Pigasus

A Children's Picture Book
by
Pat Murphy

[Note: In the actual book, there are lovely illustrations by Graham Percy. Alas, I can't include them here. But here's the text.]

Once there was a piglet who lived on a farm with her mother, Pig Mama, and her five brothers.
Her name was Pigasus.
Pigasus was just like any other pig except for one thing:
Pigasus had wings.

While her brothers made mudpies, Pigasus practiced aerial somersaults over the chicken coop.

While Pig Mama taught the other piglets to curl their tails,
the pigeon who lived under the eaves of the barn taught Pigasus to do barrel rolls.

Pigasus could do back flips, loop-the-loops, and high-speed flying dives.

She could do a double back somersault with a special twist.
She was not just the only flying pig in the world.
She was the most acrobatic flying pig in the world.

Pigasus was happy. But Pig Mama was not. She worried about her daughter.

When Pigasus did back flips over the chicken coop, Pig Mama took the gold ring from her nose and polished it, a sure sign that she was nervous.

One day, when the pigeon was teaching Pigasus how to do a triple somersault, a big black bird landed in the tree near the pigpen. When the bird saw Pigasus, he laughed. "A flying pig!" he crowed. "I've sailed all around the world and that's the silliest thing I've ever seen."

"Don't pay any attention to him, Pigasus," the pigeon said. "He's just a rude raven."

But the little piglet's feelings were hurt. With her tail drooping, she flew down to the pigpen where Pig Mama was nervously polishing her ring.

"Maybe I shouldn't fly anymore," Pigasus said to Pig Mama. "I didn't know I looked silly."

Pig Mama put her gold ring down to give Pigasus a hug. But before she could say a word, the raven swooped out of the tree and snatched up Pig Mama's ring.

He flew away...far away...until he was nothing but a black speck in the blue sky.

"My ring!" wailed Pig Mama.

"I'll catch him," shouted Pigasus.

And she leaped into the air,
beating her wings as fast as she could,
chasing the raven.

She flew high above the farm, higher than she had ever flown before. Pigasus was among the clouds.

Far, far ahead, the raven flew into a cloud and Pigasus flew after him.

She almost lost sight of the raven, but she followed the twinkling of Pig Mama's gold ring.

It was cold inside the cloud.

The brave piglet's wings were so tired she could hardly flap them. She thought about turning back, but she didn't know the way.

Suddenly, Pigasus flew out of the cloud into the bright sunshine.
She was high in the sky above a sparkling ocean.

Far below her, the raven was heading toward a ship with black sails. From the ship's mast flew a black flag marked with a skull and crossbones.

"Oh, no!" Pigasus thought. "A pirate ship!"

The pirate captain stood on the deck. He had a black mustache and a gold earring dangling from one ear. The raven landed on his shoulder and dropped Pig Mama's ring into his hand.

"Oh, ho!" said the captain. "My pet raven is back with a ring for my other ear."

Pigasus was afraid.
But she did not turn back.
She flew aboard the pirate ship.

The first pirate to see Pigasus was the lookout in the crow's nest. "A flying pig!" the lookout shouted. "Let's catch her." He leaned out of the crow's nest to grab the piglet.

But when Pigasus did a barrel roll, the pirate missed and tumbled into the ocean.

The pirate cook was standing on the deck, peeling potatoes into a bucket. "A flying pig!" he shouted. "We can make pig stew!"

He tried to throw the bucket over Pigasus, but the piglet did a somersault. The cook missed and potato peels flew everywhere.

Pigasus flew at the pirate captain. "A flying pig!" shouted the captain. He dropped the gold ring and tried to catch Pigasus with both hands.
Pigasus did a back flip and a loop-the-loop, and the captain slipped on a potato peel. Pigasus did a high speed dive and snatched up the ring.

"I'll catch her," squawked the raven, flying after Pigasus.

"I'll catch her," shouted the pirate cook, picking up his bucket.

The cook threw his bucket at Pigasus, but the piglet did a double back somersault with a special twist. The bucket missed her and caught the raven. And Pigasus flew away.

Pigasus flew into the cloud.
But once she was in the cloud, she didn't know which way to go.
She didn't know her way back to the farm.
She didn't even know which way was up.

"Pigasus!" called a voice from the fog. "Over here!"
It was the piglet's friend, the pigeon.
"Your mother sent me to find you," the pigeon said.

The pigeon led the way back to the farm.

Pig Mama shed tears of joy when she saw Pigasus.

Her brothers cheered when she gave Pig Mama the gold ring.
Pigasus told of her adventure with the pirates. When she finished, Pig Mama said, "You are a piglet to be proud of. I'll never worry about you again."

That night, Pig Mama embroidered a shirt for Pigasus.
The shirt said:
"HIGH FLYING PIG!"

And to this day, Pigasus wears her shirt when she practices barrel rolls over the chicken coop.

THE END

Copyright © 1996 by Pat Murphy

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