“I went for the eggs, last time,” said Curly, sort of slow and thoughtful like.

“Then I suppose it’s Flop’s turn to go for the bag of meal,” said his mother.  “But I do hope the bad dog doesn’t chase him.”

“Oh, I’m not afraid, mamma,” said the little piggie boy.  “If he comes after me I’ll throw corn meal dust in his nose and make him sneeze, and then he can’t see to catch me.”

“Very well,” said Mrs. Twistytail, so she gave Flop the money for the bag of meal.  Off he started to the store, while his brother, Curly, went back in the yard to play hop-skip-and-jump, all by himself.

Flop went along the street, whirling his tail in a little circle like a pin-wheel, or a merry-go-round, and he was thinking how good the Johnny cake would taste, when, all of a sudden, he heard a noise.

It was a noise something like thunder, yet not quite so loud, and Flop was wondering what it was, when, all at once, as he turned around the corner, he saw a big elephant sitting on a stump, and crying as hard as he could cry.  And this elephant had made the noise.

Ah ha!  That’s the time I caught you; I’ve got the elephant in this story after all, so you can’t have the ice cream cones this time.  But never mind, maybe some other day you may.

Anyhow, there was the elephant crying, and he shed as many tears as you could cry in a year, even if you’ve been vaccinated.  And Flop instead of being afraid, went right up to the big creature and said, most politely: 

“What is the matter?  Can I help you?”

“Eh?  What’s that?” exclaimed the elephant.  “Bless my trunk strap!  It’s a little pig.  Oh dear!”

“What is the matter?” asked Flop.

“Oh, I ran a big sliver in my left hind foot,” said the elephant, “and I can’t get it out.  I’ve tried to pull it with my tail, but my tail isn’t long enough, and I can’t even reach it with my trunk.  And I was to go to the codfish ball tonight, and now I can’t, for I never could dance with a sliver in my foot.”

“Perhaps I can pull it out,” said Flop, and when the elephant held up his foot, which was nearly as large as a washtub, the little piggie boy could see the splinter as plainly as anything.

“I’ll get it out,” he exclaimed and then he wound his kinky, curly tail around the splinter and pulled it right out of the elephant’s foot as quick as a wink.

“Oh, how kind of you!” cried the big creature.  “If ever I can do you a favor I will.  Now I can go to the party tonight and dance.  But I’ll just sit here awhile and rest, before I go.”

So Flop went on to the store to get the corn meal, and he told the man about how Mrs. Twistytail was going to make a Johnny cake and how he had pulled the splinter out of the elephant’s foot, and the store man said: 

“You are a brave little piggie boy, and here is a lollypop for you.”

Well, Flop was on his way home, carrying the bag of meal, and he was taking little nips and nibbles off the lolly-pop, when all at once what should happen but that, out from behind a tree sprang the bad skillery-scalery alligator.