Bedtime Stories: Eustice Flies a Kite

Eustice was a piglet on a sunny farm. He lived with chickens, horses, cows, ducks, and of course, his mom.

One day he saw a boy from the human house flying a kite.

Eustice said, “Mama, I want to fly a kite, too.”

His mom said, “But Eustice, you are a piglet. You cannot fly a kite.”

Eustice said, “Let us see Shelby the dog. He will show me how.”

Shelby was sleeping on the human porch. Eustice said, “Shelby, wake up! I want to fly a kite!”

Shelby yawned and said, “But Eustice, you are a piglet. You cannot fly a kite.”

Eustice said, “But I can run as fast as a boy. Why can I not fly a kite?”

“Very well,” Shelby replied. “I will give you one chance to prove how fast you can run.”

Shelby looked for the kite in the barn. News quickly spread through the farm. The chickens and the cows and the horses and the ducks gathered in the field next to the barn to watch.

Shelby said, “I’ll hold the kite, Eustice. You take the string and run as fast as you can!”

Eustice yelled, “Watch me, Mom!” He took the string in his mouth, but ran only a few steps before he fell down. “Ow! Ow!” he cried.

His mom ran to him. “What is the matter, Eustice?”

“Ow! Ow! My leg hurts so much, mom!”

Just then, poop began to fall from the sky like rain.

“What is this?” Eustice cried.

“It is time to wake up,” his mom said.

“What do you mean?”

“This is a dream, Eustice. You must face reality.”

Just then, Eustice woke up. He was in a metal cage, and there were other cages to the left, to the right, above, and below him. The pigs above him were pooping, and the poop fell on him. A man was injecting antibiotics in Eustice’s leg. Eustice’s hooves were misshapen from standing on the metal floor. His joints ached.

“This is not reality,” Eustice cried. This is a nightmare! Mom? Mom? Where are you?”

But Eustice’s mom was not there. A little girl had eaten her as ham sandwiches. Two months later, the little girl would eat Eustice too.

The End