it was the first time grunty pig had ever been outside his pen. and since he didn't know how long it would be before farmer green found him and took him back home, he decided that he had better make the most of his outing while it lasted.

hurrying into the orchard, grunty ate heartily of the fruit that lay upon the ground. after he had devoured a few dozen apples he began to lose his appetite for that sort of food. so he started to root beneath the trees. it was fun to dig. besides, he found a good many tender roots that tickled his taste. they were different from anything he had ever eaten before.

after a while grunty pig learned something. he had always supposed that he could go on eating forever, if he were only lucky enough to have the chance. but to his surprise he found that there was a limit to the amount he could consume with comfort. he began to have a tight feeling about his waistband. at first he dared hope it would go away. but the more he ate, the worse he felt. and at last he gave a grunt of disappointment.

"i can't eat any more," he whined. "here's a whole world full of food just going to waste. and i can't even hold one half of it!"

still, there were other pleasures to be had besides eating. grunty crawled through the fence into the lane. and near the barn, where the cows had trampled, he beheld such beautiful, sticky, deep mud as he had never dreamed could be found anywhere.

grunty pig gave a deep sigh of happiness as he wallowed in the mire. he lay on his stomach, he turned upon each side. he even squirmed through a puddle and rolled over in it, so that there wasn't a clean patch on him, anywhere. little did he care that his silvery bristles were smeared with black. the mud felt delightfully cool upon his piggy, pinkish skin.

"this is almost better than eating," grunty squealed.

at last his gurgles and grunts attracted the notice of a proud creature known as henrietta hen. she had been scratching for worms in the farmyard. and now she came running around a corner of the barn and peered through the fence at grunty.

"you careless child!" she squawked. "stop playing in that mud! don't you know that it's very dangerous to get your feet wet?"

grunty pig stood up and looked at her.

"goodness! you're a sight!" henrietta hen exclaimed. "does your mother know you're here?"

now, grunty pig didn't answer a single one of henrietta's questions. he merely stared at her and said nothing. so it was no wonder that she thought him stupid.

"poor mrs. pig!" thought henrietta hen. "it's bad enough to have a child so untidy as this youngster. but it's far worse to have a dull-witted one."

then to grunty she said sharply,"you'd better get out of that mudhole and go dry yourself in the sun."

he actually obeyed her. and as soon as henrietta hen saw that he was sunning himself she walked out of sight around the barn, stopping now and then to pick up some tidbit or other.

"good!" grunty pig grunted. "she's gone. this was the easiest way to get rid of her."