Diana Malivani
The Happy
Little Pigs
An Illustrated Story in Verse
Translated from Russian into English by
Mark Herman and Ronnie Apter
Illustrated by the Author
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One Day in the Lives of the Happy Little Pigs (an Illustrated Story in Verse)
For a little girl named Michelle
The Author would like to express her deep gratitude to her husband for his support and assistance with this book
Table of Contents
The Happy Little Pigs
The Author
Other books by the Author
The Happy Little Pigs
Beside a shady river bank,
Where oaks grow tall and stout,
Stood a cozy cottage,
The household of the Snouts.
The father – an imposing Boar,
His wife – Madame Oinklette,
The stylish loving mother
Of their piglet octet.
Eight charming children -
A rapidly growing crew -
Each little nose turned up,
Each tail a curlicue.
Each pink child delightful,
Their parents’ pride and joy,
One piglette, a little girl,
And seven mischievous boys.
Piglet eight was the smartest:
At school he learned to write
And count up to a hundred.
That little boy was bright!
The seventh was athletic:
Not one to rest, he’d rather
Race around on roller skates
And play ball with his father.
Piglet six was the boldest,
So brave he dared to poke
A wolf, then swim across the river
And clamber up an oak.
Piglet five was portentous,
Serious and urbane,
Giving advice to all he met
As he walked along with his cane.
Piglet four was the plumpest:
He ate and ate and ate.
He’d race to sit at the table
And ravage plate after plate.
Piglet three was the kindest:
He always helped his mother,
His father, and his sister,
And played with his baby brothers.
Piglet two was creative:
His poetry excelled.
He loved to look at the sky
And loved to draw pastels.
And then there was little Oinkletta
Who was her father’s pet,
Mischievous and stylish,
A beautiful piglette.
Whenever they go out to play,
All eight of them play hard,
Running around and squealing
In their own back yard.
Early in the morning, Papa Boar
Rises from his bed,
Counts the tails of his children
And pats their sleepy heads.
He wakes them up with gentle oinks
And sets them on the path
Leading to the river
For their morning bath.
They all run through the morning dew
And every neighbor sees
The happy piglet children.
Papa Boar is pleased.
Squealing and screaming and hammering hooves,
The morning bath is a great success!
Eight happily wagging tails,
Eight piglets out of breath!
Rub-a-dub-dub goes Papa Boar
Amid the happy shouts.
He scrubs their cute little curlicue tails,
And scrubs their snub little snouts.
Now their baths are finished.
They’re clean from tail to chin,
And so they run to Mama:
Breakfast is about to begin!
Steaming mugs of cocoa,
Pancakes topped with cherries,
Cheese tarts with clotted cream,
And fresh sweet blueberries.
Tying on their napkins,
The whole piglet brood,
Grunts and oinks happily
And digs into the food.
Papa and Mama agree:
«We are not prejudiced.
All eight are pink and perfect.
No better piglets exist!»
Into the yard they gaily go
To get some exercise,
To water flowers, play ball,
And chase blue butterflies.
They jump rope and play leapfrog,
And then the entire group
Runs to the stream to catch fish
For Mama’s special soup.
One of them took a basket
To gather acorns. He snuffled
Beneath the oak trees,
Hoping to find a truffle.
Caring Mama Oinklette
Gives a long loud cry,
«Soo-Ee! Come home!
The sun has left the sky.»
All tuckered out, the piggies oink
And, two by two, start trooping
Home after a busy day,
Their pink snouts drooping.
They soak in a fragrant bubble bath,
All seven sons and the daughter.
They jump and play and splash about,
Their hooves churning the water.
Next food, and then, their bellies gorged,
They all prepare to sleep.
They bounce a bit, then snuggle up