Polly Goes to a Wedding Part II
Oh, goody, goody!” Peter cried, when he saw the sawdust. “I am sure that we shall have ice cream. I shall not get back into the carriage. It is nicer here. I am going to see what is around that corner.”
Peter was gone a long, long time. Polly called to him. He did not answer. At last she jumped down, too. She ran around the corner to find him.
There he was, looking through a fence.
“What do you think that is?” he asked. “Don’t you see? Over there back of the big rock. I have watched and watched.”
“I see it now,” said Polly. “I am going to climb the fence and see what it is.”
Over she climbed. There was a puddle near the fence. But she took care not to step into it. She ran to the rock. She peeped on the other side.
It was an ear that Peter had been watching. The ear belonged to the largest pig that Polly ever saw. He was so large that she just looked and looked.
By and by the pig saw her. He began to get up. Then Polly felt sure that he was as large as an elephant, at least.
He was so large that she would rather see him from the other side of the fence. So she turned and began to run.
Peter saw the pig come from behind the rock. He saw the pig begin to trot after Polly. Perhaps the pig wished to be fed. Perhaps he wished to look at his visitor.
Polly did not stop to look around. She just ran toward the fence as fast as she could. Peter screamed to her, “Run, Polly! He will get you! Run! Run!”
Polly heard Peter. She thought that the pig must be very near. She was close to the puddle. Should she go around it? If she did, the pig might catch her.
So, she jumped into it and scrambled up on the fence. The muddy water splashed over her. It spoiled her shoes and stockings. It spoiled her dress, too.
She looked back. The pig had stopped before it reached the puddle. It was poking the ground with its snout.
“Oh Peter!” cried Polly. “Look at me! Why did you shout, ‘Run, run’? I thought that the pig was close to me. I thought that I did not have time to go around the puddle. Look at my clothes!”
Just then Polly heard father say, “‘Handsome is that handsome does,’ Polly. Are you handsome now?”
“Why didn’t you stay in the carriage? The wedding is over. I went out to get you, but you were gone, and I could not stop to look for you.
“Come now, both of you. You may have ice cream and other things to eat.”
“Oh, oh, oh!” cried Polly. “I have missed the wedding. Oh, dear! Oh, dear! And I cannot even go in. I am too dirty.”
“Well, climb into the carriage then,” said father. “I will bring you out something to eat. Peter may come in.”
“No,” said Peter. “I must stay with Polly. She went over the fence for me. And I made her jump into the puddle. So I must stay out with her.”
“Very well,” said father. “That is only fair. Now I will go and tell why you cannot come in.” And he walked toward the house.
“Tell them that it is the very biggest pig in the world,” shouted Peter.
When Polly heard the people laugh she said, “There! Father has told them. I shall remember this wedding for a long time. And I shall remember, ‘Handsome is that handsome does,’ too.”
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