Smut Fada

Owen was a farmer. He worked hard. He grew vegetables and potatoes.

He had one cow.

He also kept pigs.

The farm and house belonged to the landlord.

Owen had to pay him rent.

Owen knew a lovely girl. Her name was Norah. Owen wanted to marry Norah, but he was too poor.

Owen got up early every morning.

First, he milked the cow.

The he fed the pigs.

"Good Morning" he said to them every morning.

One morning Owen thought one of the pigs answered him. "There must be an echo here" he thought.

But every morning after that, when Owen said "Good Morning" to the pigs, he heard a voice say "Good Morning". The voice got stronger and clearer every day.

Owen was amazed. The voice came from a small pig with a long tail. Owen told no-one about it.

One morning one of Owen's friends came to borrow a ladder. He heard the pig say "Good Morning". He was surprised.

Owen asked him not to tell anyone.

But he told everyone he met.

Soon people started coming to Owen's farm to hear the pig. They sat on the fence shouting "Good Morning". When the pig heard this, it would answer "Good Morning". This delighted the people and they fell about laughing.

The people kept coming to hear the pig.

The left gates open. They walked on the vegetables.

Owen was not able to do any work.

He had no time to meet Norah.

A week later, Owen heard the landlord coming. The landlord wanted to hear the pig.

When he heard the pig say "Good Morning", he was amazed. "I shall tell my wife about this", he said.

Later, the landlord's wife, Elly, and her sister came to hear the pig. They were thrilled. They spend hours and hours listening to the pig say "Good Morning".

"It is not right to keep a great pig like this in a dirty pig-sty", said Elly to Owen. "Keep him in your house and feed him from a bowl".

The next day Elly arrived with her dress maker. Fancy clothes were made for the pig.

When the pig was dressed, Elly said; "This is the nicest, smartest pig in the world. We need a name for him. Let us call him Smut Fada".

Elly and her friends came to Owen's house every day.

They taught him how to sit in a chair and eat vegetables from a bowl".

Poor Owen. He had to make tea for the ladies. He had to keep the house clean.

Smut Fada was as dirty as any other pig !!!!

Owen called to see the landlord. "The pig is a great nuisance to me", he said. "I shall have to sell it".

"Don't you dare sell Smut Fada", shouted the landlord. "I am the owner of the house and the farm. If you sell that pig, I'll throw you out on the road".

That frightened Owen. He did not want to leave his house and farm.

One day Norah came to visit Owen. "This pig is a great trouble for me", said Owen. "Visitors walk all over my vegetables. I have very little money. I am sorry but I cannot marry you". "Don't worry" said Norah, "Things will improve. I shall wait for you".

One fine morning, a month later, there were no visitors on the farm. Owen was digging vegetables. He heard the sound of horns and hounds.

The landlord and his friends were chasing a fox in a field nearby.

The fox ran into Owen's farm and hid in a shed. Owen had an idea.

He ran into the house. Grabbing the pig, the quickly dressed it in a red jacket. Then he pushed it outside the door.

When the pig heard the hounds it took flight and ran like the wind. When the hounds saw the pig running, they thought it was the fox. They chased it eagerly.

Owen never saw Smut Fada again.

One the way home from the hunt, the horsemen stopped at Owen's house. "Your hounds chased away my valuable talking pig" said Owen. "I am sorry" said the landlord. "It looked like a fox".

One of the horsemen, a judge, said" "Let us pay this man for this talking pig. A thousand pounds from each man is fair". Each of the horsemen gave Owen a thousand pounds. Owen was now rich!!!

Soon after that, Owen sold all his pigs. He bought a nice farm.

There was a lovely house on the farm. Owen no longer had to pay rent.

Then Owen asked Norha to marry him. She was delighted and said "yes".

The wedding was held in the Spring. Owen and Norah lived happily together.

The kept fat cows on the farm. They had a horse, hens and ducks, but they never bothered again with pigs.