A regular zoo

It was an ordinary day.  One of those ordinary days where the kids do their school until noon, have a picnic lunch break and either hit the books again or find a neighbor to play cricket or the odd game of rugby with.  Or so we thought. 

On the other side of the fence, the 30 odd neighbor pigs were not having an ordinary day.  Theirs was one of boredom until noon, with constant snack breaks throughout the morning.  The ordinary day changed when several of the piglets lined up to check out the greener grass on the other side of the fence.  The huge black boar waddled over to see what was so interesting and looking along the fence at the sparse thorn-bush blocked gaps, she soon devised an evil plan.  Before you could say, “This little piggy,” Mama Boar had her snout under the wire and as the lil’ ones backed up, she bent a good-sized outlet in that thorn-tree ridden fence.

This little piggy went to our house, that little piggy went beyond and soon 10 little piggies were spotted by a brother and neighbor boy who were out for a break-time bike ride.  Oh!  Did those boys yell!  And what a team those piggies made with their deafening squeals and synchronized darting!

As the boys (ignorant in the art of herding) tried corralling the pigs back towards the fence, the pigs hightailed it out of the driveway and took of on a trip around the block.  As both boys energetically pursued the pigs to ensure that they came back into the property on the other end, they rode by another neighbor’s house.  A neighbor’s house that’s gate was open; a neighbor’s house whose dogs were home.

Soon two big dogs caught sight of the passing scenario and set out to confuse the piggies just a little more.  The boys slowed their bikes, curving in the road just enough to see that the barking bits of mayhem behind them were not tied up after all. 

It didn’t take the dog’s owners long to jump in their jeep and set off after their runaways, making it:

One blue, swerving jeep chasing

Two drooling, barking mutts chasing

Two screaming, biking boys chasing

Ten squealing, darting piglets.

Eventually, those pigs were corralled into our field once again… to join several more who had escaped through the hole before the rest of the family ran to see what the boys were so excited over.

The scenes that followed this caused many laughter-induced aching stomachs and a few temporarily deaf boys.  One particular pig (no tiny piglet) eluded the boys in the tall grass, its only obvious presence deduced from rustling tips here and there.  The sight of J#5 was all we ladies could see from our safe vantage point: He’d run, run, run, and then dive into the grass; “ouch” and up he’d get again to run and dive yet again.  The rest of the boys were doing their duty running to and fro, searching for the wild boar.  They just laid off the diving.  All of a sudden, we heard a terribly high-pitched squeal and the dog-chasing-owner yelled to D#4, “JUMP ON IT!” It now being D#4’s turn to dive, he successfully caught the huge thing and came up with a terrified look and two arms around the screaming boar’s middle.  Everyone cheered and that big piggy…

Screamed, screamed, screamed alllll the way home.