The farmer pig was a big
white pig who wore overalls in the summer and jacket and jeans in the
winter. He often spent his day looking after his crops which grew
large and healthy under the farmer pigs care. The farmer pig toiled
day and night to make sure the crops were full and healthy - however
the job was not always easy as he often met evil foes several times
per day.
One of the farmer pig's
foes was the red fox who visited the garden during the day and night.
The Red fox liked to sniff around farmer pigs tomatoes and often he
made the delicious tomatoes his daily meal. Farmer pig knew that the
red fox liked the best of the red tomatoes and he grew angry at the
red fox when he saw that the tomatoes had gone missing. His anger
bubbled inside of his brain and the farmer pig knew that he needed to
come up with an idea to keep the red fox away.
To try and keep the red
fox away from the tomatoes the farmer pig placed a small basket of
eggs near the fence-line - however this did not stop the red fox
from munching on the tomatoes, it just emptied the farmer pigs store
of eggs. Sometimes the farmer pig was left without breakfast and he
realised fast that he could not continue try to feed the red fox the
eggs.
So the farmer pig
scratched his brain and thought of a new idea - instead of placing
the eggs near the fence-line he would place the eggs near a trap!
The farmer pig didn't
always like traps, in fact he was often afraid of them; traps looked
cold, mean, and harmful, and he didn't like to look at them at all!
However during the most desperate time when he needed tomatoes for
harvesting farmer pig decided to use a trap - even if it would be
only the one time.
The farmer pig placed the
trap near the fence-line and then he placed a basket of eggs inside
of the trap. The farmer pig then walked back to his house and waited
for a sign that the trap had caught its victim. The farmer pig
waited day and night, and after a long sleep under the stars the
farmer pig moved to check the trap again.
The eggs had not been
taken, they not even been licked; the farmer pig scratched his head
and wondered if the fox had run to another paddock? However then the
farmer pig checked on his tomatoes and he saw not a one on their
stems!
The farmer pig cried out
until his throat was hoarse. He didn't know how the red fox had
eaten so many tomatoes, however they were all gone! The farmer pig
grew angry, and his face grew fierce and red! He hated the red fox!
All his tomatoes had been plucked!
The farmer pig forgot
about the trap and he moved inside of his house to rest – his anger
had gotten to his head and he could see the world no more!
When the farmer pig moved
inside of the house the red fox lifted up his head from the tall
grass that surrounded the garden - he had eaten all the tomatoes,
and his belly was stained blood red.
Slowly the red fox moved
to leave the paddock, however on the way back to his cave he spied
the eggs in the trap. The red fox became hungry all of a sudden and
he crawled inside to fetch the eggs - however he was not careful
enough, and the red fox ended up locked inside of the cage.
The farmer pig looked out
the bedroom window when he heard a howl and he narrowed his eyes. He
wondered if the red fox had been caught? So he lifted his boots and
walked out of the farmhouse.
The farmer pig stepped
heavy strides towards the fence-line. Each step of the way he heard
the red foxes cry and the farmer pig knew that the red fox had been
caught in the trap.
The farmer pig circled the
trap and he crouched down low to inspect the red fox who had not
touched a single egg. The farmer pig wanted to yell to scold the red
fox, however the red fox looked at him with large weepy eyes and the
farmer pig knew that he wasn't going to yell.
“Look at you stuck in a
cage;” told the farmer pig as he blinked his eyes. “Why do you
think you are stuck in a cage?” he inquired.
“I-I don't know!”
gasped the red fox with a hot tempered stammer. “I had only been
passing by when the cage jumped and grabbed me!” he lied.
“Oh but that is not
true;” told the farmer pig as he crossed his brows. “The cage
is not alive and cannot jump at you - you must have crawled inside;”
he declared.
“Maybe I did;” told
the red fox with some reserve. “Let me out!” he then begged.
The farmer pig shook his
head.
“I would naturally want
to let you out but there is an issue;” told the farmer pig. “You
ate all of my red tomatoes;” he declared in a firm tone. “When
you eat my red tomatoes I cannot sell them;” he declared. “That
means I lose my money;” he added. “As you can see the situation
is clearly out of hand;” he declared.
“Clearly!” gasped the
red fox who began to want to nibble on the eggs that sat under his
nose. “You are in a bit of a predicament!” he gasped. “What
do you think you will do?” he inquired.
“I need you to stop
eating my tomatoes;” told farmer pig. “You eat too many;” he
added. “You need to stop;” he said.
“But if I can't eat your
tomatoes what will I eat?” asked the red fox as he grew more then
a little famished for the eggs that sat nested inside of the basket.
“How about a basket of
eggs every morning?” asked the farmer pig.
“Every morning?”
gasped the red fox.
“I will give you a
basket of eggs every morning and you will no longer eat my red
tomatoes;” told farmer pig.
“Well I would enjoy a
basket of eggs every morning, but too many makes me feel fat and
heavy;” told the red fox. “Is there anything else you can offer
me?” he asked.
The farmer pig scratched
his head - he was sure the red fox would have liked to have eaten
his eggs, he had not thought about what else he could offer.
“Perhaps you would like
a basket of strawberries?” he asked after a moment.
The red fox began to
smile.
“I would love to eat a
basket of strawberries!” he gasped. “But the strawberries do
not grow all year round;” he added.
The farmer pig gasped! He
had not thought of that! He scratched his brain again and tried to
think of what else he could offer.
“What about a basket of
potatoes;” told farmer pig as he grew a little tense.
“I would love a basket
of potatoes!” gasped the red fox. “But they are too hard to eat
when eaten raw;” he added.
The farmer pig gasped!
While potatoes grew all year around he didn't think of how hard they
were when eaten raw! The farmer pig gulped and tried to think again.
“How about a plate of
steak?” the farmer pig offered after much thought.
The red fox wanted to jump
when he heard the word steak. He liked steak a lot, however he was
not usually able to eat steak as he could not buy any; but if farmer
pig were to buy him steak then surely he would not want to eat the
tomatoes any longer.
“I would like steak a
lot!” gasped the red fox. “But do you mind if I have a couple
of tomatoes on the side?” he asked. “I do like them ever so
much!” he added.
The farmer pig nodded.
“Okay I will give you a
steak with a small basket of tomatoes;” told the farmer pig.
“Just you leave my orchard alone!” he added.
The red fox smiled and
once again he tried to jump for joy, only his head banged on the top
of the cage and gave him a head-bump. The red fox began to whine and
farmer pig readily let the red fox out of the cage. The red fox
scampered out of the cage and then he looked at the farmer pig.
“See you tomorrow!”
the red fox cheered before he raced away through the wild meadow.
The farmer pig smiled and
waved! He was glad he would no longer have any trouble with the red
fox eating his tomatoes again.
The farmer pig fed the red
fox his daily meal of steak and tomatoes, however his garden was
still under threat as the white bunny bounced over his fence-line to
nibble at the lettuce.
The farmer pig watched as
the white bunny nibbled and ate his lettuce patch to the root. The
farmer pig grew quite mad and shouted at the white bunny.
“You there! Get out of
my garden!” cried farmer pig.
The farmer pig's cries
swam all over the orchard and many birds and creatures raced away -
however the white bunny stayed to nibble on the delicious lettuce
leaves.
The farmer pig continued
to grow red hot, and he marched up to the white bunny who had begun
to burrow under the soil to get at the root of the lettuce he had
gorged upon.
“Hey there bunny!”
cried the farmer pig as he approached. “How can I make you stop
eating my lettuce?” he asked.
The white bunny looked at
the farmer pig and smiled. He had green lettuce leaves stuck in his
teeth and the farmer pig wished he had a bucket to throw over the
bunny.
“I wouldn't mind a fine
meal as the red fox;” told the white bunny. “I get very
hungry;” he added. “Give me a meal and I will no longer eat
your garden.
The farmer pig scratched
his head and then he nodded.
“Very well;” told the
farmer pig. “I shall give you eggs and tomatoes once a day;” he
agreed.
However the white bunny
pulled a face!
“Oh no, I do not want
eggs and tomatoes!” gasped the white bunny. “I want lettuce,
cabbage, carrots!” the white bunny exclaimed.
The farmer pig shrugged
and then he nodded.
“Okay bunny!” he
cried after a moment. “Every morning I shall leave you a dish
lettuce, cabbage, and carrots;” he told. “You shall never eat
from my garden again;” he then added.
The white bunny jumped for
joy as his senses sparked - he would no longer have to steal his
food, he was going to be given it on a dish and he was never going to
have to dig for it again!
“That is a deal!”
cried the white bunny before he scampered away from the garden bed.
The farmer pig wiped his
brow and he sucked in a breath. He had made a second deal and his
garden was safer then ever.
The farmer pig suddenly
heard the pick of corn kernels. It was a sound that made his nerves
tighten until his neck was so stiff he was barely able to turn his
head. However the farmer pig did turn his head and when he did he
saw five crows picking at his corn patch.
“Oh no! Not you!”
gasped the farmer pig before he ran up to the corn patch to try and
shoo the crows away with his very own hand.
The crows laughed at the
farmer pigs efforts - he was too short to reach them! The farmer
pig cried out until his tone fell faint as the crows continued to
pick at the kernels of corn, however he could not stop them at all.
“Get out of my garden!”
the farmer pig cried as the crows continued to pick at pick at his
delicious golden corn.
However the crows would
not listen, they just gobbled the farmer pigs corn right in front of
him.
The farmer pig fell frail
of mind and he sank to the dirt where he spied a snail on his melon
and a caterpillar on his beans; it was no use - the garden had too
many enemies. The farmer pig sucked in his breath as his heart fell
heavy and sore - he wanted to cry! So the farmer pig cried and all
of the little creatures of the garden scrambled up to the farmer pig
to ask him what the matter was? The farmer pig told all of the little
creatures that he no longer wanted them to eat from his garden, and
the creatures felt bad that they had stolen the farmer pigs food and
ruined his orchard patch.
“We are sorry!” they
cried out as they watched the farmer pig cry. “We will eat from
your garden patch no more!” they told before they all left the
garden for good.
The farmer pig grew very
happy that his garden was safe from the creatures of the garden,
however he felt bad when the creatures hung around his fence-line
with grim on their faces. After a while those grim faces began to
look pale and wane, and the farmer pig knew that all the little
creatures had nothing to eat. The farmer pig grew sad for the little
creatures of the garden, and he grew an idea as he tossed on his
bedsheets one dark evening.
The farmer pig woke up
early and began to dig a new garden bed. In that garden he planted
tomatoes, beans, lettuce, cabbage, capsicum, carrots, and many other
fine vegetables. The farmer pig watered the garden every day and
within one week the garden had begun to grow.
“Little creatures of the
garden come and eat from this garden! It is yours now, I made it just
for you;” he cried. “You can eat all you like - but eat slowly
as there are many of you and only one little garden;” he advised.
All the little creatures
of the garden grew delighted over the farmer pigs generous gift of a
small garden to call their own. Immediately all the little creatures
began to flock to the garden to nibble at all the generous delicacies
on offer. The little creatures no longer had to go hungry, they
would be able to eat all they wished and feel full at the end of
every day.
“Thank-you farmer pig!”
the little creatures cried out as they smiled at the farmer pig who
grinned as he watched the little creatures of the garden nibble at
the food he had planted for them.
“You are welcome;”
told the farmer pig as he watched the white bunny as he hopped
towards some lettuce, the caterpillar as he crawled over a bean, and
the red fox as he sniffed at some bell tomatoes. “I am happy that
you will no longer go hungry, and I am happy for you to stay;” he
added before he left the little creatures of the garden to enjoy
their brand new garden patch and all the delicious foods it
contained.
