The Old Woman and Her Pig

An old woman was sweeping her house, and she found a crooked little sixpence.

"What," said she, "shall I do with this little sixpence? I will go to the market and buy a little pig."

As she was coming home, she came to a stile; the piggy would not go over the stile.

A little farther, she met a dog. So she said to the dog: "Dog, Dog, bite Pig." But the dog would not.

A little farther, she met a stick. So she said to the stick: "Stick, Stick, beat Dog." But the stick would not.

A little farther, she met a fire. So she said to the fire: "Fire, Fire, burn Stick." But the fire would not.

A little farther, she met some water. So she said: "Water, Water, quench Fire." But the water would not.

A little farther, she met an ox. So she said: "Ox, Ox, drink Water." But the ox would not.

A little farther, she met a butcher. So she said: "Butcher, Butcher, kill Ox." But the butcher would not.

A little farther, she met a rope. So she said: "Rope, Rope, hang Butcher." But the rope would not.

A little farther, she met a rat. So she said: "Rat, Rat, gnaw Rope." But the rat would not.

A little farther, she met a cat. So she said: "Cat, Cat, kill Rat." The cat said to her: "If you go to yonder cow and fetch me a saucer of milk, I will kill the rat."

So away the old woman went to the cow and said: "Cow, Cow, give me a saucer of milk."

But the cow said to her: "If you go to yonder haymakers and fetch me a wisp of hay, I'll give you the milk."

So away the old woman went to the haymakers and said: "Haymakers, Haymakers, give me a wisp of hay."

But the haymakers said to her: "If you go to yonder stream and fetch us a bucket of water, we will give you the hay."

So away the old woman went, but when she got to the stream, she found the bucket full of holes. She covered the bottom with pebbles and then filled the bucket with water.

And so away she went back with it to the haymakers, and they gave her a wisp of hay. The old woman thanked them all gratefully.

She carried the wisp of hay back to the cow and placed it on the ground. As soon as the cow had eaten the hay, she gave the old woman the milk, and away she went with the saucer of milk to the cat. As soon as the cat lapped up the milk...

The cat began to kill the rat; the rat began to gnaw the rope; the rope began to hang the butcher; the butcher began to kill the ox; the ox began to drink the water; the water began to quench the fire; the fire began to burn the stick; the stick began to beat the dog; the dog began to bite the pig; the little pig in a fright jumped over the stile.

And so the old woman got home that night.