This Little Piglet
The baby warthog weighed less than two pounds when she was born. She huddled against her big, warm mother in a hole in the ground that was their den. The piglet and her mother were alone in the world. At least, that’s the way it seemed.
She
squealed when her mother rose to leave the den because she
was cold and lonely without her. But Mother had to go out
to graze and dig roots. So the little piglet curled up and
slept in the dry grass her mother had put on the bottom
of the den.
Several times a day, the piglet woke up at her mother’s return. Mother backed into the den, as warthogs usually do. She turned, and the piglet touched her mother’s nose with her own in greeting before having a drink of milk. Now she was content.
The most thrilling day of the piglet’s life (so far) was when she was a week old and went outside. What a sight! The world was so big, the sky so high. There were plants, rocks, trees, and birds.
After that, she always went out with Mother. They returned to the den to stay warm at night, just the two of them. But one day, when the piglet was three weeks old, Mother changed their routine.
Mother warthog scooped and scraped the soil with her snout to uncover juicy underground stems. The little piglet nibbled them briefly but still preferred milk. She trotted around and had a drink. Mother then moved under a tree and lay down.
The little piglet did not feel like lying down. She ran and jumped and made the most amazing spin-arounds in the air, landing with her head where her hind end was. She went bump into Mother, but Mother was asleep and wouldn’t play. The little piglet was lonely again.
Then Mother got up and began to walk. The little piglet followed, but she soon became tired. They walked half a mile, a very long way for such a little piglet. At last Mother paused.
The piglet looked up. What was that? It was big and broad, with curving white tusks—it looked just like Mother but bigger. Mother and the other warthog greeted by touching noses.
Then Grandmother warthog (for that’s who she was) advanced to meet this new piglet. The piglet saw a hole nearby and ran for it.
But she never got in because the doorway was crowded with five piglets coming out. The piglet did not know what they were! She turned and ran. “Eek-eek-eek-eek!” she screamed.
Mother
ran after her piglet to stop her. Five little piglets ran
after the new piglet for the fun of the chase. Grandmother
ran after her because eek-eek-eek is the cry of a lost baby,
and now the little piglet was Grandmother’s piglet,
too.
Finally they all caught up with the little piglet. They touched noses, then rubbed their chins on one another’s backs and let them rest there. The piglet felt much better. Grandmother led all of them back to the den.
Now the piglet ran and spun in mid-air, and played chase with her friends until they all became tired and fell in a heap on the floor of their den. This little piglet was never lonely again.
