The Piglet And The Wizard
We thought this one up over a Sunday lunch.
Once upon a time, there was a piglet called Jaffa. He had a sister called Cake and a big brother called Hobnob (their mum had named them after her favourite foods). They all lived in a big pig sty full of mud and spent their days eating chocolate truffles.
One day, Jaffa noticed a man in a pointy hat floating past the sty. He trotted across to the wall and leant over on his front legs to see what was happening.
“That’s strange”, he thought, “people don’t usually float around here.”
He asked the man why he was floating.
“I’m a wizard, and this is how wizards get around on muddy farms. It saves having to clean my boots when I get home.”
Jaffa was impressed, but before long he went back to eating the chocolate truffles.
The next week, Jaffa heard a strange scream - “miiiiaaaaowwwww!”. He quickly trotted across to the pig sty wall and leant over on his front legs to see what was happening. He saw that the farmer had driven over the tail of a cat with his tractor. It was Tiddles, the farm cat, and she was screaming in pain because her tail had been squashed flat. But the farmer hadn’t heard because the tractor was so noisy.
Just then, the wizard came by again and noticed poor Tiddles with her flattened tail.
“Poor little kitty cat!” he said, and waved his wand.
The cat’s tail magically unflattened itself. Jaffa was very impressed by this, but before long, he went back to rolling around in the mud.
The week after, in the middle of the night, Jaffa was woken up by a scuffling noise near the pig sty. It was dark as there was no moon and no stars, but he managed to find his way to the wall of the sty and peered over the top. There was the wizard, lit up by a light coming from the end of his wand. He was searching the ground and muttering about where he’d dropped his car keys.
“Hmm,” thought Jaffa, “it must be really useful to have a lighty-up wand,” but soon he went back to bed.
Soon after, Jaffa and his brothers and sisters had eaten so many chocolate truffles that the farmer came to them and said, “You’re not piglets any more, you’re big enough to go out and get jobs. Let me see now! The Little Pigs Building Company is looking for a wolf prevention specialist...”
“That sounds fun!” squealed Hobnob. So the farmer sent him off to work with the Little Pigs.
“Now, I need someone to help repair my tractors and combined harvesters...”
“Wow, I’d love to do that, it’d be so cool fixing those huge machines!” squealed Cake, so off she went to the workshop.
“Now, there’s a job going at the vegetarian sausage factory...”
Jaffa wrinkled his snout - that didn’t sound like much fun. Just then, the wizard floated past again.
“I know!” squealed Jaffa, “I can be a wizard.”
The farmer looked unsure, but the wizard said, “What a splendid idea!” and took Jaffa off to be his apprentice.
After a year and a day, all the pigs returned to the farm to see how they had all got on with their jobs.
“It’s hard working for the Little Pigs, there are just so many wolves around these days,” complained Hobnob.
“It’s hard fixing the tractors. They’re getting old now and keep breaking down,” complained Cake.
“It’s been hard learning how to be a wizard,” said Jaffa, “but look!” He waved his magic wand, and the rusty old tractors and combined harvesters suddenly became shiny and new again.
“And watch this!” he said, and waved his wand again. This time, there was a frightful howling noise, then they saw the wolves who lived all across the fields and hills go running off into the distance as if their tails were on fire.
“And finally...” He waved his wand one more time and the pig sty became filled to overflowing with chocolate truffles. They all dived in and lived happily and chocolateily ever after.