The Parable of the Pig

The Parable of the Pig

By: Matthew Whiting

In the fields of a lovely glade, there lived six animals. Five of these animals were the most beautiful and exquisite of their species. Horse was an elegant creature with deep, hazel eyes and a chocolate brown coat. Falcon proudly boasted a majestic plumage of shimmering gold and silver feathers. Ox was a handsome and brawny creature with thick, curling horns and a voice like the deep rumbling of thunder. Panther was the feline embodiment of absolute excellence, with dark, silky fur and claws that gleamed like gemstones.

Snake was perhaps the most remarkable of all the animals. She was a born leader with a sharp wit and the charisma to match. She dazzlingly displayed vibrant scales that glowed every color imaginable: Ocean blue, Parma violet, golden orange, and candy-apple red. She was known as the wisest of all the animals. She could solve the trickiest of equations in the blink of an eye, she could recite every proverb and saying ever written, and of land sky there was little she did not know.

She was by far the most charismatic animal in the glade, with a fiery personality that demanded attention. Every animal wished they were as beautiful and cunning as Snake, every animal yearned to be as knowledgeable and grand.  Every animal in the glade strived to be just as perfect and wise as Snake…every animal besides Pig that is.

You see, Pig wasn't like the other animals. She was fat, she was clumsy, she was dumb and above all, she was foolish. She was a filthy, lousy, good-for-nothing bumpkin. At least, that's what Snake always said, and what Snake said was always true. For how could one so beautiful and wise ever lie?

***

Pig was always coming up with ignorant and foolish ideas. All the other animals had absolutely no idea where Pig got her outlandish ideas. For instance, Pig was always saying that the sky was blue. "Everyone knows the sky isn't blue!" the other animals scoffed. "It is gray and brown, just like Snake says."

It was the middle of Summer when Pig came up with one of these ideas. Somehow, she had gotten it into her thick, blubbery skull that if she planted an apple seed in the ground, then it would grow into an apple tree! Honestly, who had ever heard of such a thing? Pig had insisted that her tiny little seed would indeed grow into a beautiful apple tree and she even invited the other animals to join her. It was then that Snake decided to intervene.
***

Pig was kneeling in the grass next to the lake when Snake found her.
"Pig, what are you doing?" Snake demanded.
"Oh, hello Snake!" Pig said cheerfully. She held up a little brown seed, "I was just planting an apple seed. Do you want to plant one too?"
"Absolutely not!" Snake hissed. "Why would you ever even suggest such a thing?"
"Well, if you plant one it'll turn into an apple tree!" Pig replied, smiling benevolently.
"And who told you that?" Snake asked.
"My mother did." Pig answered.
"Oh Pig" Snake sighed, "how could you possibly be so foolish? Everyone knows that trees don't come from seeds. They're nothing but the useless innards of leftover fruit, they couldn't possibly grow into a tree."
"But my mother—"
"Your mother is a fool for saying such things. And you are an ever greater fool for believing her!" Snake retorted.
Pig shrugged nonchalantly and began digging a hole to plant her seed. Suddenly Snake snapped,
"Don't you get it!? You're a fat, ugly fool Pig! It's imbeciles like you that are the cause of all the world's problems! Why can't you just be beautiful and logical like the rest of us!?"

Oblivious to the outburst, Pig turned away and began digging. For several minutes she dug and scraped, all the while Snake watched her with seething rage. After Pig finished planting the seed, she sat up and brushed the dirt off of her hooves. Smiling sincerely, she turned to Snake. "Thanks for talking to me." She said. She gave her a friendly hug, and then walked way without another word, humming pleasantly to herself.

Snake was utterly baffled. At first, she didn't know what to think. Pig had seemed completely unaffected by Snake's tirade and, as hard as she tried, she couldn't consider a reason why. Eventually, her shock gave away to contempt. "Bumbling fool." She spat, and slithered away muttering to herself about Pig's insolence.

***
   
The next day, there was a terrible storm. The clouds had gathered in a dark smothering curtain, choking out every ounce of light. The wind whipped and bellowed, while thick, miserable sheets of rain bombarded the ground, like an army of demonic tears. The waves of the lake rose and fell like dark behemoths paralyzing all who beheld them. And in the center of the lake swirled a merciless vortex of cold, dead water.

***
Near the whirlpool's edge there struggled a pitiful figure. Snake was clinging for dear life to a branch of a fallen oak tree which had collapsed near the edge of the lake. She had been seeking shelter in its uppermost branches when lightning had struck it, shattering the trunk in a white-hot flash. Snake had nearly been drawn into the whirlpool as the upper half of the tree had fallen into the stormy lake.

Snake knew that she could not hold on for much longer, as every second exposed to the bone numbing water and the scything wind drained her of strength. Snake could feel her grip on the branch weakening, and the power of the maelstrom seemed to grow even stronger as she struggled to hold on. Suddenly, a gust of wind overpowered her, severing her grip and sending her tumbling through the air into the gaping jaws of the watery abyss.

A split second later she was rescued. Warm, gentle arms encircled her as they carried her to safety. Relief washed over Snake as she felt herself being set upon firm ground and heard the pattering of rain on a roof. She opened her eyes and saw her rescuer. It was Pig.

Snake was speechless. She couldn't believe her eyes. Her mind wanted to tell her that it was impossible, but the figure that stood right in front her, drenched and exhausted, was indeed Pig. Tears of shame sprang to her eyes. "Why would she ever rescue me?" She thought. "Why would Pig, whom I have tormented and ridiculed so often, ever risk her life to save me?"

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as she sobbed one word, "W-why?"
Pig shrugged and replied, "Because, you're my friend."  
Snake was stunned.
"Your…friend?" she choked out.
"Can't you remember?" Pig asked. She smiled caringly, "We've always been friends."

***

There is a glade of infinite beauty, with sapphire skies and golden fields. Life is abundant within the glade. Animals of every kind frolic and graze through its lush meadows and green grasses. The pristine lake was calm and beautiful, blooming with life. And near the edge of these blue waters lies the resting place of a dear animal, one of the original founders of the glade.
Upon the beautiful tombstone were carved these words:
"Here lies Pig, the happiest fool who ever lived, and died the wisest of us all."

And guarding over the grave, proud and tall, stood the glory of a mighty apple tree.