Natalie and the Purple Pig

Once upon a time there was a girl called Natalie.

Natalie worked for Mr.Perez on a coffee bean farm, and her very best friend was a pig named Pico.

 All day long Natalie took care of the coffee bean trees, she chatted to Pico and he followed her up one row and down another, and up another row and the next until she finished her work.

Every night Natalie tucked Pico into the hay she sang him a lullaby before closing the barn door.

 And every morning when Natalie opened the barn door, Pico ran to her feet and she ticked his chin.

 Until one day, Mr Perez said to Natalie, "That pig is almost grown. Feed him extra this week and we can take him to the market on Saturday and make him into bacon."

 When Mr Perez left, Natalie sat nose to nose with Pico. "Listen Pico," she said, "Mr Perez wants you really fat to make lots of bacon, so we have to make you little Pico instead. You are going on a diet!"

 On the first day of Pico's diet he ate nine enchiladas, a pot of stew , six ears of corn and a bowl of ice cream. Natalie shook her head at his bulging cheeks.

 The next day Natalie locked Pico in the field with the grape vines, telling him it was for his own good. She tickled his chin and left to go do her work for the day.

 When Natalie came back a the end of the day, Pico was waiting for her at the gate. Natalie's eyes grew round. "Pico!" She shouted, You're PURPLE!"

 

Pico had eaten every grape on every vine and juice dribbled down his chin as he grinned happily at Nathalie. Natalie hurried him into the barn before Mr Perez saw him.

The third day of Pico's diet, Natalie tied a yellow ribbon around Pico's neck and took him with her to the coffee bean trees so he couldn't sneak away and find more stew or enchiladas to eat.

Pico quietly followed Natalie from row to row, but when she turned to do her work he gobbled all the coffee beans from each tree.

By the end of the day, Pico had eaten so many coffee beans his feet started to shake. His knees wobbled and his tail started spinning.

  

Natalie turned to see what was happening just as Pico popped up on his back legs, his whole body wiggling and jiggling and shaking all over.

Pico hopped and spun and tapped his way right back up the row of coffee bean trees, then spun and flipped his way back down the next.

A purple pig dancing in the coffee bean trees was such a strange sight that the birds in the trees stopped singing. The cows stopped mooing and the ducks quit quacking. The whole place grew so quite that Juan Perez came out of his house to see what was happening.

 And what a sight he did see! Pico the purple pig was boogying across the field, shimminging one way, and shaking another, twirling like no pig had ever twirled before. Mr. Perez looked at Pico. He looked at Natalie. He looked back at Pico. And then...

 ...Mr Perez started to laugh. He laughed and chortled and snorted. He laughed until tears streamed down his face and said to Natalie, "That pig can't be made into bacon - he's going to famous!"

Natalie was so happy to hear that Pico was saved she started to wiggle and shake and soon she was twirling along side him in the coffee bean trees. Natalie and her purple pig became a famous dancing duo, and Pico never had to diet again!