|My story is about a potato field in "Old Virginia." It had around it
"a stake and rider fence." The potatoes grew and grew, in sunshine, dew,
and rain. They were now as big as liens' eggs.
The owner of the field saw that there was something wrong with his
potato patch.
[Illustration: 9125]
The vines were tom up, and the potatoes were gone. But who was the
thief? By watching, maybe, the robber might be found out.
The farmer hid himself among some bushes. But he saw nothing, except one
of his own little pigs. Piggy was coming slowly, slowly along the big
road. He was rooting all the way, and grunting at every step. Did the
pig know where he was going?
One corner of the rail fence rested on a large hollow log. That log was
just like the elbow of a stove-pipe. One of its ends was outside and one
was inside of the potato field.
The sly pig went straight to that log! With a grunt, he crawled in at
one end of it, and, with another grunt, he crawled out at the other end,
into the field. There he began, at once, to root up the nice potatoes,
and to eat them.
The farmer jumped over the fence. In a trice the bars were put down.
There was a loud call, "Here, Rover, Rover, seek him! seek him, sir!"
And the dog chased the thieving rascal squealing from the field.
[Illustration: 0126]
The farmer said to himself, "I 'll fix things all right." Then he turned
the log so that the elbow was in the field, and both of its ends were on
the outside.
Then the farmer hid and watched again. Mr. Pig came along a second time.
He thought everything was right. He crawled into the log once more. He
crawled through it. But he was still on the outside of the fence!
The pig grunted. He lifted up his head. He looked all around in great
surprise. He wondered what was wrong. Then he grunted louder, and tried
once more. Again he failed. And he failed as often as he grunted and
tried.
The merry farmer laughed loudly at the wicked and astonished pig.
Thieves are sometimes caught in their slyest tricks!
--UNCLE LEE.