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Squinty gave a loud squeal when Don took him by the ear, but when the little pig found that the dog did not mean to hurt him, he grew quiet, and went along willingly enough. "I must make that pig pen a great deal tighter, if they are going to get out and run away every day," said the farmer to himself, as he walked along behind Don and Squinty.
I do not believe Don really meant to hurt the comical little pig. In fact I know he did not, for Don was very kind-hearted. But Don knew that the pigs were supposed to stay in their pen, and not come out to root up the garden. So Don barked: "Bow wow! Bow wow! Get back where you belong, Squinty." Squinty ran as fast as he could, but Don ran faster.
But my master, his boy and I came to see you elephants, and other circus animals. Only I never knew what an elephant was like before." "Well, now you know," said Tum Tum, "so you won't bark at, or bite, the next one you see." "Indeed I shall not," said Don. "I have to bark at Squinty, the comical pig, once in a while, when he gets out of the pen, and once I took hold of his ear in my teeth."
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?"
"I can tell by his funny squint," the boy would answer. "He always makes me want to laugh." "Well, I am glad I am of some use in this world," thought Squinty, who could understand nearly all that the boy and his sisters said. "It is something just to be jolly." "I wouldn't want a pig," said the other girl. "They grunt and squeal and are not clean. I'd rather have a rabbit."
"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.
He hunted around in the dark until he found another soft bed of leaves, and on that he cuddled himself up to go to sleep for the night. He was a little afraid, but, after all, he was used to sleeping alone, and, even though he was outside of his pen now, he did not worry much. "In the morning I shall go back to the boy who taught me tricks," thought Squinty.
"See, he is going right toward them!" cried the boy. "There, he has them!" exclaimed Sallie. "Oh, so he has!" spoke Mollie. "I wouldn't have thought he could!" And, by that time, Squinty had found the hole where the boy had covered the acorns with dirt, and Squinty was chewing the sweet nuts. "Now make him jump the rope," said Mollie. "I will, as soon as he eats the acorns," replied the boy. "Ha!
Then the boy lifted out the comical little pig, and Squinty found himself inside a large box, very much like the pen at home. It had clean straw in it, and a little trough, just like the one at his "home," where he could eat. But there was nothing in the trough to eat, as yet, and the box seemed quite lonesome, for Squinty was all alone. "Here you are now!
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.
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