Oinkment

I’ll tell you a story, so you must sit quietly and listen. In the fairy realm we have many things which are much the same as the big people have and we have other things which are not. When I was little girl I had a pig that was called Popple. I loved Popple. He lived under the stairs in my house. He was my secret. Nobody else knew about Popple. When they were all asleep Popple and I would go out for an adventure. He was an unusual pig because he had a mane like a horse. I’d hold on to it and we’d fly off into the night until night turned to day, as it did very quickly in fairyland. We would go and visit Popple’s friends. They lived in an old manor house. There were lots of them. Some were fairies, some were elves and some were pigs with wings like Popple.

One day we were visiting Popple’s friends and a bad thing happened. Popple didn’t see the branch of a tree and he bumped into it as we were landing. I fell off and I was all right, but Popple had broken his wing. Oh dear. I did feel sorry for Popple. Whatever could I do to help? I felt like crying because I didn’t know how I was going to get back home, but I decided to be brave. Popple needed all the help he could get. I borrowed a pillowcase and made a sling for Popple’s wing, and we went to see the witch Tangeloola. . She would know how to heal Popple’s wing quickly if anyone did. She got out a big pot of oinkment and told me to rub it onto Popple’s broken wing three times. She said that by the third time the wing would be better. She told me he needed to have some nice lovage soup and a good rest. Then he would be as fit as a flea again. . Well, I looked at Popple and he looked at me.

“She knows what she’s talking about,” said Popple, ” Spread some of that gooey stuff on me would you, then I’ll have a snooze?”

I was a bit worried that it might not work, but I decided to give it a go and keep smiling, I thought if I looked happy Popple might start to feel better about his poorly wing. So I smiled and rubbed and tucked him up for a snooze. Then I went to find some nice green lovage for some soup. There was a lovely big plant in the back garden of the old manor, and Piggy Perkins said she’d make the soup for Popple. When he woke up I rubbed some more oinkment on his wing. It was feeling much better already. He had some soup and offered me some too. At that moment witch Tangeloola popped her head round the door to see how he was.

“Splendid, splendid,” she said, and she sprinkled something sparkly into the soup.

Now you should both drink the rest of this, then put on the last of the oinkment and go home. “

I was so pleased I jumped up and down for joy, and to my surprise I found I could fly. It must have been the soup!

Witch Tangeloola giggled and giggled and said, ” I put some flying dust in the soup so you can help Popple to get home safely and not strain his newly mended wing. He’s not strong enough to carry you yet. He needs a few more days to recover fully.”

Popple looked a bit sad, but I said “Come on Popple, be brave, at least you can fly again. Let’s go. Thanks Witch Tangeloola!” and off we flew. The funny thing was after that I could always fly at night, but never in the daytime when anyone else was watching me. Popple lived under the stairs until I got too big to have a pig friend living in my house. He flew off to another little girl in the next village, and I didn’t mind at all. After all, I could still fly at night, all by myself.

By the way, when I get a sore place I put ointment on it, but as pigs say ‘Oink oink’, I think that’s why Popple used oinkment…..