By C. R. Collins Jr.
We’re quick to say, “We are the superior creature.” Forgetting, we and instinct are of nature. Continuously nature proves that she controls the world’s activities, even when our own arrogance thinks differently. . .
Since he and his friends were locked in separate pens, the only thing Harley could do was hold a squealing contest with his other pig buddies. After about twenty minutes of howling squeals, he decided that it was about time to roll in his newly formed mud hole and call it a night, not knowing that they would test his instinct before dawn.
Used to people showing up at the farm at all hours, it was no surprise to see two young men in cowboy boots drive up in a late model pick-up, long past dark. It was unusual for the truck to be pulling a carrying pin, a contraption Harley knew well, having ridden in one often. Harley watched the two young men walk cage to cage, looking in and disturbing his fellow pigs. Every step closer that Roy Rogers and his companion took toward Harley’s cage awakened every instinct in his body.
Laughing and joking the whole time with each other, one cowboy opened Harley’s cage. Harley shot out of the opening when he knew it was wide enough to fit. He knew the procedure; they were just letting him out to exercise.
This was the highlight of Harley’s day, charging at the young men’s boots and sending the men toppling like bowling pins. Lowering his head when he charged, he would raise it at the last second, catapulting one bandit upward to land flat on his back in the muddy grass. Lasting the duration of a daily sitcom, while a lot more entertaining, this activity engulfed the two young men in laughter as they ran from the notorious pig.
Instead of the young men coaxing Harley back into his cage, this time the young men tried to put him in the carrying pin. Enraged, Harley thrust forward, determined to avoid Billy the Kid and his outlaw friend. Instinct deployed, the piglet launched past them; veering slightly to throw his rear into them, shoving the young men into the freshly made mud holes. Upon landing, the splash blanketed everything around in a foul brown.
Still having fun, they decided just to hold on to the feisty pig. Results: Deep boot trails in the ground.
One decided to ride the brown and pink rocket. This action, of course, can only bring two results, and one is slipping off into the mud. The second, as proved by the individual, is dirtier than the first. Holding on for life, he was dragged around the farm, meeting every rock and getting to know every pig pile up close and personal. Fear kept him hanging on until Harley’s mud-slick tail ceased to provide a firm grip.
Hoping to wear out the pig, the desperadoes only successfully wear out themselves. They were at a loss of what to do, and two hours had already passed.
They did not know the, somewhat calmer, squealing piglet had retreated into his cage. Then the cowboys, if they can be considered that after today, knew what to do. While one stood in front of the pin, hoping that the pig did not have a nature attack, the other backed the cage opening smack up to the pin opening. Now finishing the episode was easy. Resting for a minute, the two exhausted cowboys stepped behind the pig, treating themselves to a sight one would not recommend, to try and move him. Between yelling and whipping, the more effective of which is still unknown, the pig went into a “nature’s run” right into the cage. Shutting the door, the two cowboys fell to the ground. Exhaustion over-took their bodies.
If you were to ask the two young men if it was worth the bumps and bruises to help a friend pick up a prize-winning pig to be washed the day before the rodeo, they may still not answer you!
Man is the superior creature. You can see that when you look at our homes and lifestyles. Our brains give us the power to think and memorize at levels beyond the ability of all other animals. Still, we must not forget that we, too, are of nature and that there is something out there that is more powerful than us: instinct.
The following is what happens when you young men who grew up in a diverse part of Houston, but one of their friends in 4H needs assistance in picking up their prize Houston Rodeo pig. Okay, honestly, I can’t remember if the friend’s pig won an award or not, but it was an entertaining time all around.
The original story, written as a high-school class project, has been minimally edited and preserved to maintain the essence of the story and when it was written.