himself. He missed his papa and mamma and brothers and sisters. But the
boy came to see Squinty every day, bringing him nice things to eat, and,
after a bit, Squinty came to look for his new friend.

"I guess you are getting to know me, aren't you, old fellow?" the boy
said one day, after feeding Squinty, and he scratched the little pig on
the back with a stick.

"Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty. That, I suppose, was his way of saying:

"Of course I know you, and I like you, boy."

One day, about a week after he had come to his new home, Squinty heard
the boy say:

"Now I think you are tame enough to be let out. I don't believe you will
run away, will you? But, anyhow, I'll tie a string to your leg, and then
you can't."

Squinty wished he could speak boy language, and tell his friend that he
would not run away as long as he was kindly treated, but of course
Squinty could not do this. Instead, he could only grunt and squeal.

The boy tied a string to Squinty's leg, and let him out of the pen. The
comical little pig was glad to have more room in which to move about. He
walked first to one side, and then the other, rooting in the dirt with
his funny, rubbery nose. The boy laughed to see him.

"I guess you are looking for something to eat," the boy said. "Well,
let's see if you can find these acorns."

The boy hid them under a pile of dirt, and watched. Squinty smelled
about, and sniffed. He could easily tell where the acorns had been
hidden, and, a moment later, he had rooted them up and was eating them.

"Oh, you funny little pig!" cried the boy. "You are real smart! You know
how to find acorns. That is one trick."

"Ha! If that is a trick, it is a very easy one--just rooting up acorns,"
thought Squinty to himself.

Squinty walked around, as far as the rope tied to his leg would let him.
The other end of the rope was held by the boy. Once the rope got tangled
around Squinty's foot, and he jumped over it to get free. The boy saw
him and cried:

"Oh, I wonder if I could teach you to jump the rope? That would be a
fine trick. Let me see."

The boy thought a moment, and then lifted Squinty up, and set him down
on one side of the rope, which he raised a little way from the ground,
just as girls do when they are playing a skipping game.

On the other side of the rope the boy put an apple.

"Now, Squinty," said Bob, "if you want that apple you must jump the rope
to get it. Come on."

At first Squinty did not und