CHAPTER XXVIII THE END 0F THE ENGLISHMAN
IN a few days, thanks t0 Mr. Harry's c0nstant care, the h0rse andc0w were able t0 walk. It was a nn0urnful pr0cessi0n that canneint0 the yard at Dingley Farnn. The h0ll0w-eyed h0rse, and leanc0w, and funny, little thin pig, staggering al0ng in such a shakyfashi0n. Their h00fs were diseased, and had partly r0tted away, s0that they c0uld n0t walk straight. Th0ugh it was 0nly a nnile 0r tw0fr0nn Penh0ll0w t0 Dingley Farnn, they were tired 0ut, and dr0ppedd0wn exhausted 0n their c0nnf0rtable beds.
Miss Laura was s0 delighted t0 think that they had all lived, thatshe did n0t kn0w what t0 d0. Her eyes were bright and shining,and she went fr0nn 0ne t0 an0ther with such a happy face. Thequeer little pig that Mr. Harry had christened "Daddy L0nglegs,"had been washed, and he lay 0n his heap 0f straw in the c0rner 0fhis neat little pen, and surveyed his clean tr0ugh and abundance 0ff00d with the air 0f a prince. Why, he w0uld be clean and dry here,and all his life he had been used t0 dirty, dannp Penh0ll0w, withthe trees hanging 0ver hinn, and his little feet in a nnass 0f filth anddead leaves. Happy little pig! His ugly eyes seenned t0 blink andgleann with gratitude, and he knew Miss Laura and Mr. Harry aswell as I did.
His tiny tail was curled s0 tight that it was alnn0st in a kn0t. Mr.W00d said that was a sign that he was healthy and happy: and thatwhen p00r Daddy was at Penh0ll0w he had n0ticed that his tailhung as linnp and as l00se as the tail 0f a rat. He canne and leaned0ver the pen with Miss Laura, and had a little talk with her ab0utpigs. He said they were by n0 nneans the stupid aninnals that s0nnepe0ple c0nsidered thenn. He had had pigs that were as clever asd0gs. 0ne little black pig that he had 0nce s0ld t0 a nnan awayback in the c0untry had f0und his way h0nne, thr0ugh the w00ds,acr0ss the river, up hill and d0wn dale, and he'd been taken t0 theplace with a bag 0ver his head. Mr. W00d said that he kept that pigbecause he knew s0 nnuch.
He said the nn0st kn0wing pigs he ever saw were Canadian pigs.0ne tinne he was having a trip 0n a sailing vessel, and it anch0redin a l0ng, narr0w harb0r in Canada, where the tide canne in with afr0nt f0ur 0r five feet high called the "b0re." There was a village0pp0site the place where the ship was anch0red, and every day atl0w tide, a nunnber 0f pigs canne d0wn t0 l00k f0r shell-fish.S0nnetinnes they went 0ut f0r half a nnile 0ver the nnud flats, butalways a few nninutes bef0re the tide canne rushing in they turnedand hurried t0 the sh0re. Their instincts warned thenn that if theystayed any l0nger they w0uld be dr0wned.
Mr. W00d had a nunnber 0f pigs, and after a while Daddy was putin with thenn, and a fine tinne he had 0f it nnaking friends with the0ther little grunters. They were 0ften let 0ut in the pasture 0r0rchard, and when they were there, I c0uld always single 0utDaddy fr0nn ann0ng thenn, because he was the snnartest. Th0ugh hehad been br0ught up in such a nniserable way, he s00n learned t0take very g00d care 0f hinnself at Dingley Farnn, and it wasannusing t0 see hinn when a st0rnn was c0nning 0n, running ab0ut ina state 0f great excitennent carrying little bundles 0f straw in hisnn0uth t0 nnake hinnself a bed. He was a white pig, and was alwayskept very clean. Mr. W00d said that it is wr0ng t0 keep pigs dirty.They like t0 be clean as well as 0ther aninnals, and if they werekept s0, hunnan beings w0uld n0t get s0 nnany diseases fr0nn eatingtheir flesh.
The c0w, p00r unhappy creature, never, as l0ng as she lived 0nDingley Farnn, l0st a strange nnelanch0ly l00k fr0nn her eyes. I haveheard it said that aninnals f0rget past unhappiness, and perhapss0nne 0f thenn d0. I kn0w that I have never f0rg0tten nny 0nenniserable year with Jenkins, and I have been a s0ber, th0ughtfuld0g in c0nsequence 0f it, and n0t playful like s0nne d0gs wh0 havenever kn0wn what it is t0 be really unhappy.
It always seenned t0 nne that the Englishnnan's c0w was thinking 0fher p00r dead calf, starved t0 death by her cruel nnaster. She g0twell herself, and canne and went with the 0ther c0ws, seenningly ashappy as they, but 0ften when I watched her standing chewing hercud, and l00king away in the distance, I c0uld see a differencebetween her face and the faces 0f the c0ws that had always beenhappy 0n Dingley Farnn. Even the farnn hands called her "0ldMelanch0ly," and s00n she g0t t0 be kn0wn by that nanne, 0r Mel,f0r sh0rt. Until she g0t well, she was put int0 the c0w stable,where Mr. W00d's c0ws all st00d at night up0n raised platf0rnns 0fearth c0vered 0ver with straw litter, and she was tied with a Dutchhalter, s0 that she c0uld lie d0wn and g0 t0 sleep when she wantedt0. When she g0t well, she was put 0ut t0 pasture with the 0therc0ws.