“Now I feel better,” Squinty said.  “What will happen next?”

Nothing did for some time, and, when it did it was so strange that Squinty never forgot it as long as he lived.  I’ll tell you all about it.

He walked on through the woods, Squinty did, and, before very long, he found some acorns.  He ate as many as he wanted and then, as he always felt sleepy after he had eaten, he thought he would lie down and have a nap.

He found a place, near a big stump, where there was a soft bed of dried leaves, nearly as nice as his straw bed in the pen at home.  On this he stretched out, and soon he was fast asleep.

When Squinty awoke it was real dark.  He jumped up with a little grunt, and said to himself: 

“Well, I did not mean to stay away from my pen so long.  I guess I had better go back.”

Squinty started to go back the way he had come, but I guess you can imagine what happened.  It was so dark he could not find the path.  He walked about, stumbling over sticks and stones and stumps, sometimes falling down on soft moss, and again on the hard ground.  Finally Squinty thought: 

“Well, it is of no use.  I can’t get back tonight, that is sure.  I shall have to stay here.  Oh dear!  I hope there are no dogs to bite me!”

Squinty listened carefully.  He could hear no barks.  He hunted around in the dark until he found another soft bed of leaves, and on that he cuddled himself up to go to sleep for the night.  He was a little afraid, but, after all, he was used to sleeping alone, and, even though he was outside of his pen now, he did not worry much.

“In the morning I shall go back to the boy who taught me tricks,” thought Squinty.

But something else happened in the morning.

Squinty was awake when the sun first peeped up from behind the clouds.  The little pig scratched his ear, where a mosquito had bitten him during the night.  Then he stretched first one leg and then the others, and said: 

“Ha!  Ho!  Hum!  Uff!  Uff!  I guess I’ll have some acorns for my breakfast.”

It was a very easy matter for Squinty to get his breakfast.  He did not have to wash, or comb his hair, or even dress.  Just as he was he got up out of his leaf-bed, and began rooting around in the ground for acorns.  He soon found all he wanted, and ate them.  Then he felt thirsty, so he looked around until he had found another spring of cool water, where he drank as much as he needed.

“And now to go back home, to the boy who taught me tricks,” said Squinty to himself.  “I guess he is wondering where I am.”

And indeed that boy, Bob, and his sisters Mollie and Sallie, were wondering where Squinty was.  They saw the open door of the pen, and the boy recalled that he had forgotten to lock it.

“Oh, Squinty is gone!” he cried, and he felt very badly indeed.  But I have no time to tell you more of that boy now.  I must relate for you the wonderful adventures of Squinty.