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Red Pig (Hungarian folk tale)

Author: I'll tell you

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Once upon a time, in one village, there was a woman who never had a child.

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Then one day the woman said to herself that she wouldn't mind if God gave her a puppy, she would raise it too, as long as she had someone to take pleasure in.

Time went by, and suddenly she had a child, but it was not a child, it was a piglet. It was then that she remembered that she had once made a mistake. But what could she do when she had it, she just had to raise it!

The six-year-old children were already in school. The little piglet was also amazed that he was the same age as them. The women sat together, as usual, to talk. Red Pig always sat next to his mother, always giggling.

- Do you hear, Miss, this little pig is squealing because he wants to go to school after the other children.

- Don't make fun of me! - said the mother of the Red Pig. She was so ashamed to have only one child like that.

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But the other women talked to him until he sent Red Pig to school. And there she screamed at the teacher. To shut him up, the teacher pushed a book at him. Red Pig was quiet in a moment. His little nose went from letter to letter. He learned to read.

One day the children went to pick strawberries. The little pig wanted to go too, but his mother wouldn't let him. But the neighbour women talked until she let him go. The other children were carrying baskets, and the little pig had to have one too. They put it on his nose and set off.

Next door was a little boy, just the same age as Red Pig. His mother made him promise to take good care of the little pig. The boy took her word for it.

It was the month of May when the strawberry lawsuit hit. They all went out into the woods together. The little piggy lagged behind the others, shedding his pigskin.

When she had cast it off, there was no other creature so beautiful in the seventeen countries, neither on the Danube nor on the Tisza. He soon filled his basket, then put on the pigskin again and went after the rest. The neighbour boy saw all this, but said nothing.

- Well, Red Pig has made us look bad! - said the children, because he picked more strawberries than they did.

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They went home. The parents were already shocked that the children were there, they stood in the way.

- Look, Red Pig brings strawberries! Who filled his basket?

- Red pig! - said the boy, but he didn't say a word about what he had seen.

When they got out of school, the boys went to the girls' houses for dinner. The boy went to the Red Pigs' for supper. His father and mother watched him and wondered what the poor boy wanted with this uneducated animal. But the boy would not budge, he would only go there.

One day the time came for the lad to get married.

- Who are you marrying, my son?

- The Red Pig next door.

- Do not bring shame on our heads, my son! Ladd, we have grown old in honour, now wilt thou bring us into disrepute?

But the boy made a commitment that he would only marry Red Pig. He gathered his friends and went to the cottage. His father says, when they got there:

- My son will never marry unless Red Pig is married to him.

Red Pig was asked and he nodded his head yes.

They were ticketed up and down. The whole village was at the wedding, and even the neighbouring village; if they had not seen a miracle before, let them see one now. Red Pig was sitting next to the bachelor at the wedding. Those who were in the mood were amused, those who weren't, just watched.

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At dinner, the groom took the main seat, and they began to eat. When they had eaten, the young people went up to the attic, as was the custom in those days.

The groom told his mother everything. He also told her that when he pushed the pigskin off, his mother should burn it. She also had a wedding dress made in secret, so beautiful to look at.

They went up at Bandaso, they came down with it. There was sorrow, such as it was, but there was joy beyond words. Everybody loved it, everybody was amazed, for no one had ever seen such a beautiful bride as Red Pig became!

There was an old man in the village, János Szakács. He says to his mother:

- Mother, I am getting married.

- Who would you marry, my son?

- Next door is a sow, it.

Well, the old man asked five or six people to go with him to ask the neighbour's sow. The neighbour was insistent enough:

- It is an uneducated animal, not a Red Pig. We keep it for breeding, not for marriage.

But the applicants just said their piece. They go to the stall, the sow jumps on the door. The barrel rope was retrieved. Her four legs were tied together, but she squealed ferociously. When the lad tried to kiss her, well, my lord, she bit off her nose!

Well, there was laughter in the village. Everyone knew that Red Pig was no more. There was, tale was.

(Ágnes Kovács: Folk tales for kindergarten children)

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