Wilbur
FERN loved Wilbur more than anything. She
loved to stroke him, to feed him, to put him to
bed. Every morning, as soon as she got up, she
warmed his milk, tied his bib on, and held the
bottle for him. Every afternoon, when the school bus
stopped in front of her house, she jumped out and ran
to the kitchen to fix another bottle for him. She fed
him again at suppertime, and again just before going to
bed. Mrs. Arable gave him a feeding around noontime
each day, when Fern was away in school. Wilbur
loved his milk, and he was never happier than when
Fern was wanning up a bottle for him. He would
stand and gaze up at her with adoring eyes.
For the first few days of his life, Wilbur was allowed
to live in a box near the stove in the kitchen. Then,
when Mrs. Arable complained, he was moved to a big-
ger box in the woodshed. At two weeks of age, he was
moved outdoors. It was apple-blossom time, and the
days were getting warmer. Mr. Arable fixed a small
yard specially for Wilbur under an apple tree, and
gave him a large wooden box full of straw, with a
doorway cut in it so he could walk in and out as he
pleased.
"Won't he be cold at night?" asked F em.
"No," said her father. "You watch and see what he
does."
Carrying a bottle of milk, Fern sat down under the
apple tree inside the yard. Wilbur ran to her and she
held the bottle for him while he sucked. Vhen he had
finished the last drop, he grunted and walked sleepily
into the box. Fern peered through the door. Wilbur
was poking the straw with his snout. In a short time
he had dug a tunnel in the straw. He crawled into the
tunnel and disappeared from sight, completely cov-
ered with straw. Fern was enchanted. It relieved her
mind to know that her baby would sleep covered up,
and would stay warm.
Every morning after breakfast, Wilbur walked out
to the road with Fern and waited with her till the bus
came. She would wave good-bye to him, and he would
stand and watch the bus until it vanished around a
turn. While Fern was in school, Wilbur was shut up
inside his yard. But as soon as she got home in the
afternoon, she would take him out and he would
follow her around the place. If she went into the
house, Wilbur went, too. If she went upstairs, Wilbur
would wait at the bottom step until she came down
again. If she took her doll for a walk in the doll car-
riage, Wilbur followed along. Sometimes, on these
journeys, Wilbur would get tired, and Fern would pick
him up and put him in the carriage alongside the doll.
He liked this. And if he was very tired, he would close
his eyes and go to sleep under the doll's blanket. He
looked cute when his eyes were closed, because his
lashes were so long. The doll would close her eyes, too,
and Fern would wheel the carriage very slowly and
smoothly so as not to wake her infants.
One warm afternoon, Fern and A very put on bath-
ing suits and went down to the brook for a swim.
Wilbur tagged along at Fern's heels. When she waded
into the brook, Wilbur waded in with her. He found
the water quite cold-too cold for his liking. So while
the children swam and played and splashed water at
each other, Wilbur amused himself in the mud along the edge of the brook, where it was wann and moist
and delightfully sticky and oozy.
Every day was a happy day, and every night was
peaceful.
Wilbur was what farmers call a spring pig, which was five weeks old, Mr. Arable said he was now big
enough to sell, and would have to be sold. Fern broke
down and wept. But her father was finn about it. Wil-
bur's appetite �d increased; he was beginning to eat
scraps of food in addition to milk. Mr. Arable was not
willing to provide for him any longer. He had already
sold Wilbur's ten brothers and sisters.
"He's got to go, Fern," he said. "You have had your
fun raising a baby pig, but Wilbur is not a baby any
longer and he has got to be sold. "
"Call up the Zuckermans, " suggested Mrs. Arable
to Fern. "Your Uncle Homer sometimes raises a pig.
And if Wilbur goes there to live, you can walk down
the road and visit him as often as you like. "
"How much money should I ask for him?" Fern
wanted to know.
"Well, " said her father, "he's a runt. Tell your
Uncle Homer you've got a pig you'll sell for six
dollars, and see what he says. "
It was soon arranged. Fern phoned and got her
Aunt Edith, and her Aunt Edith hollered for Uncle
Homer, and Uncle Homer came in from the bam and
talked to Fern. When he heard that the price was only
six dollars, he said he would buy the pig. Next day
Wilbur was taken from his home under the apple tree
and went to live in a manure pile in the cellar of Zuck-
erman's bam.
simply means that he was born in springtime.