Piggy Tales

I really enjoyed last every month's Sunday Storytelling over at High In The Sky - some of the tales are sad, others funny - but I really love the ones that spark my own memories. When that happens I immediately start preparing a tale of my own to share later in the year. Siân had a story about two beloved teddies at the beginning of March which got me thinking about No.1 Son's favourite toy: a pink pig called, appropriately enough, "Piggy".

Now this Piggy was little, perfect for chubby hands, with a curly tail and soft pink fur. Piggy went everywhere with No.1 Son and kept him safe at night; he was so well loved that he was soon rather more grey than pink. After about a year, Piggy came with us on our first family holiday - to Majorca, one of the Balearic Islands off the coast of Spain. Piggy stayed in our apartment when we went to the pool or the beach, but listened closely to the bedtime stories at nap time and at night. One day we hired a car to do a little tour of the island and Piggy was invited along too so that he wouldn't feel lonely at nap time! We had a lovely drive around the west coastal roads and stopped for photos of poppy fields and olive groves and lemon trees on the way home.

The freshest lemons I've ever seen!

Finally we returned to the apartment and struggled up several flights of stairs with a sleepy toddler, the picnic basket, the blankets ... but ... no Piggy!
Piggy was gone!!
Not in the car, not on the stairs, not in any of the bags ... nowhere!!! Tiredness soon turned to tears and No.1 Son was inconsolable.

Being relatively new parents with nothing better to do than indulge our 15 month old, Hubby got right back in that car and retraced our journey half-way round the island, reaching the poppy field and the lemon grove before realising it was too dark to carry on searching! On his empty handed return we were desperate to find a substitute and searched the apartment for a cuddly item for No.1 Son to hug. We eventually managing to get him off to sleep clutching the slightly damp ball-shaped sponge from the bathroom!!!!

The sponge was a bedtime fixture for the rest of the holiday but was supplanted by something furrier on our return to Holland. Piggy made a miraculous re-appearance a few months later, complete with a very clean coat, a straight tail and the ability to squeak when squeezed!
No.1 Son was SO pleased to see him that the differences weren't a problem ;o)


Do you have your own soft toy memories? Why not share them via Storytelling Sunday - we'd love to hear them!