The Pig Who Found The Song In Her Heart
by Patricia Platt
1
This is the story of Portia Pig. Portia was different from all the other
animals in town. They were always busy, busy, busy, doing Very Important
Work.
But Portia loved nothing better than to dream, and use her imagination,
and paint beautiful pictures.
Now, none of the other animals knew about Portia's beautiful paintings because
they thought being an artist was a terrible waste of time.
So, when no one was looking, Portia painted and painted. Then she hid her
pictures so none of the other animals would know she was wasting her time.
She hid them under her bed and in her closet and behind her couch and even
in her refrigerator.
2
Early one fine spring morning Portia sat beside a lake watching the
sun rise. Beautiful colors spread across the sky, making the clouds all
the colors of the rainbow - bright pinks and golds and oranges.
Portia imagined that angels painted pictures in the sky. She could see a
pink cloud pony, and a golden cloud tree, and an orange cloud mountain.
It was all reflected in the quiet lake.
Portia thought she had never seen anything quite so beautiful. She imagined
painting this glorious sunrise and her heart sang with happiness.
3
Just then along came Mr. Frog, hopping from lily pad to lily pad, carrying
his Mail bag.
"What are you doing?" asked Mr. Frog.
"I'm having a wonderful time using my imagination," answered Portia.
"Come sit with me and look up at the clouds. There's a beautiful pink
cloud pony, and a beautiful golden cloud tree, and a beautiful orange cloud
mountain."
"Pish tosh," sputtered Mr. Frog. "I have no time for such
foolishness. I have more important things to do. I'm off to deliver Very
Important mail to everyone."
And Mr. Frog hopped off to do his Very Important Job.
4
Portia felt ashamed.
"Tomorrow," she resolved, "I'll put away my paints and my
pallete and my easel and I'll get a job as a letter carrier. Then I will
be doing something Very Important for the town."
But as Portia lay in bed that night trying to sleep, beautiful pictures
of the lake and the sunrise and the pink cloud pony kept dancing in her
imagination.
"I'll just paint one more picture," said Portia and she got out
of bed and painted the night away.
(Can you imagine the picture Portia would paint?)
5
All that spring Portia worked very hard delivering important mail to everyone
in town. She was happy to perform such a Very Valuble Service but something
was missing in her heart. She wished she knew what it was.
By the end of spring Portia knew that delivering important mail was
not quite the job for her.
6
One lovely summer day, while Portia was taking a walk, she came upon a garden.
It was filled with beautiful flowers all the colors of the rainbow. There
were red roses and yellow daisies and blue morning glories climbing over
the fence.
She heard bees happily humming and birds cheerily chirping. As she took
a deep breath and smelled all the lovely flower smells, she imagined tiny
elves tiptoeing through the flowers, spraying them with perfume.
She imagined how wonderful it would be to paint the whole lovely scene spread
before her and her heart sang with happiness.
7
Just then, along came Miss Horse.
"What are you doing?" asked Miss Horse.
"I'm having a wonderful time using my imagination," said Portia.
"Come and look with me," she said "and imagine talking to
the bees and sitting in the trees with the birds."
"Pish tosh," whinnied Miss Horse.
"I have no time for such foolishness. I have more important things
to do. I'm off to the farm to help grow food for the town."
And off she trotted to do her Very Important Work.
8
Portia felt ashamed.
"Tomorrow, she resolved, "I'll put away my paints and my palette
and my easel, and get a job at the farm and do something important for the
town."
But that night as Portia lay in bed trying to sleep, wonderful pictures
of the garden and the bees and the birds kept dancing in her imagination.
"I'll just paint one picture," said Portia. And she got out of
bed and painted the night away.
(How do you think Portia's picture of the garden looked?)
9
All that summer Portia worked very hard on the farm doing the Very Important
Job of growing food for the town.
She was happy to perform such a Valuble Service but something was missing
in her heart.
She wished she knew what it was.
By the end of the summer Portia knew that farming was not quite the job
for her.
10
One fine autumn day Portia was walking through the woods marveling at the
leaves. They were all the colors of the rainbow. Patches of golds and ambers,
reds and oranges, browns and greens were lit up by the sun.
Portia imagined a giant rainbow in the sky pouring colors on the leaves.
As she walked, enjoying the cool, fresh air and the sound of fallen leaves
crunching underfoot, she imagined wood sprites helping squirrels to gather
acorns.
She imagined painting the whole lovely scene.
Portia thought she had never seen anything quite so beautiful. Her heart
sang with happiness.
11
Just then, along came Mr. Robin.
"What are you doing?" he asked Portia.
"I'm having a wonderful time using my imagination," said Portia.
"Stay with me awhile and imagine there's a giant rainbow pouring colors
on all the leaves."
"Pish tosh," said Mr. Robin. "I have no time for such a silly
thing as imagining. I am on my way to town to do the Very Important Work
of nursing sick animals."
And off he hopped.
12
Once again Portia felt ashamed.
"Tomorrow," she resolved, "I'll put away my paints and my
palette and my easel and get a job as a nurse and do something Very Important
for the town.
But that night as Portia lay in her bed trying to sleep, wonderful pictures
of a giant rainbow pouring blazing colors into the woods kept dancing in
her imagination.
"I'll just paint one more picture," said Portia, and she got out
of bed and painted the night away.
(What would your picture of the woods look like?)
13
All that autumn Portia worked very hard doing the Very Important Job of
nursing sick animals back to health.
She was happy to perform such a Valuable Service. But something was missing
in her heart. She wished she knew what it was.
By the end of fall Portia knew that, as important as nursing was, it just
wasn't the right job for her.
14
One crisp, cold day Portia trotted through the first snow of winter. Everything
looked like it was covered with sugar that sparkled in the bright sun with
little rainbows tints glistening everywhere.
Portia imagined she heard laughter as snow people were being built.
She felt the thrill of riding a sled really fast down a hill.
And she imagined she heard fairies using tiny silver mallets to play heavenly
songs on the glistening icicles hanging from the roofs.
Portia thought that she had never seen anything quite so beautiful.
As she imagined painting the beautiful scene her heart sang with happiness.
15
Just then Mrs. Duck waddled by.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm having a wonderful time using my imagination," answered Portia.
"Stop for awhile and imagine riding a sled while fairies play music
on the icicles."
"Pish tosh," exclaimed Mrs. Duck. "I am on my way to my Very
Important Job of teaching all the children in town."
And off she waddled to do her Very Important Work.
16
Once again, Portia felt ashamed.
"Tomorrow," she promised, "I really will put away my paints
and my pallete and my easel and get a job as a teacher doing Very Important
Work for the town.'
But, once more, as she lay in her bed that night trying to sleep, wonderful
pictures of snow scenes came dancing in her imagination.
"I'll just paint one more picture," said Portia. And she got out
of bed yet one more time and painted the night away.
17
All that winter Portia worked very hard doing Very Important Work of being
a teacher.
She had been happy to perform such a Valuble Service but something was still
missing from her heart. She wished she knew what it was.
18
Now it was spring again. Portia knew she had to sit down and listen to her
heart. So she sat down and she thought and she thought.
She thought of the springtime and the sunrise on the lake and the pink cloud
pony.
She thought of the beautiful garden in the summer sunshine.
She remembered the rainbow leaves in the woods in the autumn..
And she thought of the sparkly snow scene in the winter.
"That's it!" she cried. "Now I know what's been missing in
my heart all along!"
"I wasn't meant to be a farmer or a letter carrier. I wasn't meant
to be a teacher or a nurse."
"I am an artist!"
19
So Portia set out to do something about it. She knew that she had to be
very brave and take a chance.
"I can make them understand! I know I can! At least I have to try!"
So she made a plan. First she sent out invitations to all the animals in
town.
"Come to the park on Saturday for a Big Surprise" they said.
20
When they received their invitation - delivered by Mr. Frog, of course -
the whole town was buzzing.
Are you going to the park on Saturday?" Miss Horse asked Mr. Frog.
"I'm much too busy for such foolishness," harumphed Mr. Frog.
"So am I!" declared Miss Horse.
"Still," said Mr. Frog, who was having second thoughts, "Portia
did do me a great favor one day when I had the sniffles. She delivered all
mymail for me and I don't want to be rude, so maybe I'll stop by just for
a moment or two."
"That's true," agreed Miss Horse.
"When I hurt my leg Portia did my share of the farm work, so perhaps
I could find time to stop by for just awhile, too."
21
On the other side of town Mr. Robin and Mrs. Duck were having a similar
conversation.
"I'm sure it will be a waste of my Very Valuble Time," spouted
Mr. Robin, "but Portia was awfully helpful to me when I had a sprained
wing, so maybe I should go for just a few minutes."
"Yes indeed," agreed Mrs. Duck. "Portia did a wonderful job
of teaching my ducklings last winter, so I suppose I owe her a favor, too."
The truth was, of course, that Mr. Frog and Mrs. Duck, as well as the rest
of the town, were all dying of curiosity.
They wouldn't have missed the Big Surprise for anything in the world.
22
In the meantime Portia proceeded with her plan.
She rented a gaily striped tent and she took all of her paintings from under
her bed and out of her closet and behind her couch and even from her refrigerator
and she spent all Friday night hanging them up inside the tent.
She baked wonderful cookies and made lime punch.
She bought rainbow colored plates, cups, and napkins and set them all up
on the tables.
When she finished she looked around to make sure she hadn't missed any important
details. Everything looked festive and happy.
She was ready.
23
And so on the big day all the animals in town came--reluctantly--one by
one and in groups, to the gaily colored tent in the park.
Portia greeted them cordially, as they stepped inside the tent.
"So happy to see you, Mrs. Duck."
"So very pleased you could come, Miss Horse."
24
But once inside the tent, when they saw that the Big Surprise was only a
bunch of Portia's frivolous paintings, they were very disapproving.
Portia's heart sank as she watched the frowns and listened to the murmur.
"Oh well," she thought, "I did my best."
But her heart was breaking.
Cheri Amarna
25
She turned to walk quietly out of the tent and go home to--one last time--put
away her paints and her palette and her easel--this time forever.
26
But suddenly something happened.
Portia heard Mr. Frog exclaim, "I can see it! I can see the pink cloud
Pony! She told me it was there but I was so busy being busy I missed it!"
"Yes, yes!" chimed in Miss Horse. "I can almost smell the
flowers in this painted garden, and hear the bees buzzing! I had forgotten
how beautiful it all was!"
27
On the other side of the tent Mr. Robin was proudly telling Mrs. Duck that
he had stood with Portia on the very spot in the woods last autumn, amidst
all the blazing foliage, while at the very same time Mrs. Duck was trying
to tell Mr. Frog that she knew all along that this winter scene would turn
out beautifully, just absolutely beautifully.
And so it had.
28
Well, a lot more happened that wonderful day but it is almost time to end
this story.
Mr. Frog admitted he'd always loved to make up songs which he sang very
late at night when he thought no one could hear him.
Miss Horse confessed that she occasionally liked horsing around doing a
dance step or two.
Mr. Robin said he had been known to write a poem or two in his day, especially
haiku which he found particularly satisfying.
And Mrs. Duck admitted shyly that she did always very much enjoy writing
and telling stories to her ducklings.
29
So it was agreed that from now on, a Very Special Day would be set aside
once a month for the whole town to gather and share their music and paintings
and poetry.
The plans were put into effect immediately.
Portia sold every single one of her imaginative paintings and they now hang
in the library, in the shops, and in the living rooms all over town.
Not only that, but by Special Proclamation the town also made Portia the
Official Town Artist--a Very Important Job, indeed!--because she could see
and hear and smell and feel and imagine!--things that the others had all
been to busy to do.
And best of all--the Very Best of All-- Portia Pig was supremely happy because,
at last, she had found the song in her heart.
THE END
Authors' Message
When I first read Portia's story to my very active eight year old grandson,
Steven Tate, he was immediately entranced and inspired. He asked for paper
and a pencil and proceeded to write his very own short story. And two more
the next day!
If you are similarly inspired to write a story or a poem or to draw a picture
we would love to have a copy. Perhaps we could have a book of art inspired
by Portia. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
you can email Patricia Platt
at grateful@ultranet.com
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