what he done for us today, you've got another think coming, what d'you say to that?'
A slow smile spread over Farmer Hogget's long face.
Chapter 6
'Good Pig'
The very next morning Farmer Hogget decided that he would see if the pig would like to come, when he went round the sheep with Fly. I'm daft, he thought, grinning to himself. He did not tell his wife.
Seeing him walk down the yard, crook in hand, and hearing him call Fly, Babe was about to settle down for an after-breakfast nap when to his surprise he heard the farmer's voice again.
'Come, Pig', said Farmer Hogget and to his surprise the pig came.
'I expect it's because of what you did yesterday', said Fly proudly, as they walked to heel together up the hill. 'The boss must be very pleased with you, dear. You can watch me working'.
When they reached the lower gate, Farmer Hogget opened it and left it open.
'He's going to bring them down into the home paddock, away from the lane', said Fly quickly. 'You be quiet and keep out of the way', and she went to sit waiting by the farmer's right side.
'Come by!' he said, and Fly ran left up the slope as the sheep began to bunch above her. Once behind them, she addressed them in her usual way, that is to say sharply.
'Move, fools!' she snapped. 'Down the hill. If you know which way 'down' is', but to her surprise they did not obey. Instead they turned to face her, and some even stamped, and shook their heads at her, while a great chorus of bleating began.
To Fly sheep-talk was just so much rubbish, to which she had never paid any attention, but Babe, listening below, could hear clearly what was being said, and although the principal cry was the usual one, there were other voices saying other things. The contrast between the politeness with which they had been treated by yesterday's rescuer and the everlasting rudeness to which they were subjected by this or any wolf brought mutinous thoughts into woolly heads, and words of defiance rang out.
'You got no manners!.. Why can't you ask nicely?.. Treat us like muck, you do!' they cried, and one hoarse voice which the pig recognised called loudly, 'We don't want you, wolf! We want Babe!' whereupon they all took it up.
'We want Babe!' they bleated. 'Babe! Babe! Ba-a-a-a-a-be!'
Those behind pushed at those in front, so that they actually edged a pace or two nearer the dog.
For a moment it seemed to Babe that Fly was not going to be able to move them, that she would lose this particular battle of wills; but he had not reckoned with her years of experience. Suddenly, quick as a flash, she drove in on them with a growl andwitha twisting leap sprang for the nose of the foremost animal; Babe heard the clack of her teeth as the ewe fell over backwards in fright, a fright which immediately ran through all. Defiant no longer, the flock poured down the hill, Fly snapping furiously at their heels, and surged wildly through the gateway.
'No manners! No manners! No ma-a-a-a-a-a-nners!' they cried, but an air of panic ran through them as they realised how rebellious they had been. How the wolf would punish them! They ran helter-skelter into the middle of the paddock, and wheeled as one to look back, ears pricked, eyes wide with fear. They puffed and blew, and Ma's hacking cough rang out. But to their surprise they saw that the wolf had dropped by the gateway, and that after a moment the pig came trotting out to one side of them.
Though Farmer Hogget could not know what had caused the near-revolt of the flock, he saw clearly that for some reason they had given Fly a hard time, and that she was angry. It was not like her to gallop sheep in that pell-mell fashion.
'Steady!' he said curtly as she harried the rear-guard, and then 'Down!' and 'Stay!' and shut the gate. Shepherding suited Farmer Hogget - there was no waste of words in it.
In the corner of the home paddock nearest to the farm buildings was a smallish fenced yard divided into a number of pens and runways. Here the sheep would be brought at shearing-time or to pick out fat lambs for market or to be treated for various troubles. Farmer Hogget had heard the old ewe cough; he thought he would catch her up and give her another drench. He turned to give an order to Fly lying flat and still behind him, and there, lying flat and still beside her, was the pig.
'Stay, Fly!' said Hogget. And, just for fun, 'Come, Pig!'
Immediately Babe ran forward and sat at the farmer's right, his front trotters placed neatly together, his big ears cocked for the next command.
Strange thoughts began to stir in Farmer Hogget's mind, and unconsciously he crossed his fingers.
He took a deep breath, and, holding it... 'Away to me, Pig!' he said softly.
Without a moment's hesitation Babe began the long outrun to the right.
Quite what Farmer Hogget had expected to happen, he could never afterwards clearly remember. What he had not expected was that the pig would run round to the rear of the flock, and turn to face it and him, and lie down instantly without a word of further command spoken, just as a well-trained dog would have done. Admittedly, with his jerky little rocking-horse canter he took twice as long to get there as Fly would have, but still, there he was, in the right place, ready and waiting. Admittedly, the sheep had turned to face the pig and were making a great deal of noise, but then Farmer Hogget did not know, and Fly would not listen to, what they were saying. He called the dog to heel, and began to walk with his long loping stride to the collecting-pen in the corner. Out in the middle of the paddock there was a positive babble of talk.
'Good morning!' said Babe. 'I do hope I find you all well, and not too distressed by yesterday's experience?' and immediately it seemed that every sheep had something to say to him.
'Bless his heart!' they cried, and, 'Dear little soul!' and, 'Hullo, Babe!' and, 'Nice to see you again!' and then there was a rasping cough and the sound of Ma's hoarse tones.
'What's up then, young un?' she croaked. 'What be you doing here instead of that wolf?'
Although Babe wanted, literally, to keep on the right side of the sheep, his loyalty to his foster-mother made him say in a rather hurt voice, 'She's not a wolf. She's a sheep-dog'.
'Oh all right then', said Ma, 'sheep-dog, if you must have it. What dost want, then?'
Babe looked at the army of long sad faces.
'I want to be a sheep-pig', he said.
'Ha ha!' bleated a big lamb standing next to Ma. 'Ha ha ha-a-a-a-a!'
'Bide quiet!' said Ma sharply, swinging her head to give the lamb a thumping butt in the side. 'That ain't nothing to laugh at'.
Raising her voice, she addressed the flock.
'Listen to me, all you ewes', she said, 'and lambs too. This young chap was kind to me, like I told you, when I were poorly. And I told him, if he was to ask me to go somewhere or do something, politely, like he would, why, I'd be only too delighted. We ain't stupid, I told him, all we do want is to be treated right, and we'm as bright as the next beast, we are'.
'We are!' chorused the flock. 'We are! We are! We a-a-a-a-a-are!'
'Right then', said Ma. 'What shall us do, Babe?'
Babe looked across towards Farmer Hogget, who had opened the gate of the collecting-pen and now stood leaning on his crook, Fly at his feet. The pen was in the left bottom corner of the paddock, and so Babe expected, and at that moment got, the command 'Come by, Pig!' to send him left and so behind the sheep and thus turn them down towards the corner.
He cleared his throat. 'If I might ask a great favour of you', he said hurriedly, 'could you all please be kind enough to walk down to that gate where the farmer is standing, and to go through it? Take your time, please, there's absolutely no rush'.
A look of pure contentment passed over the faces of the flock, and with one accord they turned and walked across the paddock, Babe a few paces in their rear. Sedately they walked, and steadily, over to the corner, through the gate, into the pen, and then stood quietly waiting. No one broke ranks or tried to slip away, no one pushed or shoved, there was no noise or fuss. From the oldest to the youngest, they went in like lambs.
Then at last a gentle murmur broke out as everyone in different ways quietly expressed their pleasure.
