A Day at the Seaside.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXX, Issue XVII, 25 April 1903, Page 1185

A Day at the Seaside.

HOW GRUNTER WAS A BAD BOY AND GOT HURT.

“It’s very hot to-day,” said Mr Pig, as he mopped his forehead with a red pocket-handkerchief, “much too hot to stop in this stuffy stye, so, if yon promise to he good children, I’ll take you both to the seaside.” “Oh, that will be lovely!” cried Porka, as she smoothed ner little brother Grunter’s hair. “When will you be ready to start?” Mr Pig looked at his watch. “There’s a train in half-an-hour, so get dressed at once, children, and I will go out and buy you each a bucket and spade.” Porka needed no second bidding; she hurried to her room and put on her white frock with the frill round the neck, and tied her green sash in a becoming bow, and then she dressed little Grunter in his red and white bathing suit, which is all a baby pig requires when he goes to the seaside.

Such a merry party they were as they trotted off to the station, and when the short railway journey was over, and they saw the blue sea dancing in the sunlight, Grunter danced for joy. Mr Pig showed them how to make a sand castle, and sand puddings, and then, finding it rather too hot for a person at his time of life, he sat down, and told the children to amuse themselves for a bit. “Porka, Porka! Just look at the beautiful star that has fallen on the beach,” cried Grunter, “but it doesn’t shine as brightly as those in the sky.”

Porka had been to tlhe seaside before, and was in the Fifth Standard at school, so she was able to explain to her little brother that it was a starfish he had found, and not a real star.

Grunter began to cry at this, but Porka dried his eyes and told him to come and paddle.

Grunter was a little afraid of the water, but Porka walked right in, and showed him how nice it was, so, after a little persuasion, Grunter tried it too, and was so pleased with himself that he went farther and farther into the sea.

“Don’t go too far,” said his sister, but Grunter was rather a naughty little pig, and told her to mind her own business, and I am certain that if Mr Pig had heard him he would have given his son a whipping. But Mr Pig was so interested in his paper that he did not notice what the children were doing. “Don’t go too far out, Grunter,” cried Porka, “for fear you may be drowned.”

“I don’t care,” replied Grunter, “I shall do as I like.”

Now, all you little girls and boys know that something unpleasant always happens if you say “you don’t care,” and something unpleasant happened to Grunter. He danced about in tthe water, and threw buckets full of it over his sister till he took all the starch out of her pretty white frock, and called her lots of rude names when she tried to make him do as she wanted.

He had just called her a silly sausage, which is, of course, one of the worst insults you can offer a respectable pig, when he gave a great yell of fright. “Oh! oh! oh!” cried Grunter.

Mr Pig dropped his pap<&r and hurried down to the water, and Porka ran with all her might to see what had happened to her little brother. Grunter was hopping about on one leg, while on the other an enormous crab was holding firmly with his claws.

How Grunter yelled, and what a long time it was before Mr Pig could free his little son from the crab’s grip, and when at last he got rid of the terrible fish his foot hurt him so the could not walk, so he had to lie on the sand, while kind Porka found him pretty shells. And then his father carried him to the station,

and the train took them all back home again.

“I*ll never be rude to you again, dear Porka,” said Grunter, when he was snugly tucked up in his little bed.

And after that day he was always a well-behaved, polite, little pig.