The tree branch Albert was sitting on broke with a loud cracking noise. The young pig landed on his face on the ground shocked and a bit confused. He looked around for a while disoriented.
Albert had climbed the tree chasing a butterfly that he had wanted to capture with a net that he had just gotten from his father. The wings of the butterfly were mesmerising and the piglet got really excited about catching it. He wanted to catch it, then trap it in a jar and keep it on his desk as an amusing pet.
The piglet started crying upset by his fall and annoyed that he was not successful in his butterfly hunt. After a while, Albert stopped whimpering seeing how nobody was rushing to comfort him. He got up from the ground and picked up his net which had a large tear in the middle of it. Albert started worrying about what his father would say when he saw that the net was broken, so he decided to dig a small hole in the garden and bury the net.
While he was digging the hole, his friend Philip came around and asked 'Albert what are you doing?'
Philip was a wild boar and Albert's best friend.
'I just broke the net that my father gave me yesterday for my birthday so I'm burying it in hope that he will not find it. Otherwise, he will punish me,' said Albert.
'I was hoping we could go and play with the ball,' said Philip. 'Let me help you dig so we can finish it quickly and go and play.'
'Great, sounds great,' responded Albert.
The boys dug the hole, buried the net and went to play football. They were cheering so loudly that a nosey neighbour came over and told them off.
'Could you play quieter boys?' the hare mama requested. I just put my baby to sleep and if you wake her you are going to have to look after her!' she said in a warning tone. The boys were quieter for the whole of five minutes to the frustration of Jill, the neighbour, and then cheered and shouted as before.
Meanwhile, Albert's father came to the garden to build a new shed for his gardening tools. He started digging a hole next to the tree, when he found something sticking out of the ground. He was guessing what that could be and it didn't take him long to understand that it was the net he gave to Albert. When Albert saw his father digging up the net, he ran away to hide somewhere where his father couldn't find him. He hid right behind the line of sheets which his mother hung out to dry in the garden.
Philip saw his friend hiding behind the clothes and he threw the ball towards him. Albert didn't see the ball coming and when it hit him he got so scared that he jumped frantically and ripped the bed sheets hanging on the line.
The piglet was so spooked by that moment that all he could think of was to run, run as fast as he could. So he ran crying and his tears obliterated everything in his way. Finally, he got caught in the bushes and found himself hanging stuck inside the shrubs.
'Oh, no. Why is this happening to me!' Albert cried out loud, now sobbing uncontrollably.
To add insult to injury, a curious puppy passing next to the bushes, saw part of Albert's body. Thinking it was an interesting pink something hidden in the bushes, the dog bit it and pulled as hard as he could, trying to see what it was. Albert could not take it any longer. He screamed as loudly as he could, he jumped out of the bushes and ran straight for his mommy's arms.
Albert's mum asked:
'What happened darling?' in a soft voice.
The distraught piglet told her the whole story in between his sobs.
'I tried to catch a beautiful butterfly but it escaped. I climbed the tree, trying to catch it, only to fall on the ground and hurt myself. Then, I discovered that the net was broken so I buried it with Philip's help so as not to be punished. I knew papa would be very angry when he discovered it,' related the distraught piglet. After catching a gulp of air and wiping his runny nose Albert continued: 'Next, we played football with Philip when the neighbour screamed at us. Then, I saw father dug up the broken net so I had to hide from him. Hiding behind the sheets hung in the garden I got hit by the ball which scared me a lot so I ran, ran until I got trapped in the bushes. A passing dog bit me and not being able to take it any longer I just ran straight to you.
'I'm sorry mummy,' cried the piglet to his mama now. 'I'm sorry I tore the sheets!'
'Oh, my. You're a troublemaker aren't you?!' said Albert's mother, smiling. 'My poor little baby! It sounds like you had a horrible day! Let me fix some sandwiches with orange marmalade for you and you will see, everything will be well again. Go and wash your face and your hands now, please.' asked Albert's mum in a soothing reassuring voice.
