. Oh dear! I hope there are no dogs to bite me!"Squinty listened carefully. He could hear no barks. He hunted around in the dark until he found another soft bed of leaves, and on that he cuddled himself up to go to sleep for the night. He was a little afraid, but, after all, he was used to sleeping alone, and, even though he was outside of his pen now, he did not worry much."In the morning I shall go back to the boy who taught me tricks," thought Squinty.But something else happened in the morning.Squinty was awake when the sun first peeped up from behind the clouds. The little pig scratched his ear, where a mosquito had bitten him during the night. Then he stretched first one leg and then the others, and said:"Ha! Ho! Hum! Uff! Uff! I guess I'll have some acorns for my breakfast."It was a very easy matter for Squinty to get his breakfast. He did not have to wash, or comb his hair, or even dress. Just as he was he got up out of his leaf-bed, and began rooting around in the ground for acorns. He soon found all he wanted, and ate them. Then he felt thirsty, so he looked around until he had found another spring of cool water, where he drank as much as he needed."And now to go back home, to the boy who taught me tricks," said Squinty to himself. "I guess he is wondering where I am."And indeed that boy, Bob, and his sisters Mollie and Sallie, were wondering where Squinty was. They saw the open door of the pen, and the boy recalled that he had forgotten to lock it."Oh, Squinty is gone!" he cried, and he felt very badly indeed. But I have no time to tell you more of that boy now. I must relate for you the wonderful adventures of Squinty.Squinty went this way and that through the woods, but he could not find the path that led to his pen. He tried and tried again, but it was of no use."Well," said Squinty, at last, sitting down beside a hollow log, "I guess I am lost. That is all there is to it I am lost in the big woods! Oh dear! I almost wish Don, the dog, or the farmer would come and find me now."He waited, but no one came. He listened but he heard nothing."Well, I might as well eat and go to sleep again," said Squinty, "Maybe something will happen then."Soon he was asleep again. But he was suddenly awakened. He heard a great crashing in the trees over his head."Gracious! I hope that isn't a dog after me!" cried the little pig.He looked up, Squinty did. He saw coming down from the sky, through the branches of the trees, a big round thing, like more than ten thousand rubber balls, made into one. Below the round thing hung a square basket, with many ropes, and other things, fast to it. And in the basket were two men. They looked over the edge of the basket. One of them pulled on a rope, and the big thing, which was a balloon, though Squinty did not know it, came to the ground with a bang."Well, at last we have made a landing," said one of the men."Yes," said the other. "And we shall have to throw out some bags of sand to go up again."Squinty did not know what this meant. But I'll explain to you that a "landing" is when a balloon comes down to the ground. And when the men in it want to go up again, they have to toss out some of the bags of sand, or ballast, they carry to make the balloon so light that the gas in it will take it up again.The men began tossing out the bags of sand. Squinty saw them, but he was not afraid. Why should he be? for no men or boys had ever been cruel to him."Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, getting up and going over to one of the bags of sand. "Maybe that is good to eat!" he thought. "If it is I will take a bite. I am hungry.""Oh, look at that pig!" suddenly called one of the men in the balloon basket."Sure enough, it is a pig!" exclaimed the other. "And what a comical little chap he is!" he went on. "See the funny way he looks at you."At that moment Squinty looked up, as he often did, with one eye partly closed, the other open, and with one ear cocked frontwards, and the other backwards."Say, he's a cute one all right," said the first man. "Let's take him along.""What for?" asked his friend. "We'd only have to toss out as much sand as he weighs so we could go up.""Oh, let's take him along, anyhow," insisted the other. "Maybe he'll be a mascot for us.""Well, if he's a mascot, all right. Then we'll take him. We need some good luck on this trip."The next moment Squinty felt himself lifted off the ground.The next moment Squinty felt himself lifted off the ground.Squinty did not know what a mascot was. Perhaps he thought it was something good to eat. But I might say that a mascot is something which some persons think brings them good luck. Often baseball nines, or football elevens, will have a small boy, or a goat, or a dog whom they call their mascot. They take him along whenever they play games, thinking the mascot helps them to win. Of course it really does not, but there is no harm in a mascot, anyhow."Yes, we'll take him along in the balloon with us," said the taller of the two men. "See, he doesn't seem to be a bit afraid.""No, and look! He must be a trick pig! Maybe he got away from some circus!" cried the other man. For, at that moment Squinty stood up on his hind legs, as the boy had taught him, and walked over toward the big balloon basket. What he really wanted was something to eat, but the men did not know that."He surely is a cute little pig!" cried the tall man. "I'll lift him in. You toss out another bag of sand, and we'll go up."The next moment, before he could get out of the man's grasp if he had wanted to, Squinty felt himself lifted off the ground. He was put down in the bottom of the basket, which held many things, and, a second later, Squinty, the comical pig, felt himself flying upward through the air.Squinty was off on a trip in a balloon.
CHAPTER VSQUINTY AND THE BOYDid you ever have a little brother or sister who ran away from home, and was very glad to run back, or be brought back again, by a policeman, perhaps? Of course your little brother or sister may not have intended to run away, it may have been that they only wandered off, around the corner, toward the candy store, and could not find their way back again. But, when he or she did get home--how glad you were to see them! Weren't you?It was just like that at the pen where Squinty, the comical pig, lived. When the farmer picked him up, and dropped him down among his brothers and sisters, in the clean straw, Wuff-Wuff, Squealer, and Curly Tail, and the others, were so glad to see Squinty that they grunted, and squealed and walked all over one another, to be the first to get close to him."Oh, Squinty, where were you?""Where did you go?""What did you do?""Weren't you awfully scared?""Where did the dog find you?""Did he bite you very hard?"These were some of the questions Squinty's brothers and sisters asked of the little runaway pig. They pressed close up to him, rubbing their funny, wiggling, rubber-like noses against him, and snuggling up against him, for they liked Squinty very much indeed.Then, after the young pigs had had their turn, Mr. Pig and Mrs. Pig began asking questions."What made you run away?" asked Squinty's papa."Oh, I wanted to have an adventure," said Squinty."Well, did you have one?" asked his mamma."Oh, yes, lots of them," answered the little pig. "But I didn't find very much to eat." Squinty was very hungry now."Oh dear!" exclaimed Mrs. Pig. "You are just too late for supper. It is all eaten up. We did not see that you were not here until too late. It's too bad!"Squinty thought so himself, for the smell of the sour milk that had been in the feeding trough made him more hungry than ever.Squinty walked over and tried to find a few drops in the bottom of the wooden trough. These he licked up with his red tongue. But there was not nearly enough."Ha! I guess that little pig must be hungry," said the farmer looking down in the pen, after he had put some more stones and a board over the hole where Squinty had gotten out. "I guess I'll have to feed him, for the others have had their supper."And how glad Squinty was when the farmer went over to the barrel, where the pigs' feed was kept, and mixed a nice pailful of sour milk with some corn meal, and poured it into the trough."Squee! Squee!" cried Squinty as he made a rush over to get his supper."Squee! Squee!" cried all the other little pigs, as they, too, made a rush to get more to eat."Here! Hold on! Come back!" cried Mr. Pig. "That is Squinty's supper. You must not touch it. You have had yours!" and he and Mrs. Pig would not let Squinty's brothers and sisters shove him away from the trough. For sometimes pigs are so hungry that they do this, you know. Being pigs they know no better.So Squinty had his supper, after all, though he did run away. Perhaps he should have been punished by being sent to bed without having had anything to eat, but you see the farmer wanted his pigs to be fat and healthy, so he fed them well. Squinty was very glad of that."Now all of you go to sleep," said Mrs. Pig, when it grew darker and darker in the pen. So she made them all cuddle down in the straw, pulling it over them with her nose and paws, like a blanket, to keep them warm. For only part of the pen had a roof over it, and though it was summer, still it was cool at night.But Squinty's brothers and sisters had no notion of going to sleep so soon. They wanted to hear all about what had happened to him when he had run away, and they wanted him to tell them of his adventures. So they grunted and whispered among themselves."What happened to you, Squinty?" asked Wuff-Wuff."Oh, I had a fine swim in a brook," said Squinty."I wish that had happened to me," said Wuff-Wuff. "What else?""I found a nice field of corn," went on Squinty, "but I did not like the taste of it. I got lost in the cornfield.""That's too bad," said Wuff-Wuff. "Did anything else happen?""Yes, I found some pig weed, and ate that, and some little potatoes.""Oh, how nice!" exclaimed Twisty Tail. "I wish that had happened to me. Did you do anything else, Squinty?""Yes," said the comical little pig. "I saw something I thought was a potato, and it jumped away from me. It was a hoptoad.""That was funny," said Squealer. "I wish I had seen it. Did anything else happen?""Yes," said Squinty. "I thought I saw another potato, but when I bit on it I found it was only a stone, and it hurt my teeth.""That's too bad," said Wuff-Wuff. "I am glad that did not happen to me. Tell us what else you saw."But just then Mrs. Pig grunted out:"Come, now! All you little pigs must keep quiet and go to sleep. Go to sleep at once!"So Squinty and the others cuddled closer together, snuggled down in the soft straw, and soon were fast asleep. Now and then they stirred, or grunted during the night, but they did not wake up until morning. They were running around the pen before breakfast, squealing as loudly as they could, for the farmer to come and feed them. But the farmer had his cows and horses and chickens to feed, as well as the pigs, and he did not get to the pen until last. And when he did, all the pigs were so hungry, even Mr. and Mrs. Pig, that they were squealing as hard as they could."Yes, yes!" cried the farmer, as though he were talking to the pigs. "I'm coming as fast as I can."Soon the farmer poured some sour milk and corn meal down into the trough, and how eagerly Squinty and the others did eat it! Some of the smaller pigs even put two feet in the trough, they were so anxious to get their share. Squinty had an especially good appetite, from having run away, so perhaps he got a little more than the others.But finally the breakfast was all gone, and the pigs had nothing more to do until dinner time--that is, all they had to do was to lie down and rest, or get up now and then to scratch a mosquito, or a fly bite."Well, I guess none of you will get out again," said the farmer, after a while, as he nailed a bigger board over the hole by which Squinty had gotten out. "Don, watch these pigs," the farmer went on. "If they get out, grab them by the ear, and bring them back.""Bow wow!" barked Don, and that meant he would do as his master had told him.For several days after this nothing happened in the pigs' pen except that they were washed off with the hose now and then, to clean them of mud and make them cool. Once in a while the farmer would take a corn cob and scratch the back of Mr. or Mrs. Pig, and they liked this very much. The other pigs were almost too little for the farmer to reach over the top of the pen.One day the pigs heard merry shouts and laughter up at the farmhouse. There were the sounds of boys' and girls' voices. Then came the patter of many feet."Oh, look at the pigs!" someone cried, and Squinty, and his brothers and sisters, looking up, saw, over the edge of the pen, some boys and girls looking down on them."Oh, aren't they cute!" exclaimed a girl."Just lovely!" said another girl. "Pigs are so nice!""I wonder if any of them can do any tricks?" asked a boy who stood looking down into the pen."These aren't trained circus pigs," spoke one of the girls. "They can't do tricks."The boy and the girls stayed for a little while, watching the pigs. Then the boy said:"Let's pull some weeds and feed them.""Oh, yes, let's!" cried the girls. The pigs were glad when they heard this, and they were more glad when the boy and the girls threw pig weed, and other green things from the garden, into the pen. The pigs ate them all up, and wanted more.After that, for several days, Squinty and his brothers and sisters could hear the boy and the girls running about the garden, but they could not see them because the boards around the pig pen were too high. The boy and the girls seemed to be having a fine time.Squinty could hear them talking about hunting the hens' eggs, and feeding the little calves and sheep, and riding on the backs of horses.Then, one day Squinty looked up out of the pen, and, leaning over the top board he saw the farmer, the boy and another man."Oh, Father!" exclaimed the boy, "do let me have just one little pig. They are so nice!"'Oh, Father!' exclaimed the boy, 'do let me have just one little pig.''Oh, Father!' exclaimed the boy, 'do let me have just one little pig.'"A pig!" cried Father. "What would you do with a pig in our town? We are not in the country. Where would you keep a pig?""Oh, I could build a little pen for him in our yard. Look, let me have that one, he is so pink and pretty and clean.""Ha! So you want that pig, do you?" asked the farmer. The boy and his father and sisters were paying a visit to the farm."Yes, I want a pig very much!" the boy said. "And I think I'd like that one," and he pointed straight at Squinty. Poor Squinty ran and tried to hide under the straw, for he knew the boy was talking about him."Oh, see him run!" cried the boy. "Yes, I think he is the nicest pig in the lot. I want him. Has he any name?""Well, we call him Squinty," the farmer said. "He has a funny, squinting eye.""Then I'll call him Squinty, too," the boy went on. "Please, Father, may I have that little pig?""Well, I don't know," said his father slowly, scratching his head. "A pig is a queer pet. I suppose you might have him, though. You could keep him in the back yard. Yes, I guess you could have him, if Mr. Jones will sell him, and if the pig will behave. Do you think that little pig will be good, Mr. Jones?" asked the father of the farmer man."Well, yes, I guess so," answered the farmer. "He has run away out of the pen a couple of times, but if you board up a place good and tight, I guess he won't get out.""Oh, I do hope he'll be good!" exclaimed the boy. "I do so want a little pet pig, and I'll be so kind to him!"When Squinty heard that, he made up his mind, if the boy took him, that he would be as good as he knew how."When can I have my little pig?" asked the boy, of his father."Oh, as soon as Mr. Jones can put him in a box, so we can carry him," was the answer. "We can't very well take him in our arms; he would slip out and run away.""I guess so, too," laughed the boy.
CHAPTER V
SQUINTY AND THE BOY
Did you ever have a little brother or sister who ran away from home, and was very glad to run back, or be brought back again, by a policeman, perhaps? Of course your little brother or sister may not have intended to run away, it may have been that they only wandered off, around the corner, toward the candy store, and could not find their way back again. But, when he or she did get home--how glad you were to see them! Weren't you?
It was just like that at the pen where Squinty, the comical pig, lived. When the farmer picked him up, and dropped him down among his brothers and sisters, in the clean straw, Wuff-Wuff, Squealer, and Curly Tail, and the others, were so glad to see Squinty that they grunted, and squealed and walked all over one another, to be the first to get close to him.
"Oh, Squinty, where were you?"
"Where did you go?"
"What did you do?"
"Weren't you awfully scared?"
"Where did the dog find you?"
"Did he bite you very hard?"
These were some of the questions Squinty's brothers and sisters asked of the little runaway pig. They pressed close up to him, rubbing their funny, wiggling, rubber-like noses against him, and snuggling up against him, for they liked Squinty very much indeed.
Then, after the young pigs had had their turn, Mr. Pig and Mrs. Pig began asking questions.
"What made you run away?" asked Squinty's papa.
"Oh, I wanted to have an adventure," said Squinty.
"Well, did you have one?" asked his mamma.
"Oh, yes, lots of them," answered the little pig. "But I didn't find very much to eat." Squinty was very hungry now.
"Oh dear!" exclaimed Mrs. Pig. "You are just too late for supper. It is all eaten up. We did not see that you were not here until too late. It's too bad!"
Squinty thought so himself, for the smell of the sour milk that had been in the feeding trough made him more hungry than ever.
Squinty walked over and tried to find a few drops in the bottom of the wooden trough. These he licked up with his red tongue. But there was not nearly enough.
"Ha! I guess that little pig must be hungry," said the farmer looking down in the pen, after he had put some more stones and a board over the hole where Squinty had gotten out. "I guess I'll have to feed him, for the others have had their supper."
And how glad Squinty was when the farmer went over to the barrel, where the pigs' feed was kept, and mixed a nice pailful of sour milk with some corn meal, and poured it into the trough.
"Squee! Squee!" cried Squinty as he made a rush over to get his supper.
"Squee! Squee!" cried all the other little pigs, as they, too, made a rush to get more to eat.
"Here! Hold on! Come back!" cried Mr. Pig. "That is Squinty's supper. You must not touch it. You have had yours!" and he and Mrs. Pig would not let Squinty's brothers and sisters shove him away from the trough. For sometimes pigs are so hungry that they do this, you know. Being pigs they know no better.
So Squinty had his supper, after all, though he did run away. Perhaps he should have been punished by being sent to bed without having had anything to eat, but you see the farmer wanted his pigs to be fat and healthy, so he fed them well. Squinty was very glad of that.
"Now all of you go to sleep," said Mrs. Pig, when it grew darker and darker in the pen. So she made them all cuddle down in the straw, pulling it over them with her nose and paws, like a blanket, to keep them warm. For only part of the pen had a roof over it, and though it was summer, still it was cool at night.
But Squinty's brothers and sisters had no notion of going to sleep so soon. They wanted to hear all about what had happened to him when he had run away, and they wanted him to tell them of his adventures. So they grunted and whispered among themselves.
"What happened to you, Squinty?" asked Wuff-Wuff.
"Oh, I had a fine swim in a brook," said Squinty.
"I wish that had happened to me," said Wuff-Wuff. "What else?"
"I found a nice field of corn," went on Squinty, "but I did not like the taste of it. I got lost in the cornfield."
"That's too bad," said Wuff-Wuff. "Did anything else happen?"
"Yes, I found some pig weed, and ate that, and some little potatoes."
"Oh, how nice!" exclaimed Twisty Tail. "I wish that had happened to me. Did you do anything else, Squinty?"
"Yes," said the comical little pig. "I saw something I thought was a potato, and it jumped away from me. It was a hoptoad."
"That was funny," said Squealer. "I wish I had seen it. Did anything else happen?"
"Yes," said Squinty. "I thought I saw another potato, but when I bit on it I found it was only a stone, and it hurt my teeth."
"That's too bad," said Wuff-Wuff. "I am glad that did not happen to me. Tell us what else you saw."
But just then Mrs. Pig grunted out:
"Come, now! All you little pigs must keep quiet and go to sleep. Go to sleep at once!"
So Squinty and the others cuddled closer together, snuggled down in the soft straw, and soon were fast asleep. Now and then they stirred, or grunted during the night, but they did not wake up until morning. They were running around the pen before breakfast, squealing as loudly as they could, for the farmer to come and feed them. But the farmer had his cows and horses and chickens to feed, as well as the pigs, and he did not get to the pen until last. And when he did, all the pigs were so hungry, even Mr. and Mrs. Pig, that they were squealing as hard as they could.
"Yes, yes!" cried the farmer, as though he were talking to the pigs. "I'm coming as fast as I can."
Soon the farmer poured some sour milk and corn meal down into the trough, and how eagerly Squinty and the others did eat it! Some of the smaller pigs even put two feet in the trough, they were so anxious to get their share. Squinty had an especially good appetite, from having run away, so perhaps he got a little more than the others.
But finally the breakfast was all gone, and the pigs had nothing more to do until dinner time--that is, all they had to do was to lie down and rest, or get up now and then to scratch a mosquito, or a fly bite.
"Well, I guess none of you will get out again," said the farmer, after a while, as he nailed a bigger board over the hole by which Squinty had gotten out. "Don, watch these pigs," the farmer went on. "If they get out, grab them by the ear, and bring them back."
"Bow wow!" barked Don, and that meant he would do as his master had told him.
For several days after this nothing happened in the pigs' pen except that they were washed off with the hose now and then, to clean them of mud and make them cool. Once in a while the farmer would take a corn cob and scratch the back of Mr. or Mrs. Pig, and they liked this very much. The other pigs were almost too little for the farmer to reach over the top of the pen.
One day the pigs heard merry shouts and laughter up at the farmhouse. There were the sounds of boys' and girls' voices. Then came the patter of many feet.
"Oh, look at the pigs!" someone cried, and Squinty, and his brothers and sisters, looking up, saw, over the edge of the pen, some boys and girls looking down on them.
"Oh, aren't they cute!" exclaimed a girl.
"Just lovely!" said another girl. "Pigs are so nice!"
"I wonder if any of them can do any tricks?" asked a boy who stood looking down into the pen.
"These aren't trained circus pigs," spoke one of the girls. "They can't do tricks."
The boy and the girls stayed for a little while, watching the pigs. Then the boy said:
"Let's pull some weeds and feed them."
"Oh, yes, let's!" cried the girls. The pigs were glad when they heard this, and they were more glad when the boy and the girls threw pig weed, and other green things from the garden, into the pen. The pigs ate them all up, and wanted more.
After that, for several days, Squinty and his brothers and sisters could hear the boy and the girls running about the garden, but they could not see them because the boards around the pig pen were too high. The boy and the girls seemed to be having a fine time.
Squinty could hear them talking about hunting the hens' eggs, and feeding the little calves and sheep, and riding on the backs of horses.
Then, one day Squinty looked up out of the pen, and, leaning over the top board he saw the farmer, the boy and another man.
"Oh, Father!" exclaimed the boy, "do let me have just one little pig. They are so nice!"
'Oh, Father!' exclaimed the boy, 'do let me have just one little pig.'
"A pig!" cried Father. "What would you do with a pig in our town? We are not in the country. Where would you keep a pig?"
"Oh, I could build a little pen for him in our yard. Look, let me have that one, he is so pink and pretty and clean."
"Ha! So you want that pig, do you?" asked the farmer. The boy and his father and sisters were paying a visit to the farm.
"Yes, I want a pig very much!" the boy said. "And I think I'd like that one," and he pointed straight at Squinty. Poor Squinty ran and tried to hide under the straw, for he knew the boy was talking about him.
"Oh, see him run!" cried the boy. "Yes, I think he is the nicest pig in the lot. I want him. Has he any name?"
"Well, we call him Squinty," the farmer said. "He has a funny, squinting eye."
"Then I'll call him Squinty, too," the boy went on. "Please, Father, may I have that little pig?"
"Well, I don't know," said his father slowly, scratching his head. "A pig is a queer pet. I suppose you might have him, though. You could keep him in the back yard. Yes, I guess you could have him, if Mr. Jones will sell him, and if the pig will behave. Do you think that little pig will be good, Mr. Jones?" asked the father of the farmer man.
"Well, yes, I guess so," answered the farmer. "He has run away out of the pen a couple of times, but if you board up a place good and tight, I guess he won't get out."
"Oh, I do hope he'll be good!" exclaimed the boy. "I do so want a little pet pig, and I'll be so kind to him!"
When Squinty heard that, he made up his mind, if the boy took him, that he would be as good as he knew how.
"When can I have my little pig?" asked the boy, of his father.
"Oh, as soon as Mr. Jones can put him in a box, so we can carry him," was the answer. "We can't very well take him in our arms; he would slip out and run away."
"I guess so, too," laughed the boy.
CHAPTER VISQUINTY ON A JOURNEY"Mamma, did you hear what they were saying about Squinty?" asked Wuff-Wuff, as the boy and the two men walked away from the pig pen."Oh, yes, I heard," said Mrs. Pig. "I shall be sorry to lose Squinty, but then we pigs have to go out and take our places in this world. We cannot always stay at home in the pen.""Yes, that is so," spoke Mr. Pig. "But Squinty is rather young and small to start out. However, it may all be for the best. Now, Squinty, you had better keep yourself nice and clean, so as to be ready to go on a journey.""What's a journey?" asked the comical little pig, squinting his eye up at the papa pig."A journey is going away from home," answered Mr. Pig."And does it mean having adventures?" asked Squinty, flopping his ears backward and forward."Yes, you may have some adventures," replied his mother. "Oh dear, Squinty! I wish you didn't have to go and leave us. But still, it may be all for your good.""We might hide him under the straw," suggested Wuff-Wuff. "Then that boy could not find him when he comes to put him in a box, and take him away.""No, that would never do," said Mr. Pig. "The farmer is stronger and smarter than we are. He would find Squinty, no matter where we hid him. It is better to let him do as he pleases, and take Squinty away, though we shall all miss him.""Oh dear!" cried Curly Tail, for she liked her little brother very much, and she loved to see him look at her with his funny, squinting eye. "Do you want to go, Squinty?""Well, I don't want to leave you all," answered the comical little pig, "but I shall be glad to go on a journey, and have adventures. I hope I don't get lost again, though.""I guess the boy won't let you get lost," spoke Mr. Pig. "He looks as though he would be kind and good to you."The pig family did not know when Squinty would be taken away from them, and all they could do was to wait. While they were doing this they ate and slept as they always did. Squinty, several times, looked at the hole under the pen, by which he had once gotten out. He felt sure he could again push his way through, and run away. But he did not do it."No, I will wait and let the boy take me away," thought Squinty.Several times after this the boy and his sisters came to look down into the pig pen. The pigs could tell, by the talk of the children, that they were brother and sisters. And they had come to the farm to spend their summer vacation, when there was no school."That's the pig I am going to take home with me," the boy would say to his sisters, pointing to Squinty."How can you tell which one is yours?" asked one of the little girls."I can tell by his funny squint," the boy would answer. "He always makes me want to laugh.""Well, I am glad I am of some use in this world," thought Squinty, who could understand nearly all that the boy and his sisters said. "It is something just to be jolly.""I wouldn't want a pig," said the other girl. "They grunt and squeal and are not clean. I'd rather have a rabbit.""Pigs are so clean!" cried the boy. "Squinty is as clean as a rabbit!"Only that day Squinty had rolled over and over in the mud, but he had had a bath from the hose, so he was clean now. And he made up his mind that if the boy took him he would never again get in the mud and become covered with dirt."I will keep myself clean and jolly," thought Squinty.A few days after this Squinty heard the noise of hammering and sawing wood outside the pig pen."The farmer must be building another barn," said Mr. Pig, for he and his family could not see outside the pen. "Yes, he must be building another barn, for once before we heard the sounds of hammering and sawing, and then a new barn was built."But that was not what it was this time.Soon the sounds stopped, and the farmer and the boy came and looked down into the pig pen."Now you are sure you want that squinty one?" the farmer asked the boy. "Some of the others are bigger and better.""No, I want the squinty one," the boy said. "He is so comical, he makes me laugh.""All right," answered the farmer. "I'll get him for you, now that you have the crate all made to carry him home in on the cars."Over into the pig pen jumped the farmer. He made a grab for Squinty and caught him."Squee! Squee! Squee!" squealed Squinty, for he had never been squeezed so tightly before."Oh, I'm not going to hurt you," said the farmer, kindly."Squinty, be quiet," ordered his papa, in the pig language. "Behave yourself. You are going on a journey, and will be all right."Then Squinty stopped squealing, as the farmer climbed out of the pen with him."At last I am going on a journey, and I may have many adventures," thought the little pig. "Good-by!" he called to his papa and mamma and brothers and sisters, left behind in the pen. "Good-by!""Good-by!" they all grunted and squealed. "Be a good pig," said his mamma."Be a brave pig," said his papa."And--and come back and see us, sometime," sniffled little Curly Tail, for she loved Squinty very much indeed."I'll come back!" said the comical little pig. But he did not know how much was to happen before he saw his pen again."There you go--into the box with you!" cried the farmer, as he dropped Squinty into a wooden box the boy had made for his pet, with a hammer, saw and nails.Squinty found himself dropped down on a bed of clean straw. In front of him, behind him, and on either side of him were wooden slats--the sides of the box. Squinty could look out, but the slats were as close together as those in a chicken coop, and the little pig could not get out.He did not want to, however, for he had made up his mind that he was going to be a good pig, and go with the boy who had bought him for a pet from the farmer.Over the top of the box was nailed a cover with a handle to it, and by this handle the pig in the little cage could be easily carried."There you are!" exclaimed the farmer. "Now he'll be all right until you get him home.""And, when I do, I'll put him in a nice big pen, and feed him well," said the boy. Squinty smacked his lips at that, for he was hungry even now."Oh, have you caged him up? Isn't he cute!" exclaimed one of the boy's sisters. "I'll give him the core of my apple," and she thrust it in through the slats of the box. Squinty was very glad, indeed, to get the apple core, and he soon ate it up."Come on!" cried the boy's father. "Is the pig nailed up? We must go for the train!""I wonder what the train is," thought Squinty. He was soon to know. The boy lifted him up, cage and all, and put him into the wagon that was to go to the depot. Squinty knew what a wagon was and horses, for he had seen them many times.Then away they started. Squinty gave a loud squeal, which was his last good-by to the other pigs in the pen, and then the wagon rattled away along the road.Squinty had started on his journey.
CHAPTER VI
SQUINTY ON A JOURNEY
"Mamma, did you hear what they were saying about Squinty?" asked Wuff-Wuff, as the boy and the two men walked away from the pig pen.
"Oh, yes, I heard," said Mrs. Pig. "I shall be sorry to lose Squinty, but then we pigs have to go out and take our places in this world. We cannot always stay at home in the pen."
"Yes, that is so," spoke Mr. Pig. "But Squinty is rather young and small to start out. However, it may all be for the best. Now, Squinty, you had better keep yourself nice and clean, so as to be ready to go on a journey."
"What's a journey?" asked the comical little pig, squinting his eye up at the papa pig.
"A journey is going away from home," answered Mr. Pig.
"And does it mean having adventures?" asked Squinty, flopping his ears backward and forward.
"Yes, you may have some adventures," replied his mother. "Oh dear, Squinty! I wish you didn't have to go and leave us. But still, it may be all for your good."
"We might hide him under the straw," suggested Wuff-Wuff. "Then that boy could not find him when he comes to put him in a box, and take him away."
"No, that would never do," said Mr. Pig. "The farmer is stronger and smarter than we are. He would find Squinty, no matter where we hid him. It is better to let him do as he pleases, and take Squinty away, though we shall all miss him."
"Oh dear!" cried Curly Tail, for she liked her little brother very much, and she loved to see him look at her with his funny, squinting eye. "Do you want to go, Squinty?"
"Well, I don't want to leave you all," answered the comical little pig, "but I shall be glad to go on a journey, and have adventures. I hope I don't get lost again, though."
"I guess the boy won't let you get lost," spoke Mr. Pig. "He looks as though he would be kind and good to you."
The pig family did not know when Squinty would be taken away from them, and all they could do was to wait. While they were doing this they ate and slept as they always did. Squinty, several times, looked at the hole under the pen, by which he had once gotten out. He felt sure he could again push his way through, and run away. But he did not do it.
"No, I will wait and let the boy take me away," thought Squinty.
Several times after this the boy and his sisters came to look down into the pig pen. The pigs could tell, by the talk of the children, that they were brother and sisters. And they had come to the farm to spend their summer vacation, when there was no school.
"That's the pig I am going to take home with me," the boy would say to his sisters, pointing to Squinty.
"How can you tell which one is yours?" asked one of the little girls.
"I can tell by his funny squint," the boy would answer. "He always makes me want to laugh."
"Well, I am glad I am of some use in this world," thought Squinty, who could understand nearly all that the boy and his sisters said. "It is something just to be jolly."
"I wouldn't want a pig," said the other girl. "They grunt and squeal and are not clean. I'd rather have a rabbit."
"Pigs are so clean!" cried the boy. "Squinty is as clean as a rabbit!"
Only that day Squinty had rolled over and over in the mud, but he had had a bath from the hose, so he was clean now. And he made up his mind that if the boy took him he would never again get in the mud and become covered with dirt.
"I will keep myself clean and jolly," thought Squinty.
A few days after this Squinty heard the noise of hammering and sawing wood outside the pig pen.
"The farmer must be building another barn," said Mr. Pig, for he and his family could not see outside the pen. "Yes, he must be building another barn, for once before we heard the sounds of hammering and sawing, and then a new barn was built."
But that was not what it was this time.
Soon the sounds stopped, and the farmer and the boy came and looked down into the pig pen.
"Now you are sure you want that squinty one?" the farmer asked the boy. "Some of the others are bigger and better."
"No, I want the squinty one," the boy said. "He is so comical, he makes me laugh."
"All right," answered the farmer. "I'll get him for you, now that you have the crate all made to carry him home in on the cars."
Over into the pig pen jumped the farmer. He made a grab for Squinty and caught him.
"Squee! Squee! Squee!" squealed Squinty, for he had never been squeezed so tightly before.
"Oh, I'm not going to hurt you," said the farmer, kindly.
"Squinty, be quiet," ordered his papa, in the pig language. "Behave yourself. You are going on a journey, and will be all right."
Then Squinty stopped squealing, as the farmer climbed out of the pen with him.
"At last I am going on a journey, and I may have many adventures," thought the little pig. "Good-by!" he called to his papa and mamma and brothers and sisters, left behind in the pen. "Good-by!"
"Good-by!" they all grunted and squealed. "Be a good pig," said his mamma.
"Be a brave pig," said his papa.
"And--and come back and see us, sometime," sniffled little Curly Tail, for she loved Squinty very much indeed.
"I'll come back!" said the comical little pig. But he did not know how much was to happen before he saw his pen again.
"There you go--into the box with you!" cried the farmer, as he dropped Squinty into a wooden box the boy had made for his pet, with a hammer, saw and nails.
Squinty found himself dropped down on a bed of clean straw. In front of him, behind him, and on either side of him were wooden slats--the sides of the box. Squinty could look out, but the slats were as close together as those in a chicken coop, and the little pig could not get out.
He did not want to, however, for he had made up his mind that he was going to be a good pig, and go with the boy who had bought him for a pet from the farmer.
Over the top of the box was nailed a cover with a handle to it, and by this handle the pig in the little cage could be easily carried.
"There you are!" exclaimed the farmer. "Now he'll be all right until you get him home."
"And, when I do, I'll put him in a nice big pen, and feed him well," said the boy. Squinty smacked his lips at that, for he was hungry even now.
"Oh, have you caged him up? Isn't he cute!" exclaimed one of the boy's sisters. "I'll give him the core of my apple," and she thrust it in through the slats of the box. Squinty was very glad, indeed, to get the apple core, and he soon ate it up.
"Come on!" cried the boy's father. "Is the pig nailed up? We must go for the train!"
"I wonder what the train is," thought Squinty. He was soon to know. The boy lifted him up, cage and all, and put him into the wagon that was to go to the depot. Squinty knew what a wagon was and horses, for he had seen them many times.
Then away they started. Squinty gave a loud squeal, which was his last good-by to the other pigs in the pen, and then the wagon rattled away along the road.
Squinty had started on his journey.
CHAPTER VIISQUINTY LEARNS A TRICKSquinty, the comical pig, tried to look out through the slats of the box, in which he was being taken away, to see in which direction he was going. He also wanted to watch the different sights along the road. But the sides of the farm wagon were so high that the little pig could see nothing. He stretched his fat neck as far as it would go, but that did no good either. Squinty wished he were as big as his papa or his mamma."Then I could see what is going on," he thought.But just wishing never made anyone larger or taller, not even a pig, and Squinty stayed the same size.He could hear the farmer and the children talking. Now and then the boy who had bought Squinty, and who was taking him home, would look around at his pet in the slatted box."Is he all right?" one of the girls would ask."He seems to be," the boy would say. "I am glad I got him.""Well, he acts real cute," said another girl, who was called Sallie, "but I never heard of having a pig for a pet before.""You just wait until I teach him some tricks," said the boy, whose name was Bob. "Then you'll think he's fine!""Ha! So I am to learn tricks," thought Squinty in his box. "I wonder what tricks are, anyhow? Does it mean I am to have good things to eat? I hope so."You see Squinty, like most little pigs, thought more of something to eat than of anything else. But we must not blame him for that, since he could not help it.Pretty soon the wagon rattled over some stones, and then came to a stop."Here we are!" called the children's father. "Bring along your little pig, Bob. Here comes the train.""Ha! It seems I am to go on a train," thought Squinty. "I wonder what a train is?"Squinty had many things to learn, didn't he?The little pig in the box felt himself being lifted out of the wagon. Then he could look about him. He saw a large building, in front of which were long, slender strips of shining steel. These were the railroad tracks, but Squinty did not know that. Then all at once, Squinty heard a loud noise, which went like this:"Whee! Whee! Whee-whee!""Oh my! what a loud squeal that pig has!" exclaimed Squinty. "He can squeal much louder than I can, I think. Let me try."So Squinty went:"Squee! Squee! Squee!"And then the big noise sounded again, louder than before:"Whee! Whee! Toot! Toot!""Oh my!" said Squinty to himself, snuggling down in the straw of his box. "I never can squeal as loud as that. Never!"He looked out and saw a big black thing rushing toward him, with smoke coming out of the top, and then the big black thing cried out again:"Whee! Whee! Toot! Toot!""Oh, what a terrible, big black pig!" thought Squinty. And he was a bit frightened. But it was not a big black pig at all. It was only the engine drawing the train of cars up to the station to take the passengers away. And it was going to take Squinty, also.Squinty thought the engine whistle was a pig's squeal, but it wasn't, of course.Pretty soon the train stopped. The passengers made a rush to get in the cars. Bob, the boy, caught up the handle of Squinty's box, and, after some bumping and tilting sideways, the little pig found himself set down in a rather dark place, for the boy had put the box on the floor of the car by his seat, near his feet.And there Squinty rode, seeing nothing, but hearing many strange noises, until, after many stops, he was lifted up again."Here we are!" the little pig heard the children's papa say. "Have you everything? Don't forget your pig, Bob.""I won't," answered the boy, with a jolly laugh."Well, I wonder what will happen next?" thought Squinty, as he felt himself being carried along again. He could see nothing but a crowd of persons all about the boy who carried the box."I don't know whether I am going to like this or not--this coming to live in town," thought the little pig. "Still, I cannot help myself, I suppose. But I do wish I had something to eat."I guess the boy must have known Squinty was hungry, for, when he next set down the box, this time in a carriage, the boy gave the little pig a whole apple to eat. And how good it did taste to Squinty!"Are you going to make a pen for him?" asked one of the boy's sisters, as the carriage drove off."Yes, as soon as we get to the house," said the boy.By this time Squinty was thirsty. There was no water in his cage, but, a little later, when he saw through the slats, that he was being carried toward a large, white house, he was given a tin of water to drink."I'll just leave him in that box until I can fix a larger one for him," the boy said, and then, for a while, Squinty was left all to himself. But he was still in the box, though the box was set in a shady place on the back porch.All this while Mr. Pig and Mrs. Pig, as well as the brother and sister pigs, in the pen at home, were wondering what had happened to Squinty."Where do you think he is now, Mamma?" Wuff-Wuff would ask."Oh, I don't know," Mrs. Pig answered."And will he ever come back to us?" asked Twisty Tail."Perhaps, some day. I hope so," said Mrs. Pig, sort of sighing."Oh, yes, I think he will," said Mr. Pig. "When he gets quite large the boy will get tired of having him for a pet, and perhaps bring him back.""Were you ever carried off that way, Papa?" asked Grunter, as he rubbed his back, where a mosquito had bitten him, against the side of the pen."Oh, yes, once," answered Mr. Pig. "I was taken away from my pen, when I was pretty large, and given to a little girl for a pet. But she did not keep me long. I guess she would rather have had her dolls, so I was soon brought back to my pen. And I was glad of it.""Well, I hope they will soon bring Squinty back," Wuff-Wuff said. "It is lonesome without him."But, after a while, the other pigs found so many things to do, and they were kept so busy, eating sour milk, and getting fat, that they nearly forgot about Squinty.But, all this time, something was happening to the comical little pig.Toward evening of the first day that Squinty had been put in the new little cage, the boy, who had not been near him in some time, came back to look at his pet."Now I have a larger place for you," the boy said, speaking just as though Squinty could understand him. And, in fact, Squinty did know much of what was said to him, though he could not talk back in boy language, being able to speak only his own pig talk."And I guess you are hungry, too, and want something to eat," the boy went on. "I will feed you!""Squee! Squee! Squee!" squealed Squinty. If there was one word in man-talk that he understood very well, it was "feed." He had often heard the farmer say:"Well, now I must feed the pigs."And right after that, some nice sour milk would come splashing down into the trough of the pen. So when Squinty heard the word "feed" again, he guessed what was going to happen.And he guessed right, too.The boy picked Squinty up, box and all, and carried him to the back yard."Now I'll give you more room to run about, and then I'll have a nice supper for you," the boy said, talking to his little pig just as you would to your dog, or kittie.With a hammer the boy knocked off some of the slats of the small box in which Squinty had made his journey. Then the boy lifted out the comical little pig, and Squinty found himself inside a large box, very much like the pen at home. It had clean straw in it, and a little trough, just like the one at his "home," where he could eat. But there was nothing in the trough to eat, as yet, and the box seemed quite lonesome, for Squinty was all alone."Here you are now! Some nice sour milk, and boiled potatoes!" cried the boy, and then Squinty smelled the most delicious smell--to him at least. Down into the trough came the sour milk and potatoes."Squee! Squee!" yelled Squinty in delight, And how fast he ate! That was because he was hungry, you see, but pigs nearly always eat fast, as though they were continually in a hurry."Oh, isn't it cute!" exclaimed a voice over Squinty's head. He looked up, half shutting his one funny eye, and cocking one ear up, and letting the other droop down. But he did not stop eating."Oh, isn't he funny!" cried another voice. And Squinty saw the boy and his sisters looking at him."Yes, he surely is a nice pig," the boy said, "In a few days, when he gets over being strange, I'm going to teach him some tricks.""Ha! There's that word tricks again!" thought Squinty. "I wonder what tricks are? But I shall very soon find out."For a few days Squinty was rather lonesome in his new pen, all by himself. He missed his papa and mamma and brothers and sisters. But the boy came to see Squinty every day, bringing him nice things to eat, and, after a bit, Squinty came to look for his new friend."I guess you are getting to know me, aren't you, old fellow?" the boy said one day, after feeding Squinty, and he scratched the little pig on the back with a stick."Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty. That, I suppose, was his way of saying:"Of course I know you, and I like you, boy."One day, about a week after he had come to his new home, Squinty heard the boy say:"Now I think you are tame enough to be let out. I don't believe you will run away, will you? But, anyhow, I'll tie a string to your leg, and then you can't."Squinty wished he could speak boy language, and tell his friend that he would not run away as long as he was kindly treated, but of course Squinty could not do this. Instead, he could only grunt and squeal.The boy tied a string to Squinty's leg, and let him out of the pen. The comical little pig was glad to have more room in which to move about. He walked first to one side, and then the other, rooting in the dirt with his funny, rubbery nose. The boy laughed to see him."I guess you are looking for something to eat," the boy said. "Well, let's see if you can find these acorns."The boy hid them under a pile of dirt, and watched. Squinty smelled about, and sniffed. He could easily tell where the acorns had been hidden, and, a moment later, he had rooted them up and was eating them."Oh, you funny little pig!" cried the boy. "You are real smart! You know how to find acorns. That is one trick.""Ha! If that is a trick, it is a very easy one--just rooting up acorns," thought Squinty to himself.Squinty walked around, as far as the rope tied to his leg would let him. The other end of the rope was held by the boy. Once the rope got tangled around Squinty's foot, and he jumped over it to get free. The boy saw him and cried:"Oh, I wonder if I could teach you to jump the rope? That would be a fine trick. Let me see."The boy thought a moment, and then lifted Squinty up, and set him down on one side of the rope, which he raised a little way from the ground, just as girls do when they are playing a skipping game.Squinty gave a little spring, and over the rope he went.Squinty gave a little spring, and over the rope he went.On the other side of the rope the boy put an apple."Now, Squinty," said Bob, "if you want that apple you must jump the rope to get it. Come on."At first Squinty did not understand what was wanted of him. He saw nothing but the apple, and thought how much he wanted it. He started for it, but, before he could get it the boy pulled up the rope in front of him. The rope stopped Squinty."Jump over the rope if you want the apple," said the boy. Of course Squinty could not exactly understand this talk. He tried once more to get the apple, but, every time he did, he found the rope in front of him, in the way."Well!" exclaimed Squinty to himself, "I am going to get that apple, rope or no rope. I guess I'll have to get over the rope somehow."So the next time he started for the juicy apple, and the rope was pulled up in front of him, Squinty gave a little spring, and over the rope he went, jumping with all four legs, coming down on the other side, like a circus man jumping over the elephant's back."Oh, fine! Good!" cried the boy, clapping his hands. "Squinty has learned to do another trick!""Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, as he chewed the apple. "So that's another trick, is it?"
CHAPTER VII
SQUINTY LEARNS A TRICK
Squinty, the comical pig, tried to look out through the slats of the box, in which he was being taken away, to see in which direction he was going. He also wanted to watch the different sights along the road. But the sides of the farm wagon were so high that the little pig could see nothing. He stretched his fat neck as far as it would go, but that did no good either. Squinty wished he were as big as his papa or his mamma.
"Then I could see what is going on," he thought.
But just wishing never made anyone larger or taller, not even a pig, and Squinty stayed the same size.
He could hear the farmer and the children talking. Now and then the boy who had bought Squinty, and who was taking him home, would look around at his pet in the slatted box.
"Is he all right?" one of the girls would ask.
"He seems to be," the boy would say. "I am glad I got him."
"Well, he acts real cute," said another girl, who was called Sallie, "but I never heard of having a pig for a pet before."
"You just wait until I teach him some tricks," said the boy, whose name was Bob. "Then you'll think he's fine!"
"Ha! So I am to learn tricks," thought Squinty in his box. "I wonder what tricks are, anyhow? Does it mean I am to have good things to eat? I hope so."
You see Squinty, like most little pigs, thought more of something to eat than of anything else. But we must not blame him for that, since he could not help it.
Pretty soon the wagon rattled over some stones, and then came to a stop.
"Here we are!" called the children's father. "Bring along your little pig, Bob. Here comes the train."
"Ha! It seems I am to go on a train," thought Squinty. "I wonder what a train is?"
Squinty had many things to learn, didn't he?
The little pig in the box felt himself being lifted out of the wagon. Then he could look about him. He saw a large building, in front of which were long, slender strips of shining steel. These were the railroad tracks, but Squinty did not know that. Then all at once, Squinty heard a loud noise, which went like this:
"Whee! Whee! Whee-whee!"
"Oh my! what a loud squeal that pig has!" exclaimed Squinty. "He can squeal much louder than I can, I think. Let me try."
So Squinty went:
"Squee! Squee! Squee!"
And then the big noise sounded again, louder than before:
"Whee! Whee! Toot! Toot!"
"Oh my!" said Squinty to himself, snuggling down in the straw of his box. "I never can squeal as loud as that. Never!"
He looked out and saw a big black thing rushing toward him, with smoke coming out of the top, and then the big black thing cried out again:
"Whee! Whee! Toot! Toot!"
"Oh, what a terrible, big black pig!" thought Squinty. And he was a bit frightened. But it was not a big black pig at all. It was only the engine drawing the train of cars up to the station to take the passengers away. And it was going to take Squinty, also.
Squinty thought the engine whistle was a pig's squeal, but it wasn't, of course.
Pretty soon the train stopped. The passengers made a rush to get in the cars. Bob, the boy, caught up the handle of Squinty's box, and, after some bumping and tilting sideways, the little pig found himself set down in a rather dark place, for the boy had put the box on the floor of the car by his seat, near his feet.
And there Squinty rode, seeing nothing, but hearing many strange noises, until, after many stops, he was lifted up again.
"Here we are!" the little pig heard the children's papa say. "Have you everything? Don't forget your pig, Bob."
"I won't," answered the boy, with a jolly laugh.
"Well, I wonder what will happen next?" thought Squinty, as he felt himself being carried along again. He could see nothing but a crowd of persons all about the boy who carried the box.
"I don't know whether I am going to like this or not--this coming to live in town," thought the little pig. "Still, I cannot help myself, I suppose. But I do wish I had something to eat."
I guess the boy must have known Squinty was hungry, for, when he next set down the box, this time in a carriage, the boy gave the little pig a whole apple to eat. And how good it did taste to Squinty!
"Are you going to make a pen for him?" asked one of the boy's sisters, as the carriage drove off.
"Yes, as soon as we get to the house," said the boy.
By this time Squinty was thirsty. There was no water in his cage, but, a little later, when he saw through the slats, that he was being carried toward a large, white house, he was given a tin of water to drink.
"I'll just leave him in that box until I can fix a larger one for him," the boy said, and then, for a while, Squinty was left all to himself. But he was still in the box, though the box was set in a shady place on the back porch.
All this while Mr. Pig and Mrs. Pig, as well as the brother and sister pigs, in the pen at home, were wondering what had happened to Squinty.
"Where do you think he is now, Mamma?" Wuff-Wuff would ask.
"Oh, I don't know," Mrs. Pig answered.
"And will he ever come back to us?" asked Twisty Tail.
"Perhaps, some day. I hope so," said Mrs. Pig, sort of sighing.
"Oh, yes, I think he will," said Mr. Pig. "When he gets quite large the boy will get tired of having him for a pet, and perhaps bring him back."
"Were you ever carried off that way, Papa?" asked Grunter, as he rubbed his back, where a mosquito had bitten him, against the side of the pen.
"Oh, yes, once," answered Mr. Pig. "I was taken away from my pen, when I was pretty large, and given to a little girl for a pet. But she did not keep me long. I guess she would rather have had her dolls, so I was soon brought back to my pen. And I was glad of it."
"Well, I hope they will soon bring Squinty back," Wuff-Wuff said. "It is lonesome without him."
But, after a while, the other pigs found so many things to do, and they were kept so busy, eating sour milk, and getting fat, that they nearly forgot about Squinty.
But, all this time, something was happening to the comical little pig.
Toward evening of the first day that Squinty had been put in the new little cage, the boy, who had not been near him in some time, came back to look at his pet.
"Now I have a larger place for you," the boy said, speaking just as though Squinty could understand him. And, in fact, Squinty did know much of what was said to him, though he could not talk back in boy language, being able to speak only his own pig talk.
"And I guess you are hungry, too, and want something to eat," the boy went on. "I will feed you!"
"Squee! Squee! Squee!" squealed Squinty. If there was one word in man-talk that he understood very well, it was "feed." He had often heard the farmer say:
"Well, now I must feed the pigs."
And right after that, some nice sour milk would come splashing down into the trough of the pen. So when Squinty heard the word "feed" again, he guessed what was going to happen.
And he guessed right, too.
The boy picked Squinty up, box and all, and carried him to the back yard.
"Now I'll give you more room to run about, and then I'll have a nice supper for you," the boy said, talking to his little pig just as you would to your dog, or kittie.
With a hammer the boy knocked off some of the slats of the small box in which Squinty had made his journey. Then the boy lifted out the comical little pig, and Squinty found himself inside a large box, very much like the pen at home. It had clean straw in it, and a little trough, just like the one at his "home," where he could eat. But there was nothing in the trough to eat, as yet, and the box seemed quite lonesome, for Squinty was all alone.
"Here you are now! Some nice sour milk, and boiled potatoes!" cried the boy, and then Squinty smelled the most delicious smell--to him at least. Down into the trough came the sour milk and potatoes.
"Squee! Squee!" yelled Squinty in delight, And how fast he ate! That was because he was hungry, you see, but pigs nearly always eat fast, as though they were continually in a hurry.
"Oh, isn't it cute!" exclaimed a voice over Squinty's head. He looked up, half shutting his one funny eye, and cocking one ear up, and letting the other droop down. But he did not stop eating.
"Oh, isn't he funny!" cried another voice. And Squinty saw the boy and his sisters looking at him.
"Yes, he surely is a nice pig," the boy said, "In a few days, when he gets over being strange, I'm going to teach him some tricks."
"Ha! There's that word tricks again!" thought Squinty. "I wonder what tricks are? But I shall very soon find out."
For a few days Squinty was rather lonesome in his new pen, all by himself. He missed his papa and mamma and brothers and sisters. But the boy came to see Squinty every day, bringing him nice things to eat, and, after a bit, Squinty came to look for his new friend.
"I guess you are getting to know me, aren't you, old fellow?" the boy said one day, after feeding Squinty, and he scratched the little pig on the back with a stick.
"Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty. That, I suppose, was his way of saying:
"Of course I know you, and I like you, boy."
One day, about a week after he had come to his new home, Squinty heard the boy say:
"Now I think you are tame enough to be let out. I don't believe you will run away, will you? But, anyhow, I'll tie a string to your leg, and then you can't."
Squinty wished he could speak boy language, and tell his friend that he would not run away as long as he was kindly treated, but of course Squinty could not do this. Instead, he could only grunt and squeal.
The boy tied a string to Squinty's leg, and let him out of the pen. The comical little pig was glad to have more room in which to move about. He walked first to one side, and then the other, rooting in the dirt with his funny, rubbery nose. The boy laughed to see him.
"I guess you are looking for something to eat," the boy said. "Well, let's see if you can find these acorns."
The boy hid them under a pile of dirt, and watched. Squinty smelled about, and sniffed. He could easily tell where the acorns had been hidden, and, a moment later, he had rooted them up and was eating them.
"Oh, you funny little pig!" cried the boy. "You are real smart! You know how to find acorns. That is one trick."
"Ha! If that is a trick, it is a very easy one--just rooting up acorns," thought Squinty to himself.
Squinty walked around, as far as the rope tied to his leg would let him. The other end of the rope was held by the boy. Once the rope got tangled around Squinty's foot, and he jumped over it to get free. The boy saw him and cried:
"Oh, I wonder if I could teach you to jump the rope? That would be a fine trick. Let me see."
The boy thought a moment, and then lifted Squinty up, and set him down on one side of the rope, which he raised a little way from the ground, just as girls do when they are playing a skipping game.
Squinty gave a little spring, and over the rope he went.
On the other side of the rope the boy put an apple.
"Now, Squinty," said Bob, "if you want that apple you must jump the rope to get it. Come on."
At first Squinty did not understand what was wanted of him. He saw nothing but the apple, and thought how much he wanted it. He started for it, but, before he could get it the boy pulled up the rope in front of him. The rope stopped Squinty.
"Jump over the rope if you want the apple," said the boy. Of course Squinty could not exactly understand this talk. He tried once more to get the apple, but, every time he did, he found the rope in front of him, in the way.
"Well!" exclaimed Squinty to himself, "I am going to get that apple, rope or no rope. I guess I'll have to get over the rope somehow."
So the next time he started for the juicy apple, and the rope was pulled up in front of him, Squinty gave a little spring, and over the rope he went, jumping with all four legs, coming down on the other side, like a circus man jumping over the elephant's back.
"Oh, fine! Good!" cried the boy, clapping his hands. "Squinty has learned to do another trick!"
"Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, as he chewed the apple. "So that's another trick, is it?"
CHAPTER VIIISQUINTY IN THE WOODSBob, the boy who had bought Squinty, the comical pig, laughed and clapped his hands. His two sisters, who were playing with their dolls in the shade of an evergreen tree, heard their brother, and one of them called out:"What is it, Bob? What is it?""Oh, come and see my pig do a trick!" answered the boy. "He is too funny for anything!""Can he really do a trick?" asked the smaller sister, whose name was Mollie."Indeed he can," the boy said. "He can do two tricks--find hidden acorns, and jump a rope.""Oh, no, not really jump a rope!" cried Sallie."You just come and see!" the boy called.All this while Squinty was chewing on the apple which he had picked up from the ground after he had jumped over the rope. He heard what the boy said, and Squinty made up his mind."Well," said the little pig to himself, "if it is any fun for that boy and his sisters to watch me jump over a rope, and dig up acorns, I don't mind doing it for them. They call them tricks, but I call it getting something to eat."And they were both right, you see.Sallie and Mollie, the two sisters, laid down their dolls in the shade, and ran over toward their brother, who still held one end of the rope, that was fast to Squinty's leg."Make him do some tricks for us," begged Mollie."Show us how he jumps the rope," said Sallie."First, I'll have him dig up the acorns, as that's easier," spoke Bob. "Here, Squinty!" he called. "Find the acorns! Find 'em!"While Squinty had been munching on the apple, the boy had dug a hole, put some sweet acorn nuts into it, and covered them up with dirt. Squinty had not seen him do this, but Squinty thought he could find the nuts just the same.There were two ways of doing this. Squinty had a very sharp-smelling nose. He could smell things afar off, that neither you nor I could smell even close by. And Squinty could also tell, by digging in the ground with his queer, rubbery nose, just where the ground was soft and where it was hard. And he knew it would be soft at the place where the boy had dug a hole in which to hide the acorns.So, when Bob called for Squinty to come and find the acorn nuts, even though the little pig had not seen just where they were hidden, Squinty felt sure he could dig them up."He'll never find them!" said Sallie."Just you watch!" exclaimed the boy.He pulled on the rope around Squinty's leg. At first the little pig was not quite sure what was wanted of him. He thought perhaps he was to jump over the rope after another apple. But he saw no fruit waiting for him. Then he looked carefully about and smelled the air. The boy was very gentle with him, and waited patiently.And I might say, right here, that if you ever try to teach your pets any tricks, you must be both kind and gentle with them, for you know they are not as smart as you are, and cannot think as quickly."Ha! I smell acorns!" thought Squinty to himself. "I guess the boy must want me to do the first trick, as he calls it, and dig up the acorns. I'll do it!"Carefully Squinty sniffed the air. When he turned one way he could smell the acorns quite plainly. When he turned the other way he could not smell them quite so well. So he started off in the direction where he could most plainly smell the nuts he loved so well.Next he began rooting in the ground. At first it was very hard for his nose, but soon it became soft. Then he could smell the acorns more plainly than before."See, he is going right toward them!" cried the boy."There, he has them!" exclaimed Sallie."Oh, so he has!" spoke Mollie. "I wouldn't have thought he could!"And, by that time, Squinty had found the hole where the boy had covered the acorns with dirt, and Squinty was chewing the sweet nuts."Now make him jump the rope," said Mollie."I will, as soon as he eats the acorns," replied the boy."Ha! I am going to have another apple, just for jumping a rope," thought Squinty, in delight.You see the little pig imagined the trick was done just to get him to eat the apple. He did not count the rope-jumping part of it at all, though that, really, was what the boy wanted.Once more Bob placed the apple on the ground, on the far side of the rope. One end of the rope the boy held in his hand, and the other was around Squinty's leg, but a loop of it was made fast to a stick stuck in the ground, so the boy could pull on the rope and raise or lower it, just as you girls do when you play."Come on, now, Squinty! Jump over it!" called the boy.The little pig saw the apple, and smelled it. He wanted very much to get it. But, when he ran toward it, he found the rope raised up in front of him. He forgot, for a moment, his second trick, and stood still."Oh, I thought you said he would jump the rope!" said Mollie, rather disappointed."He will--just wait a minute," spoke the boy. "Come on, Squinty!" he called.Once more Squinty started for the apple. This time he remembered that, before, he had to jump the rope to get it. So he did it again. Over the rope he went, with a little jump, coming down on the side where the apple was, and, in a second he was chewing the juicy fruit."There!" cried the boy. "Didn't he jump the rope?""Oh, well, but he didn't jump it fast, back and forth, like we girls do," said Mollie."But it was pretty good--for a little pig," said Sallie."I think so, too," spoke the boy. "And I am going to teach him to jump real fast, and without going for an apple each time. I'm going to teach him other tricks, too.""Oh dear!" thought Squinty, when he heard this. "So I am to learn more tricks, it seems. Well, I hope they will all be eating ones.""Make him do it again," suggested Mollie, after a bit."No, I haven't any more apples," the boy answered. "And at first I'll have to make him jump for an apple each time. After a bit I'll not give him an apple until he has done all his tricks. Come on now, Squinty, back to your pen."The boy lifted up his pet, and put him back in the pen that had been especially built for the little pig. As soon as he was in it Squinty ran over to the trough, hoping there would be some sour milk in it. But there was none."You've had enough to eat for a while," said the boy with a laugh. "Later on I'll give you your milk.""Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, and I suppose he meant he would be glad to have the milk now. But he got none, so he curled himself up in the clean straw and went to sleep.When he awakened, he thought at first he was back in the pen at home, and he cried out:"Oh, Wuff-Wuff! Oh, Twisty Tail. I had the queerest dream! I thought a boy had me, and that I could jump a rope, and hunt acorns, and do lots of tricks. But I--!" And then Squinty stopped. He looked around and found himself all alone in the new pen. None of his brothers or sisters was near him, and he could not hear his mamma or papa grunting near the feed trough."Ha! It wasn't a dream, after all," thought Squinty, a bit sorrowfully. "It's all real--I can do tricks, and a boy has me."Every few days after that the boy took Squinty out of his pen, and let him do the rope-jumping and the acorn-hunting tricks. And it did not take Squinty long to learn to jump the rope when there was no apple on the other side. The boy would say:"Jump over the rope, Squinty!"And over it the little pig would go. But if he did not get the apple as soon as he jumped, he did get it afterward, which was just as good. It was sort of a reward for his tricks, you see."Now you must learn a new trick," said the boy one day. "I want you to learn how to walk on your hind legs, Squinty. It is not going to be easy, either. But I guess you can do it. And I am going to take the rope off your leg, for I do not believe you will run away from me now."So the rope was taken off Squinty's leg. And he liked the boy so much, and liked his new home, and the nuts and apples he got to eat were so good, that Squinty did not try to run away."Up on your hind legs!" cried the boy, and, by taking hold of Squinty's front feet, Bob raised his pet up on the hind legs."Now stand there!" the boy cried, but when he took away his hands of course Squinty came down on all four legs. He did not know what the boy meant to have him do."I guess I'll have to stand you in a corner to start with," the boy said. "That will brace you up."Then, kindly and gently, the boy took Squinty over to the place where the corn crib was built on to the barn. This made a corner and the little pig was stood up on his hind legs in that. Then, with something to lean his back against, he did not feel like falling over, and he remained standing up on two legs, with his front feet stuck out in front of him."That's the way to do it!" cried Bob. "Soon you will be able to stand up without anything to lean against. And, a little later, you will be able to walk on your hind legs. Now here's an apple for you, Squinty!"So you see Squinty received his reward for starting to learn a new trick.In a few days, just as the boy had said, the little pig found that he could sit up on his hind legs all alone, without anything to lean back against.But learning to walk on his hind legs was a little harder.The boy, however, was patient and kind to him. At first Bob held Squinty's front feet, and walked along with him so the little pig would get used to the new trick. Then one day Bob said:"Now, Squinty, I want you to walk to me all by yourself. Stand up!"Squinty stood up on his hind legs. The boy backed away from him, and stood a little distance off, holding out a nice, juicy potato this time."Come and get the potato," called the boy."Squee! Squee!" grunted Squinty. "I can't!" I suppose he meant to say."Come on!" cried the boy. "Don't be afraid. You can do it!"Squinty wanted that potato very much. And the only way to get it was to walk to it on his hind legs. If he let himself down on all four legs he knew the boy would not give him the potato. So Squinty made up his little pig mind that he would do this new trick.Off he started, walking by himself on his hind legs, just like a trained bear."Fine! That's the way to do it! I knew you could!" the boy cried when Squinty reached him, and took the potato out of his hand. "Good little pig!" and he scratched Squinty's back with a stick."Uff! Uff!" squealed Squinty, very much pleased.And from then on the comical little pig learned many tricks.He could stand up a long time, on his hind legs, with an apple on his nose. And he would not eat it until the boy called:"Now, Squinty!"Then Squinty would toss the apple up in the air, off his nose, and catch it as it came down. Oh, how good it tasted!Squinty also learned to march around with a stick for a gun, and play soldier. He liked this trick best of all, for he always had two apples to eat after that.Many of Bob's boy friends came to see his trained pig. They all thought he was very funny and cute, and they laughed very hard when Squinty looked at them with his queer, drooping eye. They would feed him apples, potatoes and sometimes bits of cake that Bob's mother gave them. Squinty grew very fond of cake.Then one day something happened. Bob always used to lock the door of the new pig pen every night, for, though he knew his pet was quite tame now, he thought, if the door were left open, Squinty might wander away. And that is exactly what Squinty did. He did not mean to do wrong, but he knew no better. One evening, after he had done many tricks that day, when Squinty found the door of his pen part way open, he just pushed it the rest of the way with his strong nose, and out he walked! No one saw him."Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, looking about, "I guess I'll go take a walk by myself. I may find something good to eat."Out of the pen he went. There was no garden here, such as the farmer had at Squinty's first home. But, not far from the pig pen was the big, green wood."I'll go over in there and see what happens," thought Squinty. "Perhaps I may find some acorns."And so Squinty ran away to the woods.
CHAPTER VIII
SQUINTY IN THE WOODS
Bob, the boy who had bought Squinty, the comical pig, laughed and clapped his hands. His two sisters, who were playing with their dolls in the shade of an evergreen tree, heard their brother, and one of them called out:
"What is it, Bob? What is it?"
"Oh, come and see my pig do a trick!" answered the boy. "He is too funny for anything!"
"Can he really do a trick?" asked the smaller sister, whose name was Mollie.
"Indeed he can," the boy said. "He can do two tricks--find hidden acorns, and jump a rope."
"Oh, no, not really jump a rope!" cried Sallie.
"You just come and see!" the boy called.
All this while Squinty was chewing on the apple which he had picked up from the ground after he had jumped over the rope. He heard what the boy said, and Squinty made up his mind.
"Well," said the little pig to himself, "if it is any fun for that boy and his sisters to watch me jump over a rope, and dig up acorns, I don't mind doing it for them. They call them tricks, but I call it getting something to eat."
And they were both right, you see.
Sallie and Mollie, the two sisters, laid down their dolls in the shade, and ran over toward their brother, who still held one end of the rope, that was fast to Squinty's leg.
"Make him do some tricks for us," begged Mollie.
"Show us how he jumps the rope," said Sallie.
"First, I'll have him dig up the acorns, as that's easier," spoke Bob. "Here, Squinty!" he called. "Find the acorns! Find 'em!"
While Squinty had been munching on the apple, the boy had dug a hole, put some sweet acorn nuts into it, and covered them up with dirt. Squinty had not seen him do this, but Squinty thought he could find the nuts just the same.
There were two ways of doing this. Squinty had a very sharp-smelling nose. He could smell things afar off, that neither you nor I could smell even close by. And Squinty could also tell, by digging in the ground with his queer, rubbery nose, just where the ground was soft and where it was hard. And he knew it would be soft at the place where the boy had dug a hole in which to hide the acorns.
So, when Bob called for Squinty to come and find the acorn nuts, even though the little pig had not seen just where they were hidden, Squinty felt sure he could dig them up.
"He'll never find them!" said Sallie.
"Just you watch!" exclaimed the boy.
He pulled on the rope around Squinty's leg. At first the little pig was not quite sure what was wanted of him. He thought perhaps he was to jump over the rope after another apple. But he saw no fruit waiting for him. Then he looked carefully about and smelled the air. The boy was very gentle with him, and waited patiently.
And I might say, right here, that if you ever try to teach your pets any tricks, you must be both kind and gentle with them, for you know they are not as smart as you are, and cannot think as quickly.
"Ha! I smell acorns!" thought Squinty to himself. "I guess the boy must want me to do the first trick, as he calls it, and dig up the acorns. I'll do it!"
Carefully Squinty sniffed the air. When he turned one way he could smell the acorns quite plainly. When he turned the other way he could not smell them quite so well. So he started off in the direction where he could most plainly smell the nuts he loved so well.
Next he began rooting in the ground. At first it was very hard for his nose, but soon it became soft. Then he could smell the acorns more plainly than before.
"See, he is going right toward them!" cried the boy.
"There, he has them!" exclaimed Sallie.
"Oh, so he has!" spoke Mollie. "I wouldn't have thought he could!"
And, by that time, Squinty had found the hole where the boy had covered the acorns with dirt, and Squinty was chewing the sweet nuts.
"Now make him jump the rope," said Mollie.
"I will, as soon as he eats the acorns," replied the boy.
"Ha! I am going to have another apple, just for jumping a rope," thought Squinty, in delight.
You see the little pig imagined the trick was done just to get him to eat the apple. He did not count the rope-jumping part of it at all, though that, really, was what the boy wanted.
Once more Bob placed the apple on the ground, on the far side of the rope. One end of the rope the boy held in his hand, and the other was around Squinty's leg, but a loop of it was made fast to a stick stuck in the ground, so the boy could pull on the rope and raise or lower it, just as you girls do when you play.
"Come on, now, Squinty! Jump over it!" called the boy.
The little pig saw the apple, and smelled it. He wanted very much to get it. But, when he ran toward it, he found the rope raised up in front of him. He forgot, for a moment, his second trick, and stood still.
"Oh, I thought you said he would jump the rope!" said Mollie, rather disappointed.
"He will--just wait a minute," spoke the boy. "Come on, Squinty!" he called.
Once more Squinty started for the apple. This time he remembered that, before, he had to jump the rope to get it. So he did it again. Over the rope he went, with a little jump, coming down on the side where the apple was, and, in a second he was chewing the juicy fruit.
"There!" cried the boy. "Didn't he jump the rope?"
"Oh, well, but he didn't jump it fast, back and forth, like we girls do," said Mollie.
"But it was pretty good--for a little pig," said Sallie.
"I think so, too," spoke the boy. "And I am going to teach him to jump real fast, and without going for an apple each time. I'm going to teach him other tricks, too."
"Oh dear!" thought Squinty, when he heard this. "So I am to learn more tricks, it seems. Well, I hope they will all be eating ones."
"Make him do it again," suggested Mollie, after a bit.
"No, I haven't any more apples," the boy answered. "And at first I'll have to make him jump for an apple each time. After a bit I'll not give him an apple until he has done all his tricks. Come on now, Squinty, back to your pen."
The boy lifted up his pet, and put him back in the pen that had been especially built for the little pig. As soon as he was in it Squinty ran over to the trough, hoping there would be some sour milk in it. But there was none.
"You've had enough to eat for a while," said the boy with a laugh. "Later on I'll give you your milk."
"Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, and I suppose he meant he would be glad to have the milk now. But he got none, so he curled himself up in the clean straw and went to sleep.
When he awakened, he thought at first he was back in the pen at home, and he cried out:
"Oh, Wuff-Wuff! Oh, Twisty Tail. I had the queerest dream! I thought a boy had me, and that I could jump a rope, and hunt acorns, and do lots of tricks. But I--!" And then Squinty stopped. He looked around and found himself all alone in the new pen. None of his brothers or sisters was near him, and he could not hear his mamma or papa grunting near the feed trough.
"Ha! It wasn't a dream, after all," thought Squinty, a bit sorrowfully. "It's all real--I can do tricks, and a boy has me."
Every few days after that the boy took Squinty out of his pen, and let him do the rope-jumping and the acorn-hunting tricks. And it did not take Squinty long to learn to jump the rope when there was no apple on the other side. The boy would say:
"Jump over the rope, Squinty!"
And over it the little pig would go. But if he did not get the apple as soon as he jumped, he did get it afterward, which was just as good. It was sort of a reward for his tricks, you see.
"Now you must learn a new trick," said the boy one day. "I want you to learn how to walk on your hind legs, Squinty. It is not going to be easy, either. But I guess you can do it. And I am going to take the rope off your leg, for I do not believe you will run away from me now."
So the rope was taken off Squinty's leg. And he liked the boy so much, and liked his new home, and the nuts and apples he got to eat were so good, that Squinty did not try to run away.
"Up on your hind legs!" cried the boy, and, by taking hold of Squinty's front feet, Bob raised his pet up on the hind legs.
"Now stand there!" the boy cried, but when he took away his hands of course Squinty came down on all four legs. He did not know what the boy meant to have him do.
"I guess I'll have to stand you in a corner to start with," the boy said. "That will brace you up."
Then, kindly and gently, the boy took Squinty over to the place where the corn crib was built on to the barn. This made a corner and the little pig was stood up on his hind legs in that. Then, with something to lean his back against, he did not feel like falling over, and he remained standing up on two legs, with his front feet stuck out in front of him.
"That's the way to do it!" cried Bob. "Soon you will be able to stand up without anything to lean against. And, a little later, you will be able to walk on your hind legs. Now here's an apple for you, Squinty!"
So you see Squinty received his reward for starting to learn a new trick.
In a few days, just as the boy had said, the little pig found that he could sit up on his hind legs all alone, without anything to lean back against.
But learning to walk on his hind legs was a little harder.
The boy, however, was patient and kind to him. At first Bob held Squinty's front feet, and walked along with him so the little pig would get used to the new trick. Then one day Bob said:
"Now, Squinty, I want you to walk to me all by yourself. Stand up!"
Squinty stood up on his hind legs. The boy backed away from him, and stood a little distance off, holding out a nice, juicy potato this time.
"Come and get the potato," called the boy.
"Squee! Squee!" grunted Squinty. "I can't!" I suppose he meant to say.
"Come on!" cried the boy. "Don't be afraid. You can do it!"
Squinty wanted that potato very much. And the only way to get it was to walk to it on his hind legs. If he let himself down on all four legs he knew the boy would not give him the potato. So Squinty made up his little pig mind that he would do this new trick.
Off he started, walking by himself on his hind legs, just like a trained bear.
"Fine! That's the way to do it! I knew you could!" the boy cried when Squinty reached him, and took the potato out of his hand. "Good little pig!" and he scratched Squinty's back with a stick.
"Uff! Uff!" squealed Squinty, very much pleased.
And from then on the comical little pig learned many tricks.
He could stand up a long time, on his hind legs, with an apple on his nose. And he would not eat it until the boy called:
"Now, Squinty!"
Then Squinty would toss the apple up in the air, off his nose, and catch it as it came down. Oh, how good it tasted!
Squinty also learned to march around with a stick for a gun, and play soldier. He liked this trick best of all, for he always had two apples to eat after that.
Many of Bob's boy friends came to see his trained pig. They all thought he was very funny and cute, and they laughed very hard when Squinty looked at them with his queer, drooping eye. They would feed him apples, potatoes and sometimes bits of cake that Bob's mother gave them. Squinty grew very fond of cake.
Then one day something happened. Bob always used to lock the door of the new pig pen every night, for, though he knew his pet was quite tame now, he thought, if the door were left open, Squinty might wander away. And that is exactly what Squinty did. He did not mean to do wrong, but he knew no better. One evening, after he had done many tricks that day, when Squinty found the door of his pen part way open, he just pushed it the rest of the way with his strong nose, and out he walked! No one saw him.
"Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, looking about, "I guess I'll go take a walk by myself. I may find something good to eat."
Out of the pen he went. There was no garden here, such as the farmer had at Squinty's first home. But, not far from the pig pen was the big, green wood.
"I'll go over in there and see what happens," thought Squinty. "Perhaps I may find some acorns."
And so Squinty ran away to the woods.
CHAPTER IXSQUINTY'S BALLOON RIDEThis was the third time Squinty had run away. But not once did he intend to do any wrong; you see he knew no better. He just found his pen door open and walked out--that was all there was to it."I wonder what will happen to me this time?" thought the comical little pig, as he hurried along over the ground, toward the woods. "I don't believe Don, the dog, will find me here, for he must be back on the farm. But some other dog might. I had better be careful, I guess."When Squinty thought this he stopped and looked carefully around for any signs of a barking dog. But he saw none. It was very still and quiet, for it was nearly supper time in the big house where Bob lived, and he and his sisters were waiting for the bell to ring to call them to the table.But Squinty had had his supper, and, for the time, he was not hungry."And if I do get hungry again, I may find something in the woods," he said to himself. "Acorn nuts grow in the woods, and they are very good. I'll root up some of them."Once or twice Squinty looked back toward the pen he had run away from, to see if Bob, his master, were coming after him. But Bob had no idea his little pet had run away. In fact, just then, Bob was wondering what new trick he could teach Squinty the next day.On and on ran the comical pig. Once he found something round and yellow on the ground."Ha! That looks like a yellow apple," thought Squinty, and he bit it hard with his white teeth. Then his mouth all puckered up, he felt a sour taste, and he cried out:"Wow! I don't like that. Oh, that isn't an apple at all!"And it wasn't--it was a lemon the grocery boy had dropped."Oh! How sour!" grunted Squinty. "I'd like a drink of water to take the taste of that out of my mouth."Squinty lifted his nose up in the air, and sniffed and snuffed. He wanted to try to smell a spring of water, and he did, just on the edge of the big wood. Over to the spring he ran on his little short legs, and soon he was having a fine drink."Now I feel better," Squinty said. "What will happen next?"Nothing did for some time, and, when it did it was so strange that Squinty never forgot it as long as he lived. I'll tell you all about it.He walked on through the woods, Squinty did, and, before very long, he found some acorns. He ate as many as he wanted and then, as he always felt sleepy after he had eaten, he thought he would lie down and have a nap.He found a place, near a big stump, where there was a soft bed of dried leaves, nearly as nice as his straw bed in the pen at home. On this he stretched out, and soon he was fast asleep.When Squinty awoke it was real dark. He jumped up with a little grunt, and said to himself:"Well, I did not mean to stay away from my pen so long. I guess I had better go back."Squinty started to go back the way he had come, but I guess you can imagine what happened. It was so dark he could not find the path. He walked about, stumbling over sticks and stones and stumps, sometimes falling down on soft moss, and again on the hard ground. Finally Squinty thought:"Well, it is of no use. I can't get back tonight, that is sure. I shall have to stay here. Oh dear! I hope there are no dogs to bite me!"Squinty listened carefully. He could hear no barks. He hunted around in the dark until he found another soft bed of leaves, and on that he cuddled himself up to go to sleep for the night. He was a little afraid, but, after all, he was used to sleeping alone, and, even though he was outside of his pen now, he did not worry much."In the morning I shall go back to the boy who taught me tricks," thought Squinty.But something else happened in the morning.Squinty was awake when the sun first peeped up from behind the clouds. The little pig scratched his ear, where a mosquito had bitten him during the night. Then he stretched first one leg and then the others, and said:"Ha! Ho! Hum! Uff! Uff! I guess I'll have some acorns for my breakfast."It was a very easy matter for Squinty to get his breakfast. He did not have to wash, or comb his hair, or even dress. Just as he was he got up out of his leaf-bed, and began rooting around in the ground for acorns. He soon found all he wanted, and ate them. Then he felt thirsty, so he looked around until he had found another spring of cool water, where he drank as much as he needed."And now to go back home, to the boy who taught me tricks," said Squinty to himself. "I guess he is wondering where I am."And indeed that boy, Bob, and his sisters Mollie and Sallie, were wondering where Squinty was. They saw the open door of the pen, and the boy recalled that he had forgotten to lock it."Oh, Squinty is gone!" he cried, and he felt very badly indeed. But I have no time to tell you more of that boy now. I must relate for you the wonderful adventures of Squinty.Squinty went this way and that through the woods, but he could not find the path that led to his pen. He tried and tried again, but it was of no use."Well," said Squinty, at last, sitting down beside a hollow log, "I guess I am lost. That is all there is to it I am lost in the big woods! Oh dear! I almost wish Don, the dog, or the farmer would come and find me now."He waited, but no one came. He listened but he heard nothing."Well, I might as well eat and go to sleep again," said Squinty, "Maybe something will happen then."Soon he was asleep again. But he was suddenly awakened. He heard a great crashing in the trees over his head."Gracious! I hope that isn't a dog after me!" cried the little pig.He looked up, Squinty did. He saw coming down from the sky, through the branches of the trees, a big round thing, like more than ten thousand rubber balls, made into one. Below the round thing hung a square basket, with many ropes, and other things, fast to it. And in the basket were two men. They looked over the edge of the basket. One of them pulled on a rope, and the big thing, which was a balloon, though Squinty did not know it, came to the ground with a bang."Well, at last we have made a landing," said one of the men."Yes," said the other. "And we shall have to throw out some bags of sand to go up again."Squinty did not know what this meant. But I'll explain to you that a "landing" is when a balloon comes down to the ground. And when the men in it want to go up again, they have to toss out some of the bags of sand, or ballast, they carry to make the balloon so light that the gas in it will take it up again.The men began tossing out the bags of sand. Squinty saw them, but he was not afraid. Why should he be? for no men or boys had ever been cruel to him."Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, getting up and going over to one of the bags of sand. "Maybe that is good to eat!" he thought. "If it is I will take a bite. I am hungry.""Oh, look at that pig!" suddenly called one of the men in the balloon basket."Sure enough, it is a pig!" exclaimed the other. "And what a comical little chap he is!" he went on. "See the funny way he looks at you."At that moment Squinty looked up, as he often did, with one eye partly closed, the other open, and with one ear cocked frontwards, and the other backwards."Say, he's a cute one all right," said the first man. "Let's take him along.""What for?" asked his friend. "We'd only have to toss out as much sand as he weighs so we could go up.""Oh, let's take him along, anyhow," insisted the other. "Maybe he'll be a mascot for us.""Well, if he's a mascot, all right. Then we'll take him. We need some good luck on this trip."The next moment Squinty felt himself lifted off the ground.The next moment Squinty felt himself lifted off the ground.Squinty did not know what a mascot was. Perhaps he thought it was something good to eat. But I might say that a mascot is something which some persons think brings them good luck. Often baseball nines, or football elevens, will have a small boy, or a goat, or a dog whom they call their mascot. They take him along whenever they play games, thinking the mascot helps them to win. Of course it really does not, but there is no harm in a mascot, anyhow."Yes, we'll take him along in the balloon with us," said the taller of the two men. "See, he doesn't seem to be a bit afraid.""No, and look! He must be a trick pig! Maybe he got away from some circus!" cried the other man. For, at that moment Squinty stood up on his hind legs, as the boy had taught him, and walked over toward the big balloon basket. What he really wanted was something to eat, but the men did not know that."He surely is a cute little pig!" cried the tall man. "I'll lift him in. You toss out another bag of sand, and we'll go up."The next moment, before he could get out of the man's grasp if he had wanted to, Squinty felt himself lifted off the ground. He was put down in the bottom of the basket, which held many things, and, a second later, Squinty, the comical pig, felt himself flying upward through the air.Squinty was off on a trip in a balloon.
CHAPTER IX
SQUINTY'S BALLOON RIDE
This was the third time Squinty had run away. But not once did he intend to do any wrong; you see he knew no better. He just found his pen door open and walked out--that was all there was to it.
"I wonder what will happen to me this time?" thought the comical little pig, as he hurried along over the ground, toward the woods. "I don't believe Don, the dog, will find me here, for he must be back on the farm. But some other dog might. I had better be careful, I guess."
When Squinty thought this he stopped and looked carefully around for any signs of a barking dog. But he saw none. It was very still and quiet, for it was nearly supper time in the big house where Bob lived, and he and his sisters were waiting for the bell to ring to call them to the table.
But Squinty had had his supper, and, for the time, he was not hungry.
"And if I do get hungry again, I may find something in the woods," he said to himself. "Acorn nuts grow in the woods, and they are very good. I'll root up some of them."
Once or twice Squinty looked back toward the pen he had run away from, to see if Bob, his master, were coming after him. But Bob had no idea his little pet had run away. In fact, just then, Bob was wondering what new trick he could teach Squinty the next day.
On and on ran the comical pig. Once he found something round and yellow on the ground.
"Ha! That looks like a yellow apple," thought Squinty, and he bit it hard with his white teeth. Then his mouth all puckered up, he felt a sour taste, and he cried out:
"Wow! I don't like that. Oh, that isn't an apple at all!"
And it wasn't--it was a lemon the grocery boy had dropped.
"Oh! How sour!" grunted Squinty. "I'd like a drink of water to take the taste of that out of my mouth."
Squinty lifted his nose up in the air, and sniffed and snuffed. He wanted to try to smell a spring of water, and he did, just on the edge of the big wood. Over to the spring he ran on his little short legs, and soon he was having a fine drink.
"Now I feel better," Squinty said. "What will happen next?"
Nothing did for some time, and, when it did it was so strange that Squinty never forgot it as long as he lived. I'll tell you all about it.
He walked on through the woods, Squinty did, and, before very long, he found some acorns. He ate as many as he wanted and then, as he always felt sleepy after he had eaten, he thought he would lie down and have a nap.
He found a place, near a big stump, where there was a soft bed of dried leaves, nearly as nice as his straw bed in the pen at home. On this he stretched out, and soon he was fast asleep.
When Squinty awoke it was real dark. He jumped up with a little grunt, and said to himself:
"Well, I did not mean to stay away from my pen so long. I guess I had better go back."
Squinty started to go back the way he had come, but I guess you can imagine what happened. It was so dark he could not find the path. He walked about, stumbling over sticks and stones and stumps, sometimes falling down on soft moss, and again on the hard ground. Finally Squinty thought:
"Well, it is of no use. I can't get back tonight, that is sure. I shall have to stay here. Oh dear! I hope there are no dogs to bite me!"
Squinty listened carefully. He could hear no barks. He hunted around in the dark until he found another soft bed of leaves, and on that he cuddled himself up to go to sleep for the night. He was a little afraid, but, after all, he was used to sleeping alone, and, even though he was outside of his pen now, he did not worry much.
"In the morning I shall go back to the boy who taught me tricks," thought Squinty.
But something else happened in the morning.
Squinty was awake when the sun first peeped up from behind the clouds. The little pig scratched his ear, where a mosquito had bitten him during the night. Then he stretched first one leg and then the others, and said:
"Ha! Ho! Hum! Uff! Uff! I guess I'll have some acorns for my breakfast."
It was a very easy matter for Squinty to get his breakfast. He did not have to wash, or comb his hair, or even dress. Just as he was he got up out of his leaf-bed, and began rooting around in the ground for acorns. He soon found all he wanted, and ate them. Then he felt thirsty, so he looked around until he had found another spring of cool water, where he drank as much as he needed.
"And now to go back home, to the boy who taught me tricks," said Squinty to himself. "I guess he is wondering where I am."
And indeed that boy, Bob, and his sisters Mollie and Sallie, were wondering where Squinty was. They saw the open door of the pen, and the boy recalled that he had forgotten to lock it.
"Oh, Squinty is gone!" he cried, and he felt very badly indeed. But I have no time to tell you more of that boy now. I must relate for you the wonderful adventures of Squinty.
Squinty went this way and that through the woods, but he could not find the path that led to his pen. He tried and tried again, but it was of no use.
"Well," said Squinty, at last, sitting down beside a hollow log, "I guess I am lost. That is all there is to it I am lost in the big woods! Oh dear! I almost wish Don, the dog, or the farmer would come and find me now."
He waited, but no one came. He listened but he heard nothing.
"Well, I might as well eat and go to sleep again," said Squinty, "Maybe something will happen then."
Soon he was asleep again. But he was suddenly awakened. He heard a great crashing in the trees over his head.
"Gracious! I hope that isn't a dog after me!" cried the little pig.
He looked up, Squinty did. He saw coming down from the sky, through the branches of the trees, a big round thing, like more than ten thousand rubber balls, made into one. Below the round thing hung a square basket, with many ropes, and other things, fast to it. And in the basket were two men. They looked over the edge of the basket. One of them pulled on a rope, and the big thing, which was a balloon, though Squinty did not know it, came to the ground with a bang.
"Well, at last we have made a landing," said one of the men.
"Yes," said the other. "And we shall have to throw out some bags of sand to go up again."
Squinty did not know what this meant. But I'll explain to you that a "landing" is when a balloon comes down to the ground. And when the men in it want to go up again, they have to toss out some of the bags of sand, or ballast, they carry to make the balloon so light that the gas in it will take it up again.
The men began tossing out the bags of sand. Squinty saw them, but he was not afraid. Why should he be? for no men or boys had ever been cruel to him.
"Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, getting up and going over to one of the bags of sand. "Maybe that is good to eat!" he thought. "If it is I will take a bite. I am hungry."
"Oh, look at that pig!" suddenly called one of the men in the balloon basket.
"Sure enough, it is a pig!" exclaimed the other. "And what a comical little chap he is!" he went on. "See the funny way he looks at you."
At that moment Squinty looked up, as he often did, with one eye partly closed, the other open, and with one ear cocked frontwards, and the other backwards.
"Say, he's a cute one all right," said the first man. "Let's take him along."
"What for?" asked his friend. "We'd only have to toss out as much sand as he weighs so we could go up."
"Oh, let's take him along, anyhow," insisted the other. "Maybe he'll be a mascot for us."
"Well, if he's a mascot, all right. Then we'll take him. We need some good luck on this trip."
The next moment Squinty felt himself lifted off the ground.
Squinty did not know what a mascot was. Perhaps he thought it was something good to eat. But I might say that a mascot is something which some persons think brings them good luck. Often baseball nines, or football elevens, will have a small boy, or a goat, or a dog whom they call their mascot. They take him along whenever they play games, thinking the mascot helps them to win. Of course it really does not, but there is no harm in a mascot, anyhow.
"Yes, we'll take him along in the balloon with us," said the taller of the two men. "See, he doesn't seem to be a bit afraid."
"No, and look! He must be a trick pig! Maybe he got away from some circus!" cried the other man. For, at that moment Squinty stood up on his hind legs, as the boy had taught him, and walked over toward the big balloon basket. What he really wanted was something to eat, but the men did not know that.
"He surely is a cute little pig!" cried the tall man. "I'll lift him in. You toss out another bag of sand, and we'll go up."
The next moment, before he could get out of the man's grasp if he had wanted to, Squinty felt himself lifted off the ground. He was put down in the bottom of the basket, which held many things, and, a second later, Squinty, the comical pig, felt himself flying upward through the air.
Squinty was off on a trip in a balloon.