does he?’
‘I reckon not,’ I says, ‘but I think he’ll come around in a day or so. After all, he ain’t seen me in a pretty long time.’
‘Well, Gump, I think it might be a good thing for him to pull his weight around here, you know. Might make him grow up a little bit.’
‘Yeah,’ I says, ‘maybe so.’ I gone on to bed mysef an was feelin pretty low. I close my eyes an tried to think about Jenny, hopin she’d turn up to help me, but she didn’t. This time, I am on my own.
Next mornin I got little Forrest to help me slop the pigs, an the whole time he acted disgusted. All that day an the next, he didn’t say nothin to me cept when he had to, an then it wadn’t but a word or two. Finally I had a idea.
‘You got a dog or anythin at home?’ I ast.
‘Nope.’
‘Well, you want a pet?’
‘Nope.’
‘You know, I bet you do, if I showed you one.’
‘Yeah? What sort of pet?’
‘Foller me,’ I says.
I took him to a little stall in the barn, an there is a big ole Duroc sow, nursin half-a-dozen piglets. They is about eight weeks ole, an I had my eye on one of them in particular for a while. I figger it be the pick-of-the-litter, so to speak. It has good clear eyes an comes when you call it, an it is white with little black spots, an its ears perk up when you talk to it.
‘I call this one Wanda,’ I says, pickin it up an handinit to little Forrest. He don’t look too happy takin it, but he does, an Wanda begun rootin an lickin him like a puppy will.
‘How come you call her Wanda?’ he says finally.
‘Oh, I dunno. I sort of named her after a ole friend of mine.’
Well, after that, little Forrest seemed happier. Not so much with me, but Wanda become his constant companion. She was ready to be weaned anyhow, an Mister McGivver says it is okay with him, if it makes the boy happy.
One day it is time to truck some hogs up to Wheeling for the auction. Little Forrest helped me load them in the truck, an we set off early in the morning. Took half a day to get there, an then we got to come back for another load.
‘How come you always drivin all those hogs up to Wheeling in this old truck?’ he ast, which is probly the longest words he has had for me so far.
‘Cause we gotta get em there, I guess. Mister McGivver’s been doin it for years.’
‘Well, don’t you know there’s a railroad runs right through Coalville? Goes up to Wheeling, cause it said so when I rode in here on it. Why don’t you just put the hogs on the railroad an let them take em up?’
‘I dunno,’ I says. ‘Why?’
‘Because you’d save time, for cryin out loud!’ He looks very exasperated at me.
‘What’s time to a hog?’ I ast.
Little Forrest just shakes his head an looks out the winder. I guess he is now figgered out that he has got a pea brain for a daddy.
‘Well,’ I says, ‘maybe that is a good idea. I’ll talk to Mister McGivver about it in the mornin.’
But little Forrest ain’t impressed. He just settin there with Wanda in his lap. Lookin kinda scared an alone.
‘Fantastic!’ shouts Mister McGivver. ‘Trains to carry the hogs to auction! It’ll save us thousands! Why in hell didn’t I think of that!’
He is so excited he’s about to bust, an he picks up little Forrest an give him a big ole hug. ‘You’re a genius, my boy! Why, we’re all gonna be rich!’
Anyhow, Mister McGivver give us both a raise an let us have Sunday
an
Saturday off, an so on weekends I’d take little Forrest down to Coalville to Etta’s diner an we’d get to talk to the ole miners an other folks that come around. They bein real nice to little Forrest, an he is all the time astin them questions about stuff. It weren’t a bad way to spend the summer, actually, an as the weeks gone by I felt that little Forrest an me is gettin somewhat closer.
Meantime, Mister McGivver is tryin to solve a very messy problem, namely, what we gonna do with all the pig shit that is pilin up as our operation expands? By
‘I reckon not,’ I says, ‘but I think he’ll come around in a day or so. After all, he ain’t seen me in a pretty long time.’
‘Well, Gump, I think it might be a good thing for him to pull his weight around here, you know. Might make him grow up a little bit.’
‘Yeah,’ I says, ‘maybe so.’ I gone on to bed mysef an was feelin pretty low. I close my eyes an tried to think about Jenny, hopin she’d turn up to help me, but she didn’t. This time, I am on my own.
Next mornin I got little Forrest to help me slop the pigs, an the whole time he acted disgusted. All that day an the next, he didn’t say nothin to me cept when he had to, an then it wadn’t but a word or two. Finally I had a idea.
‘You got a dog or anythin at home?’ I ast.
‘Nope.’
‘Well, you want a pet?’
‘Nope.’
‘You know, I bet you do, if I showed you one.’
‘Yeah? What sort of pet?’
‘Foller me,’ I says.
I took him to a little stall in the barn, an there is a big ole Duroc sow, nursin half-a-dozen piglets. They is about eight weeks ole, an I had my eye on one of them in particular for a while. I figger it be the pick-of-the-litter, so to speak. It has good clear eyes an comes when you call it, an it is white with little black spots, an its ears perk up when you talk to it.
‘I call this one Wanda,’ I says, pickin it up an handinit to little Forrest. He don’t look too happy takin it, but he does, an Wanda begun rootin an lickin him like a puppy will.
‘How come you call her Wanda?’ he says finally.
‘Oh, I dunno. I sort of named her after a ole friend of mine.’
Well, after that, little Forrest seemed happier. Not so much with me, but Wanda become his constant companion. She was ready to be weaned anyhow, an Mister McGivver says it is okay with him, if it makes the boy happy.
One day it is time to truck some hogs up to Wheeling for the auction. Little Forrest helped me load them in the truck, an we set off early in the morning. Took half a day to get there, an then we got to come back for another load.
‘How come you always drivin all those hogs up to Wheeling in this old truck?’ he ast, which is probly the longest words he has had for me so far.
‘Cause we gotta get em there, I guess. Mister McGivver’s been doin it for years.’
‘Well, don’t you know there’s a railroad runs right through Coalville? Goes up to Wheeling, cause it said so when I rode in here on it. Why don’t you just put the hogs on the railroad an let them take em up?’
‘I dunno,’ I says. ‘Why?’
‘Because you’d save time, for cryin out loud!’ He looks very exasperated at me.
‘What’s time to a hog?’ I ast.
Little Forrest just shakes his head an looks out the winder. I guess he is now figgered out that he has got a pea brain for a daddy.
‘Well,’ I says, ‘maybe that is a good idea. I’ll talk to Mister McGivver about it in the mornin.’
But little Forrest ain’t impressed. He just settin there with Wanda in his lap. Lookin kinda scared an alone.
‘Fantastic!’ shouts Mister McGivver. ‘Trains to carry the hogs to auction! It’ll save us thousands! Why in hell didn’t I think of that!’
He is so excited he’s about to bust, an he picks up little Forrest an give him a big ole hug. ‘You’re a genius, my boy! Why, we’re all gonna be rich!’
Anyhow, Mister McGivver give us both a raise an let us have Sunday
an
Saturday off, an so on weekends I’d take little Forrest down to Coalville to Etta’s diner an we’d get to talk to the ole miners an other folks that come around. They bein real nice to little Forrest, an he is all the time astin them questions about stuff. It weren’t a bad way to spend the summer, actually, an as the weeks gone by I felt that little Forrest an me is gettin somewhat closer.
Meantime, Mister McGivver is tryin to solve a very messy problem, namely, what we gonna do with all the pig shit that is pilin up as our operation expands? By
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