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Tale of Grunty Pig

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<h3>X</h3><h3>A QUEER BEAR</h3> Grunty Pig's little eyes fell away from his mother's when she asked him what the bear looked like—the bear that had chased him. "Er—he was whitish, with brown spots, like Johnnie Green's dog," said Grunty; "and—er—he had a long tail like the old horse Ebenezer's; and he had six legs." Mrs. Pig suddenly made a most peculiar sound. It couldn't be called a squeal, nor a grunt, nor a gurgle, nor a gasp. It was a little like all four. And springing clumsily upon her son, Mrs. Pig upset him before he could dodge her. 44 Grunty Pig began to whimper. "What have I done?" he whined. "You've deceived me!" his mother cried. "You haven't seen a bear. You've never seen a bear in all your life." "Ouch," Grunty howled, as his mother sent him sprawling once more. "I didn't mean any harm. I was only having fun with you." "Well," said his mother. "Turn about is fair play. I'll have a little fun with you, now." Mrs. Pig gave her wayward son such a punishing that he remembered it all the rest of that day. At least, he stayed at home. And Mrs. Pig dared hope that at last she had cured him of two bad habits—running away and telling fibs. The next day, however, the fields called again to Grunty Pig. They called so plainly that he couldn't resist answering. 45 "I'll slip away for just a little while," he said to himself. "If I'm not gone long no one will miss me." So when his mother was taking a nap he stole through the hole in the fence. "I'll be back before she wakes up," he chuckled. In the garden, up the lane, through the pasture he made his way. And he enjoyed his holiday to the full—until he remembered suddenly that he had been gone a long time—a much longer time than he had planned to spend away from the farmyard. "Oh, dear!" he whined. "Mother must be awake now; and she'll punish me if I go back." The more he thought about returning, the less he liked the idea. "I won't go home at all!" he cried at last. "I'll stay in the pasture the rest of my life. There's plenty to eat here; and plenty of fun, too." 46 It was afternoon when Grunty Pig made up his mind that he would never go home. When the Muley Cow warned him once more to beware of the bears he actually jeered at her. "There are no bears in Pleasant Valley," he scoffed. "And you needn't trouble yourself to mention them again to me. I'm going to live in this pasture and there's no use of your trying to frighten me away." The Muley Cow said nothing more to him. She merely looked at him and smiled wisely. "He'll sing a different song," she thought, "when it begins to grow dark." <hr />47 <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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