Tom’s pig was not real...

Press, 19 October 1976, Page 12

Tom’s pig was not real...

Tom, Tom, the piper’s son, Stole a pig and away he run; The pig was eat And Tom was beat, And Tom went howling down the street. Many of you, when you first heard this nursery rhyme, may have felt sorry for the pig, for it seems hard-hearted to have eaten him. so quickly after he was stolen. However, do not worry, the pig was not a live one, and most illustrators in nursery rhyme books show this scene incorrectly. In fact, the pig which Tom stole was a small

model. It was shaped out of a sweet type of pastry, stuffed with and had two beady currant eyes. In the eighteenth century it was common for men to stand in the streets carrying big baskets filled with these tasty animals. And you may be sure that children stopped their games and drew near when they heard the sellers sing their own special street song. It went this way: Or a short tail’d pig, Or a short tail’s pig, Or a pig without any tail, A boar pig, or a sow Pig,

Or a pig with a curly tail. Take hold of the tail and eat off his head; And then you’ll be sure the pig hog is dead. Here is a recipe so that you can make your own pig biscuits. It is not the one which the street sellers used as their stuffed currant pigs were made in a complicated way. However, I think that you will find these pig biscuits taste delicious and you should watch over them carefully. You never know, one may be stolen from your cake tin.