Then, kindly and gently, the boy took Squinty over to the place where the corn crib was built on to the barn.  This made a corner and the little pig was stood up on his hind legs in that.  Then, with something to lean his back against, he did not feel like falling over, and he remained standing up on two legs, with his front feet stuck out in front of him.

“That’s the way to do it!” cried Bob.  “Soon you will be able to stand up without anything to lean against.  And, a little later, you will be able to walk on your hind legs.  Now here’s an apple for you, Squinty!”

So you see Squinty received his reward for starting to learn a new trick.

In a few days, just as the boy had said, the little pig found that he could sit up on his hind legs all alone, without anything to lean back against.

But learning to walk on his hind legs was a little harder.

The boy, however, was patient and kind to him.  At first Bob held Squinty’s front feet, and walked along with him so the little pig would get used to the new trick.  Then one day Bob said: 

“Now, Squinty, I want you to walk to me all by yourself.  Stand up!”

Squinty stood up on his hind legs.  The boy backed away from him, and stood a little distance off, holding out a nice, juicy potato this time.

“Come and get the potato,” called the boy.

“Squee!  Squee!” grunted Squinty.  “I can’t!” I suppose he meant to say.

“Come on!” cried the boy.  “Don’t be afraid.  You can do it!”

Squinty wanted that potato very much.  And the only way to get it was to walk to it on his hind legs.  If he let himself down on all four legs he knew the boy would not give him the potato.  So Squinty made up his little pig mind that he would do this new trick.

Off he started, walking by himself on his hind legs, just like a trained bear.

“Fine!  That’s the way to do it!  I knew you could!” the boy cried when Squinty reached him, and took the potato out of his hand.  “Good little pig!” and he scratched Squinty’s back with a stick.

“Uff!  Uff!” squealed Squinty, very much pleased.

And from then on the comical little pig learned many tricks.

He could stand up a long time, on his hind legs, with an apple on his nose.  And he would not eat it until the boy called: 

“Now, Squinty!”

Then Squinty would toss the apple up in the air, off his nose, and catch it as it came down.  Oh, how good it tasted!

Squinty also learned to march around with a stick for a gun, and play soldier.  He liked this trick best of all, for he always had two apples to eat after that.

Many of Bob’s boy friends came to see his trained pig.  They all thought he was very funny and cute, and they laughed very hard when Squinty looked at them with his queer, drooping eye.  They would feed him apples, potatoes and sometimes bits of cake that Bob’s mother gave them.  Squinty grew very fond of cake.