As soon as he had discovered it wasn’t a small elephant in the field, Trouble began to be afraid. He didn’t exactly know what sort of animal this might be. Dimly he remembered something about pigs on his grandfather’s farm. But those pigs were cute little pink ones in a pen with their big, fat mother pig. The mother pig lay on her side and grunted. The little pigs ran around squealing. None of them acted as did this savage boar.
For that reason Trouble didn’t know exactly what to make of this. He held out in his hand some of the peanuts he had taken from his pocket. In the distance Trouble could hear the shouts of Jan and Ted as they scrambled up the apple tree. But more clearly than anything Trouble heard the grunts of the boar as it came nearer and nearer.
“I—I don’t like you! Go on ’way!” called Trouble, after a second of watching this big, ugly animal. “Go ’way!”
But the boar still came forward. He was used to having his own way except when a man with a dog or a pitchfork came in the field. More than once this boar had chased boys and girls who, unthinkingly, had wandered to this part of Mr. Dawson’s farm. Mr. Dawson always warned people about going into the field where the boar was, but he had been so busy with the movie folk that he forgot about it this time.
Suddenly the boar gave such a loud grunt of rage, ending with such a squeal, that Trouble was badly frightened. The little fellow began to cry. He wished he hadn’t come into the field.
The cry of their little brother reached the ears of Ted and Jan in the tree. They had just begun to pick some of the fruit, but when they heard Trouble they looked toward him. And what Ted saw made him drop an apple after he had taken one bite. He scrambled down out of the tree shouting:
“I’m coming, Trouble! I’m coming! I wont let the pig bite you!”
For Ted knew that boars are very savage when once roused.
“I’m coming, too!” cried Jan.
She tried to scramble down out of the tree, but slipped when on the lowest limb and fell to the ground. Luckily she fell in a place where the grass was long and thick, so she wasn’t hurt. She was merely jarred a bit, and after getting back her breath she ran toward the fence, through which Ted was crawling to reach Trouble.