The Old Woman and Her Pig

Once upon a time, an old woman was sweeping her house when she found a shiny silver coin. “What shall I buy with this coin?” she wondered. “I know, I will go to the market and buy a little pig!” So she went to the market, bought a fat pink pig, and set off for home.

Soon they came to a stile, which is a set of wooden steps over a fence. But the pig sat down and would not climb over the stile. The old woman saw a dog trotting along the lane. “Dog, dog, bark at the pig, for piggy won’t climb over the stile, and I won’t get home tonight!” But the dog just wagged his tail and would not.

Next, she saw a cat sitting on a wall. “Cat, cat, chase the dog, for the dog won’t bark at the pig, and piggy won’t climb over the stile, and I won’t get home tonight!” “I will chase the dog if you bring me a saucer of milk,” said the cat.

So the old woman went to the cow in the field. “Cow, cow, please give me some milk for the cat.” “I will give you milk if you bring me some sweet hay,” said the cow. So the old woman went to the farmer. “Farmer, farmer, please give me some hay for the cow.” “I will give you hay if you fetch me a bucket of water from the well,” said the farmer. So the old woman fetched a bucket of water from the well, even though it was very heavy.

Then everything began to happen, one thing after another. The farmer gave the old woman some hay, and she gave the hay to the cow. The cow gave her a jug of milk, and she poured the milk into a saucer for the cat. The cat lapped up the milk, and then the cat began to chase the dog. The dog began to bark at the pig, and the pig squealed and jumped right over the stile! And so the old woman got home that night after all, with her fat pink pig trotting behind her.