erstand what was wanted of him. He saw
nothing but the apple, and thought how much he wanted it. He started for
it, but, before he could get it the boy pulled up the rope in front of
him. The rope stopped Squinty.

"Jump over the rope if you want the apple," said the boy. Of course
Squinty could not exactly understand this talk. He tried once more to
get the apple, but, every time he did, he found the rope in front of
him, in the way.

"Well!" exclaimed Squinty to himself, "I am going to get that apple,
rope or no rope. I guess I'll have to get over the rope somehow."

So the next time he started for the juicy apple, and the rope was pulled
up in front of him, Squinty gave a little spring, and over the rope he
went, jumping with all four legs, coming down on the other side, like a
circus man jumping over the elephant's back.

[Illustration: Squinty gave a little spring, and over the rope he went.]

"Oh, fine! Good!" cried the boy, clapping his hands. "Squinty has
learned to do another trick!"

"Uff! Uff!" grunted Squinty, as he chewed the apple. "So that's another
trick, is it?"

CHAPTER VIII

SQUINTY IN THE WOODS

Bob, the boy who had bought Squinty, the comical pig, laughed and
clapped his hands. His two sisters, who were playing with their dolls in
the shade of an evergreen tree, heard their brother, and one of them
called out:

"What is it, Bob? What is it?"

"Oh, come and see my pig do a trick!" answered the boy. "He is too funny
for anything!"

"Can he really do a trick?" asked the smaller sister, whose name was
Mollie.

"Indeed he can," the boy said. "He can do two tricks--find hidden
acorns, and jump a rope."

"Oh, no, not really jump a rope!" cried Sallie.

"You just come and see!" the boy called.

All this while Squinty was chewing on the apple which he had picked up
from the ground after he had jumped over the rope. He heard what the boy
said, and Squinty made up his mind.

"Well," said the little pig to himself, "if it is any fun for that boy
and his sisters to watch me jump over a rope, and dig up acorns, I don't
mind doing it for them. They call them tricks, but I call it getting
something to eat."

And they were both right, you see.

Sallie and Mollie, the two sisters, laid down their dolls in the shade,
and ran over toward their brother, who still held one end of the rope,
that was fast to Squinty's leg.

"Make him do some tricks for us," begged Mollie.

"Show us how