Well, said Mr. Crow, there was once a lot of little pigs that lived in a
large pen with the big mother pig and were very fat and happy--all but
one.
This poor little fellow was what is called a runt pig, because he was
not nearly so big as the others, nor so strong. They crowded him away at
dinner time, so that he barely got enough to live on, and stayed small
and thin, while the others grew every day fatter and fatter.
At last the little runt pig made up his mind that he would run away
and be a wild pig such as he had heard his brothers and sisters talk
about sometimes after supper.
He thought about it a good deal, and one morning bright and early he
started. Being so little, he squeezed through a small hole in the back
of the pen, and then ran away very fast, without stopping to look
behind. He ran and ran, straight across the barnyard, where there were
some chickens scratching, and out into a big field. When he got so tired
that he could go no further he stopped for a little, and then ran on
again.
[Illustration: "OH, HERE'S THE WOODS!"]
He had to go a long way, but by and by he saw a lot of trees, and said,
"Oh, here's the woods! Now I'll be a wild pig!" So he squeezed between
two boards that made a crack in the fence, and under the trees he saw a
lot of ripe peaches and apples, for he was in a big orchard.
It was just peach time, and the little pig was very hungry.
[Illustration: HE BEGAN SQUEALING FOR HIS MOTHER.]
So he ate and ate, first a lot of peaches, and then a lot of apples;
then a lot more peaches, and then a good many more apples. Then he
picked out only the ripest and finest apples and peaches as he came to
them, and ate and kept on eating until he had pains in his stomach and
began squealing for his mother.
"Oh, oh, oh!" he squealed. "I am going right home!" But when he came to
the fence he had eaten so much fruit that he could not get through the
crack again and stuck fast half way. Then he squealed louder than ever,
and pretty soon somebody said:--
"Why, here's a little pig fast in the fence!" And Mr. Man came through
the orchard and took hold of the little pig's hind legs and pressed the
boards apart so's not to hurt him.
"Whose pig are you, I want to know?" he said as he pulled him out.
Then Mr. Man took the little pig under his arm and went back through the
orchard with him to his house.
"Here's a little runt pig I found stuck fast in our fence," he said to
Mrs. Man when he got there. "He's eaten too many apples and peaches, I
should think, by the way he looks and squeals."
Then he fixed up a nice box for him, with clean straw in it, and gave
him some warm milk in a pan. By and by the little pig went to sleep.
[Illustration: HE TOOK THE FIRST PRIZE.]
Every day Mr. Man and his wife brought him nice things to eat, and soon
the little pig grew so fat that they had to put him in a larger pen.
Then they fed him still more, and, being all alone, he ate just as much
as he wanted. So he grew and grew, fatter and fatter, and every few
weeks they had to put him in a larger pen, until people came from all
over the country to see what a beautiful large pig he was. Then by and
by there was a fair where all the fine pigs were taken for show, and Mr.
Man and Mrs. Man and the little runt pig all went to the fair, but the
little pig wasn't a little runt pig any more, for he took the first
prize for being the largest and finest pig at the fair.