The Hour of Triumph
SPECIAL announcement!" said the loud speaker
in a pompous voice. "The management of the
Fair takes great pleasure in presenting Mr.
Homer L. Zuckerman and his famous pig. The
truck bearing this extraordinary animal is now ap-
proaching the infield. Kindly stand back and give the
truck room to proceed! In a few moments the pig will
be unloaded in the special judging ring in front of the
grandstand, where a special award will be made. Will
the crowd please make way and let the truck pass.
Thank you."
Wilbur trembled when he heard this speech. He felt
happy but dizzy. The truck crept along slowly irt low
speed. Crowds of people surrounded it, and Mr. Arable
had to drive very carefully in order not to run over
anybody. At last he managed to reach the judges' stand.
Avery jomped out and lowered the tailgate.
"I'm scared to death," whispered Mrs. Zuckerman.
"Hundreds of people are looking at us."
"Cheer up," replied Mrs. Arable, "this is fun."
"Unload your pig, please!" said the loud speaker.
"All together, now, boys! " said .Mr. Zuckerman. Sev-
eral men stepped forward from the crowd to help lift
the crate. Avery was the busiest helper of all.
"Tuck your shin in, Avery! " cried Mrs. Zuckerman.
"And tighten your belt. Your pants are coming down."
"Can't you see I'm busy?" replied Avery in disgust.
"Look! " cried Fern, pointing. "There's Henry! "
"Don't shout, Fern!" said her mother. "And don't
point!"
"Can't I please have some money?" asked Fern.
"Henry invited me to go on the Ferris wheel again,
only I don't think he has any money left. He ran out
of money."
Mrs. Arable opened her handbag. "Here," she said.
"Here is fony cents. Now don't get lost! And be back
at our regular meeting place by the pigpen very soon!"
Fern raced off, ducking and dodging through the
crowd, in search of Henry.
"The Zuckerman pig is now being taken from his
crate," boomed the voice of the loud speaker. "Stand
by for an announcement! "
Templeton crouched under the straw at the bottom
of the crate. "What a lot of nonsense!" muttered the
rat. "What a lot of fuss about nothing!"
Over in the pigpen, silent and alone, Charlotte rested.
Her two front legs embraced the egg sac. Charlotte could hear everything that was said on the loud speaker.
The words gave her courage. This was her hour of
triumph.
As Wilbur came out of the crate, the crowd clapped
and cheered. Mr. Zuckerman took off his cap and
bowed. Lurvy pulled his big handkerchief from his
pocket and wiped the sweat from the back of his neck.
Avery knelt in the dirt by Wilbur's side, busily strok-
ing him and showing off. Mrs. Zuckerman and Mrs.
Arable stood on the running board of the truck.
"Ladeez and gentlemen," said the loud speaker, "we
now present Mr. Homer L. Zuckerman's distinguished
pig. The fame of this unique animal has spread to the
far corners of the earth, attracting many valuable tour-
ists to our great State. Many of you will recall that
never-to-be-forgotten day last summer when the
writing appeared mysteriously on the spider's web in
1ir. Zuckerman's barn, calling the attention of all and
sundry to the fact that this pig was completely out of
the ordinary. This miracle has never been fully ex-
plained, although learned men have visited the Zucker-
man pigpen to study and observe the phenomenon. In
the last analysis, we simply know that we are dealing
with supernatural forces here, and we should all feel
proud and grateful. In the words of the spider's web,
ladies and gentlemen, this is some pig."Wilbur blushed. He stood perfectly still and tried
to look his best.
"This magnificent animal," continued the loud
speaker, "is truly terrific. Look at him, ladies and
gentlemen! Note the smoothness and whiteness of the
coat, observe the spotless skin, the healthy pink glow
of ears and snout."
"It's the buttermilk," whispered Mrs. Arable to
Mrs. Zuckerman.
"Note the general radiance of this animal! Then re-
member the day when the word 'radiant' appeared
clearly on the web. Whence came this mysterious
writing? Not from the spider, we can rest assured of
that. Spiders are very clever at weaving their webs, but
needless to say spiders cannot write."
"Oh, they can't, can't they?" murmured Charlotte
to herself.
"Ladeez and gentlemen," continued the loud
speaker, "I must not take any more of your valuable
time. On behalf of the governors of the Fair, I have the
honor of awarding a special prize of twenty-five dollars
to Mr. Zuckerman, together with a handsome bronze
medal suitably engraved, in token of our appreciation
of the part played by this pig-this radiant, this terrific,
this humble pig-in attracting so many visitors to our
great County Fair."
Wilbur had been feeling dizzier and dizzier through this long, complimentary speech. When he heard the
crowd begin to cheer and clap again, he suddenly
fainted away. His legs collapsed, his mind went blank,
and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
"What's wrong? " asked the loud speaker. "What's
going on, Zuckerman? What's the trouble with your
pig? "
Avery was kneeling by Wilbur's head, stroking him.
Mr. Zuckerman was dancing about, fanning him with
his cap.
"He's all right," cried Mr. Zuckerman. "He gets
these spells. He's modest and can't stand praise."
"Well, we can't give a prize to a dead pig," said the
loud speaker. "It's never been done."
"He isn't dead," hollered Zuckerman. "He's fainted.
He gets embarrassed easily. Run for some water,
Lurvy! "
Lurvy sprang from the judges' ring and disappeared.
Templeton poked his head from the straw. He
noticed that the end of Wilbur's tail was within reach.
Templeton grinned. "I'll tend to this," he chuckled.
He took Wilbur's tail in his mouth and bit it, just as
hard as he could bite. The pain revived Wilbur. In a
flash he was back on his feet.
"Ouch!" he screamed.
"Hoorray!" yelled the crowd. "He's up! The pig's
up! Good work, Zuckerman! That's some pig! " Everyone was delighted. Mr. Zuckerman was the most
pleased of all. He sighed with relief. Nobody had seen
Templeton. The rat had done his work well.
And now one of the judges climbed into the ring
with the prizes. He handed Mr. Zuckerman two ten
dollar bills and a five dollar bill. Then he tied the medal
around Wilbur's neck. Then he shook hands with Mr.
Zuckerman while Wilbur blushed. Avery put out his
hand and the judge shook hands with him, too. The
crowd cheered. A photographer took Wilbur's picture.
A great feeling of happiness swept over the Zucker-
mans and the Arables. This was the greatest moment in
Mr. Zuckerman's life. It is deeply satisfying to win a
prize in front of a lot of people.
As Wilbur was being shoved back into the crate,
Lurvy came charging through the crowd carrying a
pail of water. His eyes had a wild look. Without hesi-
tating a second, he dashed the water at Wilbur. In his
excitement he missed his aim, and the water splashed
all over Mr. Zuckerman and Avery. They got soaking
wet.
"For goodness' sake! " bellowed .Mr. Zuckerman,
who was really drenched. "What ails you, Lurvy?
Can't you see the pig is all right?"
"You asked for water," said Lurvy meekly.
"I didn't ask for a shower bath," said Mr. Zucker-
man. The crowd roared with laughter. Finally Mr.
Zuckerman had to laugh, too. And of course A very was
tickled to find himself so wet, and he immediately staned to act like a clown. He pretended he was taking
a shower bath; he made faces and danced around and
rubbed imaginary soap under his armpits. Then he
dried himself with an imaginary towel.
"Avery, stop it! " cried his mother. "Stop showing
off!"
But the crowd loved it. Avery heard nothing but the
applause. He liked being a clown in a ring, with every-
body watching, in front of a grandstand. When he dis-
covered there was still a little water left in the bottom
of the pail, he raised the pail high in the air and dumped
the water on himself and made faces. The children in
the grandstand screamed with appreciation.
At last things calmed down. Wilbur was loaded into
the truck. Avery was led from the ring by his mother
and placed on the seat of the truck to dry off. The
truck, driven by Mr. Arable, crawled slowly back to
the pigpen. Avery's wet trousers made a big wet spot
on the seat.