Willy and the Piglet
In gratitude for a kind deed, a parishioner gifted a young priest from Dunfermline a piglet.At first, the priest was delighted with the gift, but the piglet grew quickly, and feeding it became increasingly difficult. So the priest thought, "I'll send it to my friend in Cairneyhill. Let it graze freely there—it won't cost me a thing."
The priest had a servant named Willie, a decent lad but a bit slow-witted.
"Willie!" called his master. "Put the piglet in a sack and take it to my friend in Cairneyhill. I've already arranged it with him."
But the piglet was clever, and Willie had to struggle before he managed to catch it and stuff it into the sack.
Before sending Willie off, the priest gave him strict instructions. He knew his faithful servant was easily confused, and the simplest task often turned into a challenge for Willie. So he said:
"Listen, Willie, don't tell anyone where you're going or why. Just remember: you need to go to Cairneyhill, deliver the piglet, and come straight back."
"Don't worry, master," replied Willie. "You know me! I'll do exactly as you say."
"That's exactly why I'm worried—because I know you well!" said the priest.
And so, hoisting the precious burden onto his back, Willie set off. Halfway to Cairneyhill, he ran into three of his friends, who called out to him from the doorstep of a tavern.
"Hey, Willie!" said one.
"Where are you off to on such a fine day, Willie?" asked the second.
"What are you carrying in that sack, Willie?" shouted the third.
Willie was flustered by the encounter.
"H-hello, friends!" he stammered. "I-I can't tell you where I'm going. The master told me not to say where I'm going. But I can tell you what's in the sack: it's not a cat or a dog!"
The friends laughed and quickly assured Willie they wouldn't pry further. One of them clapped Willie on the shoulder and suggested:
"Come on in, Willie, have a drink with us. You must be tired from the long walk, especially with that heavy load on your back."
"No, I can't," Willie refused, though his eyes lingered longingly on the open tavern door, which promised cool relief. "If the master entrusted me with his piglet, I can't be drinking!"
The friends exchanged glances but gave no hint that they'd figured out about the piglet.
"Come on, Willie! A sip of wine never hurt anyone. Leave the sack here by the door."
Willie didn't need much more convincing. He set the sack with the piglet on the ground and went inside the tavern. One of the friends, wasting no time, untied the sack, let the piglet out, and replaced it with a stray dog.
The unsuspecting, honest servant drank his wine, hoisted the sack back onto his shoulders, and cheerfully continued on his way. When he reached Cairneyhill, he delivered his master's greetings to his friend and handed over the sack.
"Thank you, Willie, thank you," said the priest's friend. "Would you mind untying the sack and taking the piglet to the barn?"
Willie untied the sack, but instead of a piglet with a pink snout, a black puppy jumped out.
"Help! Help!" cried poor Willie. "The devil himself must have played a cruel trick on me!"
The priest's friend was surprised but didn't quite believe in the devil's mischief. Knowing Willie well, he suspected someone had played a friendly prank on him.
"Don't get so worked up, Willie," he said. "You can take the dog back to your master."
"But it's not a dog, sir!" exclaimed Willie, trembling with fear. "It's a piglet! I swear—it's a piglet! The devil just changed its color: turned it from white to black."
But there was nothing else to do, so Willie stuffed the dog back into the sack and set off for home. When he reached the tavern, he saw his three friends again, sitting at the table as if nothing had happened, innocently sipping their wine.
"Look, it's Willie!" said one. "And he's got the sack again?"
"Oh no, something terrible happened," said Willie as he entered. "The devil swapped my piglet for a dog! What am I going to tell the master?"
"What a mess!" exclaimed the second, barely holding back laughter. "Have you ever heard anything like it?"
"Sit down, buddy, you need a drink after all that stress," said the third.
This time, Willie didn't need much convincing—he really did need a drink. He'd earned it.
He left the sack by the tavern entrance and joined them at the table. They poured him a drink, and while he drank, one of the pranksters slipped out and swapped the dog for the piglet.
An hour or two later, the unsuspecting Willie was trudging home with his burden. His head was a whirl of drink and confusion from the day's events. He blurted out his terrifying story to his master, but the priest couldn't make sense of it.
"I can't understand what you're saying," said the master. "What devil? What dog? Untie the sack and take the piglet to the barn. You'll take it to Cairneyhill tomorrow."
"But it's not a piglet, sir!" cried Willie. "It's a dog! I swear—it's a dog! Look!"
With that, Willie untied the sack, and out jumped the piglet. Willie screamed in horror:
"What? A piglet, not a dog?!"
Poor Willie was convinced the devil had played another cruel trick on him. As for his master...
If the priest had ever doubted his honest servant's intelligence, he had no doubts left now.
And you?
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