Sunday 6 May 2012

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".

Layout - This Little Piggy - Jimjams

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.

Lemon Groves - Majorca
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.

Layout detail - twine & tags - JimjamsBeing 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!

32 comments:

Missus Wookie said...

Oh clever piggy to make his own way back! Probably learned to squeak during his travels and was clean from all that swimming ;)

Melissa said...

What a lovely story, especially the new improved Piggy returning home!

JulieJ said...

Lovely story - we had a similar experience with LaLa, who grew much bigger while she was away. and then her smaller self came back too.

Mary B said...

Animals always seem to find their way home somehow or other don't they.

Amy said...

This is such a lovely story Jemma! We are known for imaginative names here for our creatures - gotta love their blunt sense of what's what!

Jane said...

Miracles do happen!

scrappyjacky said...

They have a knack for the inevitable return,don't they.

Alison said...

Lovely story Jemma..glad the sponge worked- great improvisation!
Alison xx

Sian said...

What a wonderful story! Many of us will be wincing along with you there and nodding in recognition at the idea of being able to go out hunting for hours when you only have the one child! And the sponge? I love that - and you've set me off storytelling again..when I wnet on a school trip to London at the age of nine, of course I couldn't take Ted Fred in case everyone laughed. So I fell asleep hugging my sponge bag every night :)

Unknown said...

Poor pig :( All alone in the orchard :)

I lost my elephant on a cross-channel ferry. I was heartbroken. Still am truth be told. We like to think she ran away to the circus, but all I think is she ran away from me.....I don't think I am quite over this am I :D

I love the layout, especially that tag detail. x

Clare said...

What a sweet story, I'm smiling to myself thinking about him hugging the damp sponge! This is similar to my niece's lost rat - his reappearance was apparently due to him swimming home from Tenerife!

Linda said...

So cute! Glad to hear about the miraculous reappearance!

Lou said...

a lovely story and i think most of us have been there.

Ruth said...

What a clever piggy! Just as well he had a passport ...

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

How clever of piggy to find his way home again. I do have a similar story and really must remember to share it one of these Sundays!
Fiona x

humel said...

lol! Great story - and fab layout to go with it :)

Love the imaginative names kids have for their toys! I had a fluffy rabbit called Bunny. (But hey, my brother had a toy dog called Mousie. Which quite possibly tells you all you need to know about my brother....)

Jen said...

Clever piggy - finding his way back home - must have had a few adventures to lose the curl in his tail!

furrypig said...

such a familiar tale! I think most parents probably have been through the same adventures with a young child's precious toy, I know I have so may just have to feature this for a story telling sunday myself!

Kirsty.A said...

Well done for finding a substitute that would work

Sabrina DS said...

Hi,
Such a nice story…
Have a nice Sunday,
Cheers from France

Beverly said...

ohhh I saw where the story was going and was sad but was delighted to read on and see that Piggy indeed found his way home not only no worse for wear but as if he had been at a resort ;)

Irene said...

Love this story. How I felt for your son and hubby going off in the dark to search. My eldest daughter now has 3 puppies for her daughter and 2 tigers for her son because of tears along the way when they were being washed or got lost. My grandchildren are so attached to them.

Barbara Eads said...

Sounds like piggy was almost like the Velveteen Rabbit!
I loved your story and am glad that it all turned out all right in the end. I think every parent goes through something like this at least once. Thanks for sharing.

Cheri said...

My girls were more attached to their blankies than any particular doll or stuffed animal and we had the foresight when they were born to buy each child three identical blankies... color coded... Sarah's were yellow, Rachel's mint green, and Becca's pink... and having the extras made it easy to switch them out for laundry and to keep one at daycare as well!

Sandie said...

Poor Piggy! It is difficult to know what to do when small children are so attached to their favourite cuddly.
My son once lost a hippo, luckily he was older so not so devastated, but even so he still mentions 'Harry' from time to time when we recall childhood memories.

Susanne said...

What a sweet story - how nice that Piggy was able to evolve after his travels.

Unknown said...

So cute! One of my fav parts about storytelling Sunday is the memories of my own that each story I read brings to mind.

Maria Ontiveros said...

My memories of my kids' softies are so sweet. Thanks for bringing them back up.
Rinda

Lynn said...

Ah yes - many a re tracing of steps have been done in pursuit of the youngests "bunny". Your're so right about Storytelling sunday prompting your own memories.

Gail said...

What a lovely story and so great that Piggy was able to find his way home.

alexa said...

What a resourceful piggy - just like his owners! Lovely apge too - I like that twine ...

Jo said...

Such a lovely story, glad Piggy found his way home :)