The Farmer And Pig

If there is one activity that I think a majority of people can agree on, it is that they all enjoy a good story. As human beings we're drawn to the stories of the abstract and the noble. We love hearing stories of good triumphing over evil or something or someone that causes us to transport to the land of imagination.

G.K. Chesterton, one of my favorite authors said the following that I think resonates with all who love stories, "The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say. The aim of good poetical words is to mean what they do not say." In an attempt to share a section of scripture that has been on my heart lately, I wrote a short story based off it:

(What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.)

Once upon a time there once was a farm. At this particular farm, there was a great Farmer. He woke up every morning to take care of his farm, watering the fields, milking the cows, fixing the old rustic barn and tending to the swine he was given. One day it rained very hard and there were many multiple puddles of mud surrounding to the farm and the farms nearby. The next day following the rain, one of the pigs for sake of this story will be called Marcus. Marcus decided to roll around in the mud and found a great deal of pleasure in this activity. For days he would go into the mud and roll around until he was exhausted and took a rest. On this particular day it was the hottest day that ever was recorded. The mud that was on this pig had tried and the pig became frustrated of the dry mud that was upon him now.

The farmer who was nearby fixing the farm saw that his pigs were not doing so well in the heat. He got out the green hose and washed his pigs down. The pigs gleefully snorted and if these pigs could fly, they would have from the joy they were experiencing. The next day wasn’t as hot as the previous record setting day but it still was quite hot. Marcus not being the smartest pig in the pen, decided to roll around in the mud to ease away his pain of feeling the heat that was upon him but also for the pleasure of the mud splashed upon his pink skin. Marcus was enjoying this moment of pleasure until he started to realize it was getting hotter outside. Marcus hurried to his comfort spot, which was under his feeding drawl. This gave him temporary pleasure until the sun was coming through a crack above poor Marcus’s head.

He wallowed out and let out a big squeal for water. The other pigs joined in agreement and all the pigs in the farm began to let out loud squeals. Some for food, others for shade but others like Marcus to be rid of the dry mud that was hurting his piggish body. The farmer seeing their need brought out the hose and washed them down. Marcus saw the other pigs let out a squeel for joy as their snots were filled with water but he not willingly to accept the Farmer’s gift, and stood back as the other pigs were dancing in the water. Now this if pigs could dance as well. Once the other pigs were drenched in the water and the Farmer began to roll up the green hose, he noticed Marcus off in a corner. He called Marcus’s name, but this was a very pridefu and arrogant pig and he ignored the call of his master.

The Farmer being filled with a great love for his pig, he gently kneed down and petted the creature. Marcus snorted but then looked up and saw the eyes of the Farmer; he could see the look of love in the Farmer’s eyes. His vision was blurred slightly because of the dry mud covering his eyes but he could still make out the sight of the farmer. The farmer saw the dry mud on Marcus’s eyes and spat saliva into both of his hands. With his salivated hands he rubbed them against Marcus’s eyes and this allowed the swine to see. Then the Farmer took the hose and washed down his beloved pig. Each day Marcus would remember the kindness that was shown to him by the Farmer, but he still would seek his pleasure from the mud. But he noticed once the pleasure of playing in the mud stopped, and he lay down in the middle of the pigpen, the Farmer still lovingly came by and washed him clean. This dumfounded him, of why the Farmer still washed him clean.

This is of course if pigs can comprehend love, or be dumbfounded.