CHAPTER XSQUINTY AND THE SQUIRRELUp, up, and up some more went Squinty, the comical pig. At first the fast motion in the balloon made him a little dizzy, just as it might make you feel queer the first time you went on a merry-go-'round."Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty. He was so surprised at this sudden adventure that, really, he did not know what to say."I wonder if he's afraid?" said one of the men."He acts so," the other answered. "But he'll get used to it. How high up are you going?""Oh, about a mile, I guess."Squinty cuddled down in the basket of the balloon, between two bags full of something, and shivered."My goodness me!" thought poor Squinty. "A mile up in the air! That's awfully high."He knew about how far a mile was on land, for it was about the distance from the farmhouse, near where his pen used to be, to the village church. He had often heard the farmer man say so."And if it was a mile from my pen to the church, and that mile of road was stood straight up in the air," thought Squinty, "it would be a terrible long way to fall. I hope I don't fall."And it did not seem as if he would--at least not right away. The basket in which he was riding looked good and strong. Squinty had shut his eyes when he heard the men speak about going a mile up in the air, but now, as the balloon seemed to have stopped rising, the little pig opened his eyes again, and peered all about him."Look!" exclaimed one of the men with a laugh. "Hasn't that pig the most comical face you ever saw?""That's what he has," answered the other. "He makes me want to laugh every time I look at him, with that funny half-shut eye of his.""Well," thought Squinty, "I'm glad somebody is happy and jolly, and wants to laugh, for I'm sure I don't. I wish I hadn't run away from the nice boy who taught me the tricks."Then, as Squinty remembered how he had been taught to stand up on his hind legs, he thought he would do that trick now. He was hungry, and he imagined, perhaps, if he did that trick, the men would give him something to eat."Look at the little chap!" cried one of the men. "He's showing off all right.""Yes, he's a smart pig," said the other. "He must be a trick pig, and I guess whoever owns him will be sorry he is lost.""Hu! I'm sorry myself!" thought Squinty to himself, as he walked around on his hind legs."I wonder if these men are ever going to give me anything to eat," he went on. He looked at them from his queer, squinting eye, but the men did not seem to know that the little pig was hungry.On and on sailed the balloon, being blown by the wind like a sailboat. Squinty dropped down on his four legs, since he found that walking on his hind ones brought him no food. Then, as he made his way about the basket, he saw some more of those queer bags filled with something. There were a great many of them in the balloon, and Squinty thought they must have something good in them.Squinty squatted down beside one, and, with his strong teeth, he soon had bitten a hole in the cloth. Then he took a big bite, but oh dear!All at once he found his mouth filled with coarse sand, that gritted on his teeth, and made the cold shivers run down his back."Oh, wow!" thought poor Squinty. "That's no good! Sand! I wonder if those men eat sand?"Of course they didn't. The sand in the bags was "ballast." The balloon men carried it with them, and when they found the balloon coming down, because some of the gas had leaked out of the round ball above the basket, they would let some of the sand run out of the bags to the ground below. This would make the balloon lighter, and it would rise again."Squee! Squee! Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, as he wiped the sand off his tongue on one of his legs. "I don't like that. I'm hungry.""Why, what's the matter with the little pig?" asked one of the men, turning around and looking at Squinty."He must be hungry," said the other. "See, he has bitten a hole in one of our sand bags. Let's feed him.""All right. Give him something to eat, but we didn't bring any pig food along with us.""I'll give him some bread and milk," the other man said. "We won't want much more ourselves, for we are nearly at our last landing place.""Squee! Squee!" squealed Squinty, when he heard this. He watched the man put some bread and milk in a tin pan, and set it down on the floor of the basket. Then Squinty put his nose in the dish and began to eat.And Oh! how good it tasted! Of course the milk was sweet, instead of sour, for men do not usually like sour milk. Squinty had a good meal, and then he went to sleep.What happened while Squinty slept, the little pig did not know. But when he woke up it was all dark, and he knew it must be night, so he went to sleep again. And the next time he awakened the sun was shining, so he felt sure it was morning.And then, all of a sudden, something happened. One of the men called out:"There is a good place to land!""Yes, we'll go down there," agreed the other. Then he pulled a string. Squinty did not know what it was for, but I'll tell you. It was to open a hole in the balloon so the gas would rush out. Then the balloon would begin to fall.And that is what happened. Down, down went the balloon. It went very fast, and Squinty felt dizzy. Faster and faster fell the balloon, until, at last it gave such a bump down on the ground that Squinty was bounced right over the side of the basket.Right out of the basket the comical little pig was bounced, but he came down in a soft bed of leaves, so he was not hurt in the least. He landed on his feet, just like a cat, and gave a loud squeal, he was so surprised.And then Squinty ran away. Almost anybody would have run, too, I guess, after falling down in a balloon, and being bounced out that way. Squinty had had enough of balloon riding."I don't know where I'm going, nor what will happen to me now," thought Squinty, "but I am going to run and hide."And run he did. He found himself in the woods; just the same kind of woods as where he had first met the two balloon men, only, of course, it was much farther off, for he had traveled a long way through the air.On and on ran Squinty. All at once, in a tree over his head, he heard a funny chattering noise."Chipper, chipper, chipper! Chat! Chat! Whir-r-r-r-r-!" went the noise.Squinty looked up in the tree, and there he saw a lovely little girl squirrel, frisking about on the branches. Then Squinty was no longer afraid. Out of the leaves he jumped, giving a squeal and a grunt which meant:"Oh, how do you do? I am glad to see you. My name is Squinty. What is your name?""My name is Slicko," answered the lively little girl squirrel, as she jumped about. "Come on and play!"Squinty felt very happy then.CHAPTER XISQUINTY AND THE MERRY MONKEY"Where do you live, Squinty?" asked Slicko, the jumping squirrel, as she skipped from one tree branch to another, and so reached the ground near the comical little pig."Oh, I live in a pen," answered Squinty, "but I'm not there now.""No, I see you are not," spoke Slicko, with a laugh, which showed her sharp, white teeth. "But what are you doing so far away from your pen? Or, perhaps it is close by, though I never saw you in these woods before," she went on, looking around as if she might see the pig pen under one of the trees."No, I have never been here before," Squinty answered. "My pen is far from here. My master is a boy who taught me to do tricks, such as jumping rope, but I ran away and had a balloon ride.""What's a balloon?" asked Slicko, as she combed out her tail with a chestnut burr. Squirrels always use chestnut burrs for combs."A balloon is something that goes up in the air," answered Squinty, "and it has bags of sand in it.""Well, I can go up in the air, when I climb a tree," went on Slicko, with a jolly laugh. "Am I a balloon?""No, you are not," said Squinty. "A balloon is very different.""Well, I know where there is some sand," spoke Slicko. "I could get some of that and put it in leaf-bags. Would that make me a balloon?""Oh, no, of course not," Squinty answered. "You could never be a balloon. But if you know where there is some sand perhaps you know where there is some sour milk. I am very hungry.""I never heard of sour milk," replied the girl squirrel. "But I know where to find some nuts. Do you like hickory nuts?""I--I guess so," answered Squinty, thinking, perhaps, they were like acorns. "Please show me where there are some.""Come on!" chattered Slicko. She led the way through the woods, leaping from one tree branch to another over Squinty's head. The little pig ran along on the ground, through the dry leaves. Sometimes he went on four feet and sometimes he stood up straight on his hind feet."Can you do that?" he asked the squirrel. "It is a trick the boy taught me.""Oh, yes, I can sit up on my hind legs, and eat a nut," the squirrel girl said. "But nobody taught me. I could always do it. I don't call that a trick.""Well, it is a trick for me," said Squinty. "But where are the hickory nuts you spoke of?""Right here," answered Slicko, the jumping squirrel, hopping about as lively as a cricket, and she pointed to a pile of nuts in a hollow stump. Squinty tried to chew some, but, as soon as he took them in his mouth he cried out:"Oh my! How hard the shells are! This is worse than the sand! I can't chew hickory nuts! Have you no other kind?""Oh, yes, I know where there are some acorns," answered Slicko, "but I do not care for them as well as for hickory nuts.""Oh, please show me the acorns," begged Squinty."Here they are," spoke Slicko, jumping a little farther, and she pointed to a pile of acorns in another hollow stump."Oh, these are fine! Thank you!" grunted Squinty, and he began to eat them. All at once there sounded through the woods a noise like:"Chat! Chat! Chatter! Whir-r-r-r-r-r!" "My, what's that?" cried Squinty, turning quickly around."That is my mamma calling me," said Slicko, the jumping squirrel. "I shall have to go home to my nest now. Good-by, Squinty. I like you very much, and I hope I shall soon see you again.""I hope so, too," spoke Squinty, and while he went on eating the acorns, Slicko ran along the tree branches to her nest. And in another book I shall tell you some more stories about "Slicko, the Jumping Squirrel," but in this book I have room to write only about Squinty.The little comical pig was rather lonesome after Slicko had left him, but he was no longer hungry, thanks to the acorns.So he walked on and on, and pretty soon he came to a road. And down the road he saw coming the strangest sight.Squinty looked at the beautiful wagons, and at the strange animals.Squinty looked at the beautiful wagons, and at the strange animals.There were a lot of big wagons, all painted red and green and gold. Many horses drew each wagon, the big wheels of which rattled like thunder, and beside the wagons there were many strange animals walking along--animals which Squinty had never seen before."Oh my!" cried Squinty. "This is worse than the balloon! I must run away!"But, just as he turned to run, he saw a little animal jump out of one of the big wagons, and come toward him. This animal was something like a little boy, only, instead of clothes, he was covered with hairy fur. And the animal had a long tail, which Squinty knew no boy ever had.Squinty was so surprised at seeing the strange animal that the little pig stood still. The hairy animal, with the long tail, came straight for the bush behind which Squinty was hiding, and crawled through. Then the two stood looking at one another, while the big wagons rumbled past on the road."Hello!" Squinty finally exclaimed. "Who are you?""Why, I am Mappo, the merry monkey," was the answer, as he curled his long tail around a stick of wood. "But I don't need to ask who you are. You are a pig, I can see that, for we have one in our circus, and the clown rides him around the ring, and it is too funny for anything."'Why, I am Mappo, the merry monkey,' was the answer.'Why, I am Mappo, the merry monkey,' was the answer."Ha, so you are a monkey?" asked Squinty. "But what do you mean by a circus?""That's a circus," answered Mappo, pointing with one paw through a hole in the bush, at the queer animals, and the red, gold and green wagons. "That is, it will be a circus when they put up the big tent, and all the people come. Didn't you ever see a circus?""Never," answered Squinty. "Did you ever ride in a balloon?""Never," answered Mappo."Well, then we are even," said Squinty. "Now you tell me about a circus, and I'll tell you about the balloon.""Well," said the monkey, "a circus is a big show in a tent, to make people laugh. There are clowns, and animals to look at. I am one of the animals, but I ran out of my cage when the door flew open.""Why did you run away?" asked Squinty."Oh, I got tired of staying in a cage. And I was afraid the big tiger might bite me. I'll run back again pretty soon, before they miss me. Now you tell me about your balloon ride."So Squinty told the merry monkey all about running away, and learning tricks, and having a ride in the queer basket."I can do tricks, too," said Mappo. "But just now I am hungry. I wonder if any cocoanut trees are in these woods?""I don't know what a cocoanut is," answered Squinty, "but I'll give you some of my acorns."The comical little pig and the merry monkey hid under the bush and ate acorns as they watched the circus procession go past. It was not a regular parade, as the show was going only from one town to-another. Squinty looked at the beautiful wagons, and at the strange animals, some with big humps on their backs. At last he saw some very big creatures, and he cried out:"Oh, Mappo! What are those animals? They have a tail at each end!""Those are elephants," said Mappo, "and they do not have two tails. One is a tail, and the other is their trunk, or long nose, by which they pick up peanuts, and other things to eat, and they can drink water through it, too.""Oh, elephants, eh!" exclaimed Squinty. "But who is that big, fierce-looking one, with two long teeth sticking out. I would be afraid of him.""Ha! Ha! You wouldn't need to be," said Mappo, with a merry laugh. "That is Tum-Tum, the jolliest elephant in the whole circus. Why, he is so kind he wouldn't hurt a fly, and he is so happy that every one loves him. He is always playing jokes.""Well, I'm glad he is so jolly," spoke Squinty, as he watched Tum-Tum and the other elephants march slowly along the road on their big feet, like wash tubs, swinging their long trunks.Then Mappo the monkey, and Squinty, the comical pig, started off through the woods.CHAPTER XIISQUINTY GETS HOME AGAIN"Squinty, I don't believe we're going to find any cocoanut trees in this woods," said Mappo, the monkey, after he and the little pig had wandered on for some time."It doesn't seem so, does it?" spoke Squinty, looking all around, first with his wide-open eye, and then with his queer, droopy one.The monkey ran along, now on the ground, and now and then swinging himself up in the branches of trees, by his long legs, each one of which had a sort of hand on the end. Sometimes he hung by his tail, for monkeys are made to do that."My, I wish I could get up in the trees the way you do," said Squinty. "Do you think I could hang by my tail, Mappo?""I don't know," answered the monkey, scratching his head. "Your tail has a nice little curl in it, almost like mine. Did you ever try to hang by your tail?""No, I never did.""Well, you don't know what you can do until you try," said Mappo.The two animal friends soon came to where some of the acorn nuts had fallen off a tree, and they ate as many as they wanted. Mappo said they were not as good as cocoanuts, but he liked them pretty well, because he was hungry. And Squinty thought acorns were just the best things he had ever tasted, except apples, and potatoes or perhaps sour milk.By this time it was getting dark, and Squinty said:"Oh dear, I wonder where we can sleep tonight?""Oh, do not let that worry you," said Mappo. "I am used to living in the woods. When I was little, before I was caught and put in the circus, I lived in the woods all the while. See, here is a nice hollow stump, filled with leaves, for you to sleep in, and I will climb a tree, and sleep in that.""Couldn't you sleep down in the stump with me?" asked Squinty. "It's sort of lonesome, all by yourself in the dark.""Yes, I'll sleep with you," said Mappo. "Now we'll make up a nice bed."But, just as they were piling some more leaves in the hollow stump, they heard many voices of men shouting in the woods."Here he is! Here is that runaway monkey! I see him! Come and catch him!" cried the men."Oh, they're from the circus! They're after me!" cried Mappo. "I must run and hide. Good-by, Squinty. I'll see you again sometime, maybe. You had better run, also, or the circus men may catch you."Squinty looked through the trees, and saw a number of men coming toward him and the monkey. Then Mappo climbed up in a tall tree, and Squinty ran away as fast as his little short legs would take him."Never mind the pig! Get the monkey!" Squinty heard one man cry, and then the comical little pig dodged under a bush, and kept on running.When Squinty stopped running it was quite dark. He could hardly see, and he had run into several trees, and bumped his nose a number of times. It hurt him very much."Well, I guess I'm lost again," thought Squinty. "And I am all alone. Oh, what a lot of things has happened to me since I was in the pen with my mamma and papa and sisters and brothers! I wish I were back with them again."Squinty felt very sad and lonesome. He wondered if the circus men had caught Mappo. Then he felt that he had better find a place where he could cover himself up with the dry leaves, and go to sleep.He walked about in the dark until, all of a sudden, he stumbled into a hole that was filled with dried grass."I guess I had better stay here," thought Squinty. So he pulled some of the grass over him, and went to sleep.When he awoke the sun was shining."I must get my breakfast," thought Squinty. He hunted about until he had found some acorns, and then, coming to a little brook of water he took a long drink. Something about the brook made Squinty look at it carefully."Why--why!" he exclaimed to himself: "It seems to me I have been here before! Yes, I am sure I have. This is the place where I first came to get a drink, when first I ran away. It is near the pen where I used to live! Oh, I wonder if I can find that?"The heart of Squinty was beating fast as he looked around at the scenes he had seen when he was a very little pig, some weeks before. Yes, it was the same brook. He was sure of it. And there was the garden of potatoes, and the cornfield where he had first lost his way.Hark! What was that?Off in the rows of corn he heard a dog barking. Somehow he knew that dog's bark."If that could be Don!" thought Squinty, hopefully.The barking sounded nearer. Squinty turned around, standing on the edge of the little brook, and waited, his heart beating faster and faster.All at once there came running through the potato field a black and white dog. Squinty knew him at once.It was Don!"Bow wow! Bow wow!" barked Don. "Well, if there isn't that comical little pig, Squinty! Where in the world did you come from? You've been running away, I'll be bound! Now I'm going to take you back to the pen!""Oh, Don! I am so glad to see you!" squealed Squinty. "I--I did run away, but I never will any more. I am lost. Oh, Don, don't take me by the ear. I'll go with you.""All right," barked Don, kindly. "Come along. Your pen isn't far off," and he ran along beside the little pig, who, after many adventures had wandered back home. Squinty and Don came to the edge of the potato field."Well, I never!" exclaimed the farmer man, who was there hoeing the potatoes. "If there isn't that comical little pig I sold to that boy Bob. I wonder where he came from?""Bow wow! Bow wow! I found him," barked Don, but of course the farmer did not understand."Well, I'll put you back in the pen again until that boy sends for you," said the farmer, as he lifted Squinty over into the pen where his mamma and papa and brothers and sisters were."Why--why, it's Squinty!" cried Mrs. Pig."He's come back!" grunted Mr. Pig."Oh, I'm so glad!" said Wuff-Wuff."And so am I," added Twisty Tail, as she rubbed her nose against Squinty's. "Where have you been, and what happened to you?" she asked her brother."Oh, many things," he said. "I have learned some tricks, I have been up in a balloon, I met Slicko the jumping squirrel, Mappo, the merry monkey, and I saw Tum-Tum, the jolly circus elephant. Now I am home again.""And which did you like best of all?" asked Mrs. Pig, when they had finished asking him questions."Getting back home," answered Squinty, as he took a big drink of sour milk.And that is the story of Squinty, the comical pig. The farmer sent word to the boy that his pet was back in the pen, but the boy said he thought he did not want a pet pig any more, so Squinty, for the time being, stayed with his family.
CHAPTER XSQUINTY AND THE SQUIRRELUp, up, and up some more went Squinty, the comical pig. At first the fast motion in the balloon made him a little dizzy, just as it might make you feel queer the first time you went on a merry-go-'round."Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty. He was so surprised at this sudden adventure that, really, he did not know what to say."I wonder if he's afraid?" said one of the men."He acts so," the other answered. "But he'll get used to it. How high up are you going?""Oh, about a mile, I guess."Squinty cuddled down in the basket of the balloon, between two bags full of something, and shivered."My goodness me!" thought poor Squinty. "A mile up in the air! That's awfully high."He knew about how far a mile was on land, for it was about the distance from the farmhouse, near where his pen used to be, to the village church. He had often heard the farmer man say so."And if it was a mile from my pen to the church, and that mile of road was stood straight up in the air," thought Squinty, "it would be a terrible long way to fall. I hope I don't fall."And it did not seem as if he would--at least not right away. The basket in which he was riding looked good and strong. Squinty had shut his eyes when he heard the men speak about going a mile up in the air, but now, as the balloon seemed to have stopped rising, the little pig opened his eyes again, and peered all about him."Look!" exclaimed one of the men with a laugh. "Hasn't that pig the most comical face you ever saw?""That's what he has," answered the other. "He makes me want to laugh every time I look at him, with that funny half-shut eye of his.""Well," thought Squinty, "I'm glad somebody is happy and jolly, and wants to laugh, for I'm sure I don't. I wish I hadn't run away from the nice boy who taught me the tricks."Then, as Squinty remembered how he had been taught to stand up on his hind legs, he thought he would do that trick now. He was hungry, and he imagined, perhaps, if he did that trick, the men would give him something to eat."Look at the little chap!" cried one of the men. "He's showing off all right.""Yes, he's a smart pig," said the other. "He must be a trick pig, and I guess whoever owns him will be sorry he is lost.""Hu! I'm sorry myself!" thought Squinty to himself, as he walked around on his hind legs."I wonder if these men are ever going to give me anything to eat," he went on. He looked at them from his queer, squinting eye, but the men did not seem to know that the little pig was hungry.On and on sailed the balloon, being blown by the wind like a sailboat. Squinty dropped down on his four legs, since he found that walking on his hind ones brought him no food. Then, as he made his way about the basket, he saw some more of those queer bags filled with something. There were a great many of them in the balloon, and Squinty thought they must have something good in them.Squinty squatted down beside one, and, with his strong teeth, he soon had bitten a hole in the cloth. Then he took a big bite, but oh dear!All at once he found his mouth filled with coarse sand, that gritted on his teeth, and made the cold shivers run down his back."Oh, wow!" thought poor Squinty. "That's no good! Sand! I wonder if those men eat sand?"Of course they didn't. The sand in the bags was "ballast." The balloon men carried it with them, and when they found the balloon coming down, because some of the gas had leaked out of the round ball above the basket, they would let some of the sand run out of the bags to the ground below. This would make the balloon lighter, and it would rise again."Squee! Squee! Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, as he wiped the sand off his tongue on one of his legs. "I don't like that. I'm hungry.""Why, what's the matter with the little pig?" asked one of the men, turning around and looking at Squinty."He must be hungry," said the other. "See, he has bitten a hole in one of our sand bags. Let's feed him.""All right. Give him something to eat, but we didn't bring any pig food along with us.""I'll give him some bread and milk," the other man said. "We won't want much more ourselves, for we are nearly at our last landing place.""Squee! Squee!" squealed Squinty, when he heard this. He watched the man put some bread and milk in a tin pan, and set it down on the floor of the basket. Then Squinty put his nose in the dish and began to eat.And Oh! how good it tasted! Of course the milk was sweet, instead of sour, for men do not usually like sour milk. Squinty had a good meal, and then he went to sleep.What happened while Squinty slept, the little pig did not know. But when he woke up it was all dark, and he knew it must be night, so he went to sleep again. And the next time he awakened the sun was shining, so he felt sure it was morning.And then, all of a sudden, something happened. One of the men called out:"There is a good place to land!""Yes, we'll go down there," agreed the other. Then he pulled a string. Squinty did not know what it was for, but I'll tell you. It was to open a hole in the balloon so the gas would rush out. Then the balloon would begin to fall.And that is what happened. Down, down went the balloon. It went very fast, and Squinty felt dizzy. Faster and faster fell the balloon, until, at last it gave such a bump down on the ground that Squinty was bounced right over the side of the basket.Right out of the basket the comical little pig was bounced, but he came down in a soft bed of leaves, so he was not hurt in the least. He landed on his feet, just like a cat, and gave a loud squeal, he was so surprised.And then Squinty ran away. Almost anybody would have run, too, I guess, after falling down in a balloon, and being bounced out that way. Squinty had had enough of balloon riding."I don't know where I'm going, nor what will happen to me now," thought Squinty, "but I am going to run and hide."And run he did. He found himself in the woods; just the same kind of woods as where he had first met the two balloon men, only, of course, it was much farther off, for he had traveled a long way through the air.On and on ran Squinty. All at once, in a tree over his head, he heard a funny chattering noise."Chipper, chipper, chipper! Chat! Chat! Whir-r-r-r-r-!" went the noise.Squinty looked up in the tree, and there he saw a lovely little girl squirrel, frisking about on the branches. Then Squinty was no longer afraid. Out of the leaves he jumped, giving a squeal and a grunt which meant:"Oh, how do you do? I am glad to see you. My name is Squinty. What is your name?""My name is Slicko," answered the lively little girl squirrel, as she jumped about. "Come on and play!"Squinty felt very happy then.
CHAPTER X
SQUINTY AND THE SQUIRREL
Up, up, and up some more went Squinty, the comical pig. At first the fast motion in the balloon made him a little dizzy, just as it might make you feel queer the first time you went on a merry-go-'round.
"Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty. He was so surprised at this sudden adventure that, really, he did not know what to say.
"I wonder if he's afraid?" said one of the men.
"He acts so," the other answered. "But he'll get used to it. How high up are you going?"
"Oh, about a mile, I guess."
Squinty cuddled down in the basket of the balloon, between two bags full of something, and shivered.
"My goodness me!" thought poor Squinty. "A mile up in the air! That's awfully high."
He knew about how far a mile was on land, for it was about the distance from the farmhouse, near where his pen used to be, to the village church. He had often heard the farmer man say so.
"And if it was a mile from my pen to the church, and that mile of road was stood straight up in the air," thought Squinty, "it would be a terrible long way to fall. I hope I don't fall."
And it did not seem as if he would--at least not right away. The basket in which he was riding looked good and strong. Squinty had shut his eyes when he heard the men speak about going a mile up in the air, but now, as the balloon seemed to have stopped rising, the little pig opened his eyes again, and peered all about him.
"Look!" exclaimed one of the men with a laugh. "Hasn't that pig the most comical face you ever saw?"
"That's what he has," answered the other. "He makes me want to laugh every time I look at him, with that funny half-shut eye of his."
"Well," thought Squinty, "I'm glad somebody is happy and jolly, and wants to laugh, for I'm sure I don't. I wish I hadn't run away from the nice boy who taught me the tricks."
Then, as Squinty remembered how he had been taught to stand up on his hind legs, he thought he would do that trick now. He was hungry, and he imagined, perhaps, if he did that trick, the men would give him something to eat.
"Look at the little chap!" cried one of the men. "He's showing off all right."
"Yes, he's a smart pig," said the other. "He must be a trick pig, and I guess whoever owns him will be sorry he is lost."
"Hu! I'm sorry myself!" thought Squinty to himself, as he walked around on his hind legs.
"I wonder if these men are ever going to give me anything to eat," he went on. He looked at them from his queer, squinting eye, but the men did not seem to know that the little pig was hungry.
On and on sailed the balloon, being blown by the wind like a sailboat. Squinty dropped down on his four legs, since he found that walking on his hind ones brought him no food. Then, as he made his way about the basket, he saw some more of those queer bags filled with something. There were a great many of them in the balloon, and Squinty thought they must have something good in them.
Squinty squatted down beside one, and, with his strong teeth, he soon had bitten a hole in the cloth. Then he took a big bite, but oh dear!
All at once he found his mouth filled with coarse sand, that gritted on his teeth, and made the cold shivers run down his back.
"Oh, wow!" thought poor Squinty. "That's no good! Sand! I wonder if those men eat sand?"
Of course they didn't. The sand in the bags was "ballast." The balloon men carried it with them, and when they found the balloon coming down, because some of the gas had leaked out of the round ball above the basket, they would let some of the sand run out of the bags to the ground below. This would make the balloon lighter, and it would rise again.
"Squee! Squee! Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, as he wiped the sand off his tongue on one of his legs. "I don't like that. I'm hungry."
"Why, what's the matter with the little pig?" asked one of the men, turning around and looking at Squinty.
"He must be hungry," said the other. "See, he has bitten a hole in one of our sand bags. Let's feed him."
"All right. Give him something to eat, but we didn't bring any pig food along with us."
"I'll give him some bread and milk," the other man said. "We won't want much more ourselves, for we are nearly at our last landing place."
"Squee! Squee!" squealed Squinty, when he heard this. He watched the man put some bread and milk in a tin pan, and set it down on the floor of the basket. Then Squinty put his nose in the dish and began to eat.
And Oh! how good it tasted! Of course the milk was sweet, instead of sour, for men do not usually like sour milk. Squinty had a good meal, and then he went to sleep.
What happened while Squinty slept, the little pig did not know. But when he woke up it was all dark, and he knew it must be night, so he went to sleep again. And the next time he awakened the sun was shining, so he felt sure it was morning.
And then, all of a sudden, something happened. One of the men called out:
"There is a good place to land!"
"Yes, we'll go down there," agreed the other. Then he pulled a string. Squinty did not know what it was for, but I'll tell you. It was to open a hole in the balloon so the gas would rush out. Then the balloon would begin to fall.
And that is what happened. Down, down went the balloon. It went very fast, and Squinty felt dizzy. Faster and faster fell the balloon, until, at last it gave such a bump down on the ground that Squinty was bounced right over the side of the basket.
Right out of the basket the comical little pig was bounced, but he came down in a soft bed of leaves, so he was not hurt in the least. He landed on his feet, just like a cat, and gave a loud squeal, he was so surprised.
And then Squinty ran away. Almost anybody would have run, too, I guess, after falling down in a balloon, and being bounced out that way. Squinty had had enough of balloon riding.
"I don't know where I'm going, nor what will happen to me now," thought Squinty, "but I am going to run and hide."
And run he did. He found himself in the woods; just the same kind of woods as where he had first met the two balloon men, only, of course, it was much farther off, for he had traveled a long way through the air.
On and on ran Squinty. All at once, in a tree over his head, he heard a funny chattering noise.
"Chipper, chipper, chipper! Chat! Chat! Whir-r-r-r-r-!" went the noise.
Squinty looked up in the tree, and there he saw a lovely little girl squirrel, frisking about on the branches. Then Squinty was no longer afraid. Out of the leaves he jumped, giving a squeal and a grunt which meant:
"Oh, how do you do? I am glad to see you. My name is Squinty. What is your name?"
"My name is Slicko," answered the lively little girl squirrel, as she jumped about. "Come on and play!"
Squinty felt very happy then.
CHAPTER XISQUINTY AND THE MERRY MONKEY"Where do you live, Squinty?" asked Slicko, the jumping squirrel, as she skipped from one tree branch to another, and so reached the ground near the comical little pig."Oh, I live in a pen," answered Squinty, "but I'm not there now.""No, I see you are not," spoke Slicko, with a laugh, which showed her sharp, white teeth. "But what are you doing so far away from your pen? Or, perhaps it is close by, though I never saw you in these woods before," she went on, looking around as if she might see the pig pen under one of the trees."No, I have never been here before," Squinty answered. "My pen is far from here. My master is a boy who taught me to do tricks, such as jumping rope, but I ran away and had a balloon ride.""What's a balloon?" asked Slicko, as she combed out her tail with a chestnut burr. Squirrels always use chestnut burrs for combs."A balloon is something that goes up in the air," answered Squinty, "and it has bags of sand in it.""Well, I can go up in the air, when I climb a tree," went on Slicko, with a jolly laugh. "Am I a balloon?""No, you are not," said Squinty. "A balloon is very different.""Well, I know where there is some sand," spoke Slicko. "I could get some of that and put it in leaf-bags. Would that make me a balloon?""Oh, no, of course not," Squinty answered. "You could never be a balloon. But if you know where there is some sand perhaps you know where there is some sour milk. I am very hungry.""I never heard of sour milk," replied the girl squirrel. "But I know where to find some nuts. Do you like hickory nuts?""I--I guess so," answered Squinty, thinking, perhaps, they were like acorns. "Please show me where there are some.""Come on!" chattered Slicko. She led the way through the woods, leaping from one tree branch to another over Squinty's head. The little pig ran along on the ground, through the dry leaves. Sometimes he went on four feet and sometimes he stood up straight on his hind feet."Can you do that?" he asked the squirrel. "It is a trick the boy taught me.""Oh, yes, I can sit up on my hind legs, and eat a nut," the squirrel girl said. "But nobody taught me. I could always do it. I don't call that a trick.""Well, it is a trick for me," said Squinty. "But where are the hickory nuts you spoke of?""Right here," answered Slicko, the jumping squirrel, hopping about as lively as a cricket, and she pointed to a pile of nuts in a hollow stump. Squinty tried to chew some, but, as soon as he took them in his mouth he cried out:"Oh my! How hard the shells are! This is worse than the sand! I can't chew hickory nuts! Have you no other kind?""Oh, yes, I know where there are some acorns," answered Slicko, "but I do not care for them as well as for hickory nuts.""Oh, please show me the acorns," begged Squinty."Here they are," spoke Slicko, jumping a little farther, and she pointed to a pile of acorns in another hollow stump."Oh, these are fine! Thank you!" grunted Squinty, and he began to eat them. All at once there sounded through the woods a noise like:"Chat! Chat! Chatter! Whir-r-r-r-r-r!" "My, what's that?" cried Squinty, turning quickly around."That is my mamma calling me," said Slicko, the jumping squirrel. "I shall have to go home to my nest now. Good-by, Squinty. I like you very much, and I hope I shall soon see you again.""I hope so, too," spoke Squinty, and while he went on eating the acorns, Slicko ran along the tree branches to her nest. And in another book I shall tell you some more stories about "Slicko, the Jumping Squirrel," but in this book I have room to write only about Squinty.The little comical pig was rather lonesome after Slicko had left him, but he was no longer hungry, thanks to the acorns.So he walked on and on, and pretty soon he came to a road. And down the road he saw coming the strangest sight.Squinty looked at the beautiful wagons, and at the strange animals.Squinty looked at the beautiful wagons, and at the strange animals.There were a lot of big wagons, all painted red and green and gold. Many horses drew each wagon, the big wheels of which rattled like thunder, and beside the wagons there were many strange animals walking along--animals which Squinty had never seen before."Oh my!" cried Squinty. "This is worse than the balloon! I must run away!"But, just as he turned to run, he saw a little animal jump out of one of the big wagons, and come toward him. This animal was something like a little boy, only, instead of clothes, he was covered with hairy fur. And the animal had a long tail, which Squinty knew no boy ever had.Squinty was so surprised at seeing the strange animal that the little pig stood still. The hairy animal, with the long tail, came straight for the bush behind which Squinty was hiding, and crawled through. Then the two stood looking at one another, while the big wagons rumbled past on the road."Hello!" Squinty finally exclaimed. "Who are you?""Why, I am Mappo, the merry monkey," was the answer, as he curled his long tail around a stick of wood. "But I don't need to ask who you are. You are a pig, I can see that, for we have one in our circus, and the clown rides him around the ring, and it is too funny for anything."'Why, I am Mappo, the merry monkey,' was the answer.'Why, I am Mappo, the merry monkey,' was the answer."Ha, so you are a monkey?" asked Squinty. "But what do you mean by a circus?""That's a circus," answered Mappo, pointing with one paw through a hole in the bush, at the queer animals, and the red, gold and green wagons. "That is, it will be a circus when they put up the big tent, and all the people come. Didn't you ever see a circus?""Never," answered Squinty. "Did you ever ride in a balloon?""Never," answered Mappo."Well, then we are even," said Squinty. "Now you tell me about a circus, and I'll tell you about the balloon.""Well," said the monkey, "a circus is a big show in a tent, to make people laugh. There are clowns, and animals to look at. I am one of the animals, but I ran out of my cage when the door flew open.""Why did you run away?" asked Squinty."Oh, I got tired of staying in a cage. And I was afraid the big tiger might bite me. I'll run back again pretty soon, before they miss me. Now you tell me about your balloon ride."So Squinty told the merry monkey all about running away, and learning tricks, and having a ride in the queer basket."I can do tricks, too," said Mappo. "But just now I am hungry. I wonder if any cocoanut trees are in these woods?""I don't know what a cocoanut is," answered Squinty, "but I'll give you some of my acorns."The comical little pig and the merry monkey hid under the bush and ate acorns as they watched the circus procession go past. It was not a regular parade, as the show was going only from one town to-another. Squinty looked at the beautiful wagons, and at the strange animals, some with big humps on their backs. At last he saw some very big creatures, and he cried out:"Oh, Mappo! What are those animals? They have a tail at each end!""Those are elephants," said Mappo, "and they do not have two tails. One is a tail, and the other is their trunk, or long nose, by which they pick up peanuts, and other things to eat, and they can drink water through it, too.""Oh, elephants, eh!" exclaimed Squinty. "But who is that big, fierce-looking one, with two long teeth sticking out. I would be afraid of him.""Ha! Ha! You wouldn't need to be," said Mappo, with a merry laugh. "That is Tum-Tum, the jolliest elephant in the whole circus. Why, he is so kind he wouldn't hurt a fly, and he is so happy that every one loves him. He is always playing jokes.""Well, I'm glad he is so jolly," spoke Squinty, as he watched Tum-Tum and the other elephants march slowly along the road on their big feet, like wash tubs, swinging their long trunks.Then Mappo the monkey, and Squinty, the comical pig, started off through the woods.
CHAPTER XI
SQUINTY AND THE MERRY MONKEY
"Where do you live, Squinty?" asked Slicko, the jumping squirrel, as she skipped from one tree branch to another, and so reached the ground near the comical little pig.
"Oh, I live in a pen," answered Squinty, "but I'm not there now."
"No, I see you are not," spoke Slicko, with a laugh, which showed her sharp, white teeth. "But what are you doing so far away from your pen? Or, perhaps it is close by, though I never saw you in these woods before," she went on, looking around as if she might see the pig pen under one of the trees.
"No, I have never been here before," Squinty answered. "My pen is far from here. My master is a boy who taught me to do tricks, such as jumping rope, but I ran away and had a balloon ride."
"What's a balloon?" asked Slicko, as she combed out her tail with a chestnut burr. Squirrels always use chestnut burrs for combs.
"A balloon is something that goes up in the air," answered Squinty, "and it has bags of sand in it."
"Well, I can go up in the air, when I climb a tree," went on Slicko, with a jolly laugh. "Am I a balloon?"
"No, you are not," said Squinty. "A balloon is very different."
"Well, I know where there is some sand," spoke Slicko. "I could get some of that and put it in leaf-bags. Would that make me a balloon?"
"Oh, no, of course not," Squinty answered. "You could never be a balloon. But if you know where there is some sand perhaps you know where there is some sour milk. I am very hungry."
"I never heard of sour milk," replied the girl squirrel. "But I know where to find some nuts. Do you like hickory nuts?"
"I--I guess so," answered Squinty, thinking, perhaps, they were like acorns. "Please show me where there are some."
"Come on!" chattered Slicko. She led the way through the woods, leaping from one tree branch to another over Squinty's head. The little pig ran along on the ground, through the dry leaves. Sometimes he went on four feet and sometimes he stood up straight on his hind feet.
"Can you do that?" he asked the squirrel. "It is a trick the boy taught me."
"Oh, yes, I can sit up on my hind legs, and eat a nut," the squirrel girl said. "But nobody taught me. I could always do it. I don't call that a trick."
"Well, it is a trick for me," said Squinty. "But where are the hickory nuts you spoke of?"
"Right here," answered Slicko, the jumping squirrel, hopping about as lively as a cricket, and she pointed to a pile of nuts in a hollow stump. Squinty tried to chew some, but, as soon as he took them in his mouth he cried out:
"Oh my! How hard the shells are! This is worse than the sand! I can't chew hickory nuts! Have you no other kind?"
"Oh, yes, I know where there are some acorns," answered Slicko, "but I do not care for them as well as for hickory nuts."
"Oh, please show me the acorns," begged Squinty.
"Here they are," spoke Slicko, jumping a little farther, and she pointed to a pile of acorns in another hollow stump.
"Oh, these are fine! Thank you!" grunted Squinty, and he began to eat them. All at once there sounded through the woods a noise like:
"Chat! Chat! Chatter! Whir-r-r-r-r-r!" "My, what's that?" cried Squinty, turning quickly around.
"That is my mamma calling me," said Slicko, the jumping squirrel. "I shall have to go home to my nest now. Good-by, Squinty. I like you very much, and I hope I shall soon see you again."
"I hope so, too," spoke Squinty, and while he went on eating the acorns, Slicko ran along the tree branches to her nest. And in another book I shall tell you some more stories about "Slicko, the Jumping Squirrel," but in this book I have room to write only about Squinty.
The little comical pig was rather lonesome after Slicko had left him, but he was no longer hungry, thanks to the acorns.
So he walked on and on, and pretty soon he came to a road. And down the road he saw coming the strangest sight.
Squinty looked at the beautiful wagons, and at the strange animals.
There were a lot of big wagons, all painted red and green and gold. Many horses drew each wagon, the big wheels of which rattled like thunder, and beside the wagons there were many strange animals walking along--animals which Squinty had never seen before.
"Oh my!" cried Squinty. "This is worse than the balloon! I must run away!"
But, just as he turned to run, he saw a little animal jump out of one of the big wagons, and come toward him. This animal was something like a little boy, only, instead of clothes, he was covered with hairy fur. And the animal had a long tail, which Squinty knew no boy ever had.
Squinty was so surprised at seeing the strange animal that the little pig stood still. The hairy animal, with the long tail, came straight for the bush behind which Squinty was hiding, and crawled through. Then the two stood looking at one another, while the big wagons rumbled past on the road.
"Hello!" Squinty finally exclaimed. "Who are you?"
"Why, I am Mappo, the merry monkey," was the answer, as he curled his long tail around a stick of wood. "But I don't need to ask who you are. You are a pig, I can see that, for we have one in our circus, and the clown rides him around the ring, and it is too funny for anything."
'Why, I am Mappo, the merry monkey,' was the answer.
"Ha, so you are a monkey?" asked Squinty. "But what do you mean by a circus?"
"That's a circus," answered Mappo, pointing with one paw through a hole in the bush, at the queer animals, and the red, gold and green wagons. "That is, it will be a circus when they put up the big tent, and all the people come. Didn't you ever see a circus?"
"Never," answered Squinty. "Did you ever ride in a balloon?"
"Never," answered Mappo.
"Well, then we are even," said Squinty. "Now you tell me about a circus, and I'll tell you about the balloon."
"Well," said the monkey, "a circus is a big show in a tent, to make people laugh. There are clowns, and animals to look at. I am one of the animals, but I ran out of my cage when the door flew open."
"Why did you run away?" asked Squinty.
"Oh, I got tired of staying in a cage. And I was afraid the big tiger might bite me. I'll run back again pretty soon, before they miss me. Now you tell me about your balloon ride."
So Squinty told the merry monkey all about running away, and learning tricks, and having a ride in the queer basket.
"I can do tricks, too," said Mappo. "But just now I am hungry. I wonder if any cocoanut trees are in these woods?"
"I don't know what a cocoanut is," answered Squinty, "but I'll give you some of my acorns."
The comical little pig and the merry monkey hid under the bush and ate acorns as they watched the circus procession go past. It was not a regular parade, as the show was going only from one town to-another. Squinty looked at the beautiful wagons, and at the strange animals, some with big humps on their backs. At last he saw some very big creatures, and he cried out:
"Oh, Mappo! What are those animals? They have a tail at each end!"
"Those are elephants," said Mappo, "and they do not have two tails. One is a tail, and the other is their trunk, or long nose, by which they pick up peanuts, and other things to eat, and they can drink water through it, too."
"Oh, elephants, eh!" exclaimed Squinty. "But who is that big, fierce-looking one, with two long teeth sticking out. I would be afraid of him."
"Ha! Ha! You wouldn't need to be," said Mappo, with a merry laugh. "That is Tum-Tum, the jolliest elephant in the whole circus. Why, he is so kind he wouldn't hurt a fly, and he is so happy that every one loves him. He is always playing jokes."
"Well, I'm glad he is so jolly," spoke Squinty, as he watched Tum-Tum and the other elephants march slowly along the road on their big feet, like wash tubs, swinging their long trunks.
Then Mappo the monkey, and Squinty, the comical pig, started off through the woods.
CHAPTER XIISQUINTY GETS HOME AGAIN"Squinty, I don't believe we're going to find any cocoanut trees in this woods," said Mappo, the monkey, after he and the little pig had wandered on for some time."It doesn't seem so, does it?" spoke Squinty, looking all around, first with his wide-open eye, and then with his queer, droopy one.The monkey ran along, now on the ground, and now and then swinging himself up in the branches of trees, by his long legs, each one of which had a sort of hand on the end. Sometimes he hung by his tail, for monkeys are made to do that."My, I wish I could get up in the trees the way you do," said Squinty. "Do you think I could hang by my tail, Mappo?""I don't know," answered the monkey, scratching his head. "Your tail has a nice little curl in it, almost like mine. Did you ever try to hang by your tail?""No, I never did.""Well, you don't know what you can do until you try," said Mappo.The two animal friends soon came to where some of the acorn nuts had fallen off a tree, and they ate as many as they wanted. Mappo said they were not as good as cocoanuts, but he liked them pretty well, because he was hungry. And Squinty thought acorns were just the best things he had ever tasted, except apples, and potatoes or perhaps sour milk.By this time it was getting dark, and Squinty said:"Oh dear, I wonder where we can sleep tonight?""Oh, do not let that worry you," said Mappo. "I am used to living in the woods. When I was little, before I was caught and put in the circus, I lived in the woods all the while. See, here is a nice hollow stump, filled with leaves, for you to sleep in, and I will climb a tree, and sleep in that.""Couldn't you sleep down in the stump with me?" asked Squinty. "It's sort of lonesome, all by yourself in the dark.""Yes, I'll sleep with you," said Mappo. "Now we'll make up a nice bed."But, just as they were piling some more leaves in the hollow stump, they heard many voices of men shouting in the woods."Here he is! Here is that runaway monkey! I see him! Come and catch him!" cried the men."Oh, they're from the circus! They're after me!" cried Mappo. "I must run and hide. Good-by, Squinty. I'll see you again sometime, maybe. You had better run, also, or the circus men may catch you."Squinty looked through the trees, and saw a number of men coming toward him and the monkey. Then Mappo climbed up in a tall tree, and Squinty ran away as fast as his little short legs would take him."Never mind the pig! Get the monkey!" Squinty heard one man cry, and then the comical little pig dodged under a bush, and kept on running.When Squinty stopped running it was quite dark. He could hardly see, and he had run into several trees, and bumped his nose a number of times. It hurt him very much."Well, I guess I'm lost again," thought Squinty. "And I am all alone. Oh, what a lot of things has happened to me since I was in the pen with my mamma and papa and sisters and brothers! I wish I were back with them again."Squinty felt very sad and lonesome. He wondered if the circus men had caught Mappo. Then he felt that he had better find a place where he could cover himself up with the dry leaves, and go to sleep.He walked about in the dark until, all of a sudden, he stumbled into a hole that was filled with dried grass."I guess I had better stay here," thought Squinty. So he pulled some of the grass over him, and went to sleep.When he awoke the sun was shining."I must get my breakfast," thought Squinty. He hunted about until he had found some acorns, and then, coming to a little brook of water he took a long drink. Something about the brook made Squinty look at it carefully."Why--why!" he exclaimed to himself: "It seems to me I have been here before! Yes, I am sure I have. This is the place where I first came to get a drink, when first I ran away. It is near the pen where I used to live! Oh, I wonder if I can find that?"The heart of Squinty was beating fast as he looked around at the scenes he had seen when he was a very little pig, some weeks before. Yes, it was the same brook. He was sure of it. And there was the garden of potatoes, and the cornfield where he had first lost his way.Hark! What was that?Off in the rows of corn he heard a dog barking. Somehow he knew that dog's bark."If that could be Don!" thought Squinty, hopefully.The barking sounded nearer. Squinty turned around, standing on the edge of the little brook, and waited, his heart beating faster and faster.All at once there came running through the potato field a black and white dog. Squinty knew him at once.It was Don!"Bow wow! Bow wow!" barked Don. "Well, if there isn't that comical little pig, Squinty! Where in the world did you come from? You've been running away, I'll be bound! Now I'm going to take you back to the pen!""Oh, Don! I am so glad to see you!" squealed Squinty. "I--I did run away, but I never will any more. I am lost. Oh, Don, don't take me by the ear. I'll go with you.""All right," barked Don, kindly. "Come along. Your pen isn't far off," and he ran along beside the little pig, who, after many adventures had wandered back home. Squinty and Don came to the edge of the potato field."Well, I never!" exclaimed the farmer man, who was there hoeing the potatoes. "If there isn't that comical little pig I sold to that boy Bob. I wonder where he came from?""Bow wow! Bow wow! I found him," barked Don, but of course the farmer did not understand."Well, I'll put you back in the pen again until that boy sends for you," said the farmer, as he lifted Squinty over into the pen where his mamma and papa and brothers and sisters were."Why--why, it's Squinty!" cried Mrs. Pig."He's come back!" grunted Mr. Pig."Oh, I'm so glad!" said Wuff-Wuff."And so am I," added Twisty Tail, as she rubbed her nose against Squinty's. "Where have you been, and what happened to you?" she asked her brother."Oh, many things," he said. "I have learned some tricks, I have been up in a balloon, I met Slicko the jumping squirrel, Mappo, the merry monkey, and I saw Tum-Tum, the jolly circus elephant. Now I am home again.""And which did you like best of all?" asked Mrs. Pig, when they had finished asking him questions."Getting back home," answered Squinty, as he took a big drink of sour milk.And that is the story of Squinty, the comical pig. The farmer sent word to the boy that his pet was back in the pen, but the boy said he thought he did not want a pet pig any more, so Squinty, for the time being, stayed with his family.
CHAPTER XII
SQUINTY GETS HOME AGAIN
"Squinty, I don't believe we're going to find any cocoanut trees in this woods," said Mappo, the monkey, after he and the little pig had wandered on for some time.
"It doesn't seem so, does it?" spoke Squinty, looking all around, first with his wide-open eye, and then with his queer, droopy one.
The monkey ran along, now on the ground, and now and then swinging himself up in the branches of trees, by his long legs, each one of which had a sort of hand on the end. Sometimes he hung by his tail, for monkeys are made to do that.
"My, I wish I could get up in the trees the way you do," said Squinty. "Do you think I could hang by my tail, Mappo?"
"I don't know," answered the monkey, scratching his head. "Your tail has a nice little curl in it, almost like mine. Did you ever try to hang by your tail?"
"No, I never did."
"Well, you don't know what you can do until you try," said Mappo.
The two animal friends soon came to where some of the acorn nuts had fallen off a tree, and they ate as many as they wanted. Mappo said they were not as good as cocoanuts, but he liked them pretty well, because he was hungry. And Squinty thought acorns were just the best things he had ever tasted, except apples, and potatoes or perhaps sour milk.
By this time it was getting dark, and Squinty said:
"Oh dear, I wonder where we can sleep tonight?"
"Oh, do not let that worry you," said Mappo. "I am used to living in the woods. When I was little, before I was caught and put in the circus, I lived in the woods all the while. See, here is a nice hollow stump, filled with leaves, for you to sleep in, and I will climb a tree, and sleep in that."
"Couldn't you sleep down in the stump with me?" asked Squinty. "It's sort of lonesome, all by yourself in the dark."
"Yes, I'll sleep with you," said Mappo. "Now we'll make up a nice bed."
But, just as they were piling some more leaves in the hollow stump, they heard many voices of men shouting in the woods.
"Here he is! Here is that runaway monkey! I see him! Come and catch him!" cried the men.
"Oh, they're from the circus! They're after me!" cried Mappo. "I must run and hide. Good-by, Squinty. I'll see you again sometime, maybe. You had better run, also, or the circus men may catch you."
Squinty looked through the trees, and saw a number of men coming toward him and the monkey. Then Mappo climbed up in a tall tree, and Squinty ran away as fast as his little short legs would take him.
"Never mind the pig! Get the monkey!" Squinty heard one man cry, and then the comical little pig dodged under a bush, and kept on running.
When Squinty stopped running it was quite dark. He could hardly see, and he had run into several trees, and bumped his nose a number of times. It hurt him very much.
"Well, I guess I'm lost again," thought Squinty. "And I am all alone. Oh, what a lot of things has happened to me since I was in the pen with my mamma and papa and sisters and brothers! I wish I were back with them again."
Squinty felt very sad and lonesome. He wondered if the circus men had caught Mappo. Then he felt that he had better find a place where he could cover himself up with the dry leaves, and go to sleep.
He walked about in the dark until, all of a sudden, he stumbled into a hole that was filled with dried grass.
"I guess I had better stay here," thought Squinty. So he pulled some of the grass over him, and went to sleep.
When he awoke the sun was shining.
"I must get my breakfast," thought Squinty. He hunted about until he had found some acorns, and then, coming to a little brook of water he took a long drink. Something about the brook made Squinty look at it carefully.
"Why--why!" he exclaimed to himself: "It seems to me I have been here before! Yes, I am sure I have. This is the place where I first came to get a drink, when first I ran away. It is near the pen where I used to live! Oh, I wonder if I can find that?"
The heart of Squinty was beating fast as he looked around at the scenes he had seen when he was a very little pig, some weeks before. Yes, it was the same brook. He was sure of it. And there was the garden of potatoes, and the cornfield where he had first lost his way.
Hark! What was that?
Off in the rows of corn he heard a dog barking. Somehow he knew that dog's bark.
"If that could be Don!" thought Squinty, hopefully.
The barking sounded nearer. Squinty turned around, standing on the edge of the little brook, and waited, his heart beating faster and faster.
All at once there came running through the potato field a black and white dog. Squinty knew him at once.
It was Don!
"Bow wow! Bow wow!" barked Don. "Well, if there isn't that comical little pig, Squinty! Where in the world did you come from? You've been running away, I'll be bound! Now I'm going to take you back to the pen!"
"Oh, Don! I am so glad to see you!" squealed Squinty. "I--I did run away, but I never will any more. I am lost. Oh, Don, don't take me by the ear. I'll go with you."
"All right," barked Don, kindly. "Come along. Your pen isn't far off," and he ran along beside the little pig, who, after many adventures had wandered back home. Squinty and Don came to the edge of the potato field.
"Well, I never!" exclaimed the farmer man, who was there hoeing the potatoes. "If there isn't that comical little pig I sold to that boy Bob. I wonder where he came from?"
"Bow wow! Bow wow! I found him," barked Don, but of course the farmer did not understand.
"Well, I'll put you back in the pen again until that boy sends for you," said the farmer, as he lifted Squinty over into the pen where his mamma and papa and brothers and sisters were.
"Why--why, it's Squinty!" cried Mrs. Pig.
"He's come back!" grunted Mr. Pig.
"Oh, I'm so glad!" said Wuff-Wuff.
"And so am I," added Twisty Tail, as she rubbed her nose against Squinty's. "Where have you been, and what happened to you?" she asked her brother.
"Oh, many things," he said. "I have learned some tricks, I have been up in a balloon, I met Slicko the jumping squirrel, Mappo, the merry monkey, and I saw Tum-Tum, the jolly circus elephant. Now I am home again."
"And which did you like best of all?" asked Mrs. Pig, when they had finished asking him questions.
"Getting back home," answered Squinty, as he took a big drink of sour milk.
And that is the story of Squinty, the comical pig. The farmer sent word to the boy that his pet was back in the pen, but the boy said he thought he did not want a pet pig any more, so Squinty, for the time being, stayed with his family.