You see, after the bear had tied Curly to the fence and made his
tail all frizzy-like, all the other pigs, including Pinky and Floppy
wanted their tails to curl also, and their mamma had to do it for
them, twisting them around the rolling-pin. And she even curled her
own, and her husband's, that that's why all pigs have curly tails
now, because it's stylish, you see.

"Why don't you want to play soldier?" asked Floppy of his little
sister.

"Oh, it's too scary!" she said. "And the guns make so much noise. If
you won't shoot off any guns I'll play."

"Pooh!" exclaimed Curly, "all soldiers have to shoot guns! You
couldn't be a soldier with a gun that didn't make any noise."

"Then I'm not going to play," said Pinky, who was just the color of
the inside of a shiny sea shell. "I'll bounce my rubber ball," she
went on, "and you boys can play soldier."

So she bounced her ball that Grandfather Squealer had given her,
while Curly and Floppy as I'll call him for short, made a fort out
of cobs from which they had gnawed all the corn, and they had a fine
time. They were off playing in the woods, while Pinky stayed near
the house.

She was hoping her mamma would soon have the apple pie baked and
would call her in and give her a piece, when, all of a sudden, as
Pinky bounced her ball, it went high in the air, but it didn't come