the next night, when they were again seated around the veranda after supper, the doctor asked: "now, who's going to tell us a story to-night? didn't gub-gub say he had one for us?"
"oh, don't let him tell one, doctor," said jip. "it's sure to be stupid."
"he isn't old enough to tell a good story," said dab-dab. "he hasn't had any experience."
"his only interest in life is food, anyway," said too-too. "let someone else tell a story."
"no, now wait a minute," cried the doctor. "don't all be jumping on him this way. we were all young once. let him tell his story. he may win the prize. who knows? come along, gub-gub. tell us your story. what's the name of it?"
gub-gub fidgeted his feet, blushed up to the ears, and finally said:
"this is a kind of a crazy story. but it's a good one. it's—er—er—a piggish fairy tale. it's called 'the magic cucumber.'"
"gosh!" growled jip.
"more food!" murmured too-too. "what did i tell you?"
"tee-hee-hee!" tittered the white mouse.
"go on, gub-gub," said the doctor. "don't take any notice of them. i'm listening."
"once upon a time," gub-gub began, "a small pig went out into the forest with his father to dig for truffles. the father pig was a very clever truffle digger, and just by smelling the ground he could tell with great sureness the places where truffles were to be found. well, this day they came upon a place beneath some big oak trees and they started digging. presently, after the father pig had dug up an enormous truffle and they were both eating it, they heard, to their great astonishment, the sound of voices coming from the hole out of which they had dug the truffle.
"the father pig hurried away with his child because he did not like magic. but that night the baby pig, when his mother and father were fast asleep, crept out of his sty and went off into the woods. he wanted to find out the mystery of those voices coming from under the ground.
"so, reaching the hole where his father had dug up the truffle, he set to work digging for himself. he had not dug very long when the earth caved right in underneath him and he felt himself falling and falling and falling. at last he came to a stop, upside down in the middle of a dining table. the table was all set for dinner—and he had fallen into the soup. he looked about him and saw seated around the table many tiny little men, none of them more than half as big as himself and all a dark green in color.
"'where am i?' asked the baby pig.
"'you're in the soup,' said the little men.
"the baby pig was at first terribly frightened. but when he saw how small were the men around him his fear left him. and before he got out of the soup tureen on the table he drank up all the soup. he then asked the little men who they might be. and they said:
"'we are the cook goblins. we live under the ground and we spend half our time inventing new things to eat and the other half in eating them. the noise you heard coming out of the hole was us singing our food hymns. we always sing food hymns whenever we are preparing particularly fine dishes.'
"'good!' said the pig. 'i've come to the right place. let us go on with the dinner.'
"but just as they were about to begin on the fish (the soup was already gone, you see), there was a great noise outside the dining hall and in rushed another lot of little men, a bright red in color. these were the toadstool sprites, ancient enemies of the cook goblins. a tremendous fight began, one side using toothpicks for spears and the other using nut crackers for clubs. the pig took the side of his friends the cook goblins, and, being as big as any two of the enemy put together, he soon had the toadstool sprites running for their lives.
"when the fight was over and the dining hall cleared the cook goblins were very grateful to the baby pig for his valuable assistance. they called him a conquering hero and, crowning him with a wreath of parsley, they invited him to the seat of honor at the dining table and went on with the meal.
"never had the baby pig enjoyed a meal so much in all his life as he did that one. he found that the cook goblins, as well as inventing new and marvelously tasty dishes, had also thought out a lot of new things in the way of table furnishings. for instance, they served pin cushions with the fish. these were to stick your fishbones in, instead of leaving them to clutter up your plate. pudding-fans were another of their novelties—fans for cooling off your pudding with, instead of blowing on it. then they had cocoa-skin clothes lines—little toy clothes lines to hang the skin off your cocoa on, neatly. (you know what a nasty mess it makes draped over the rim of your cup.) and when the fruit came on, tennis racquets were handed around also. and if anyone at the other end of the table asked you for an apple, instead of going to all the work of handing down a heavy bowl of fruit, you just took an apple and served it at him like a tennis ball, and he would catch it at the other end of the table on the point of a fork.
"these things added a good deal of jolliness to the meal and some of them were very clever inventions. why, they even had a speaking tube for things you are not allowed to mention at table."
"a speaking tube!" the white mouse interrupted. "how was it used? i don't understand."
"well," said gub-gub, "you know how people are always telling you 'you mustn't speak about those things at table!' well, the cook goblins had a speaking tube in the wall which led, at the other end, to the open air outside. and whenever you wanted to talk about any of the things forbidden at table you left the table and went and said it into the speaking tube; then you came back to your seat. it was a very great invention.... well, as i was saying, the baby pig enjoyed himself tremendously. and when the meal was over he said he must be going back because he wanted to get into the sty before his mother and father should be awake.
"the cook goblins were sorry to see him go. and as a farewell present in return for the help he had given them against their enemies, they gave him the magic cucumber. now, this cucumber, if you cut off even the smallest part of it and planted it, would grow immediately into a whole field of any fruit or vegetable you wished. all you had to do was to say the name of the vegetable you wanted. the baby pig thanked the cook goblins, kissed them all goodby and went home.
"he found his mother and father still asleep when he got back. so after carefully hiding his magic cucumber under the floor of the cow barn, he crept into the sty and went fast asleep.
"now, it happened that a few days later a neighboring king made war upon the king that owned the country where the pig family lived. things went very badly for the pigs' king, and, seeing that the enemy were close at hand, he gave orders that all cattle and farm animals and people should be brought inside the castle walls. the pig family was also driven into the castle grounds. but before he left, the baby pig went and bit off a piece of his magic cucumber and took it along with him.
"soon after, the enemy's army closed about the castle and tried to storm it. then for many weeks they remained there, knowing that sooner or later the king and the people in the castle would run short of food and have to give in.
"now, it happened that the queen had noticed the baby pig within the castle grounds and, being a princess of irish blood, she took a great fancy to him and had a piece of green ribbon tied about his neck and made a regular pet of him, much to the disgust of her husband, the king.
"well, the fourth week after the enemy came the food in the castle was all gone and the king gave orders that the pigs must be eaten. the queen raised a great outcry and begged that her pet should be spared. but the king was very firm.
"'my soldiers are starving,' said he. 'your pet, madam, must be turned into sausages.'
"then the baby pig saw that the time to use the goblins' magic gift had come. and, rushing out into the castle garden, he dug a hole and planted his piece of cucumber right in the middle of the king's best rosebed.
"'parsnips!' he grunted, as he filled in the hole. 'may they blossom acres wide!'
"and, sure enough, he had hardly said the words before all over the king's garden parsnips began springing up thick and fast. even the gravel walks were covered with them.
"then the king and his army had plenty of food and, growing strong on the nutritious parsnips, they sallied forth from the castle, smote the enemy, hip and thigh, and put them to flight.
"and the queen was allowed to keep her pet pig, which rejoiced her kind heart greatly—she being of irish blood royal. and he became a great hero at the court and was given a sty studded with jewels in the centre of the castle garden—on the very spot where he had planted the magic cucumber. and they all lived happily ever after. and that is the end of the piggish fairy tale."
