There once was a cute little pink little piggy.
His surname was Wiglet, and his first name was Ziggy.
He lived in a lovely house, in a very nice road,
with a beautiful garden, and a pool, and a toad!
He had friends and a bike and toys and such,
and his parents loved him very, very much.
He had a brand-new skateboard and a soccer ball too,
books and games and his very own loo!
He had his very own bedroom, with his very own bed
and shoes for his feet, and hats for his head
and a lunchbox to open – every day at 1,
with fruit and a cooldrink and a sandwich (or a bun).
Now you’d think he’d be happy with all that he had,
but no, little Ziggy only saw the bad…
His bike wasn’t new enough – not by a mile!
And his food was so plain that he just couldn’t smile.
He really really didn’t want to go to school,
and the water was too cold in his swimming pool.
The vacation was boring – he wanted to go home.
And the movie was stupid – “I’ve seen Home Alone!”
“I don’t feel like going to the beach!” he’d say,
and: “why won’t the neighbour’s weird kid go away?”
All day long, he’d complain and he’d whine,
because Ziggy was an ungrateful little swine.
One day his parents took him out to the slums
to show him some piggies with very dirty bums.
“But why is that one so thin?” asked Ziggy.
“Well”, said his mom, “there’s no food in that piggy!”
“There’s no mommy to feed him, no butter, no bread…
Who knows when last that little piggy was fed?
He has no lunchbox, no books and no shiny toys.
There are no beach trips or new clothes for some little boys.”
“Why, some little piggies have nothing at all…
No flat screen tv, no soccer ball,
no scooter or skateboard and definitely no bike
(and no rich uncle, like your uncle Mike).
There’s no money for school, so no education.
And do you think these little piggies ever go on vacation?”
Ziggy looked at the slumpiggies and after a while,
he noticed something strange – it was… a smile!
And there was another, and another and more!
Ziggy counted twelve, seventeen, twenty-one, twenty-four!
“But mommy”, he asked, “If everything’s so bad,
why are these piggies so… not very sad?
Why are they smiling and happy and stuff,
when it’s obviously obvious they don’t have enough?”
“Well”, said his mommy, “I think it’s because…
when you don’t have very much, you learn to value what’s yours.
You learn to appreciate everything you’ve got.
Whether it’s old or new, whether it’s perfect or not!”
“That little piggy’s toy is a big round stone.
He’s not complaining about his old-ish iPhone.
And those two old piggies are smiling broadly today,
just because they had a roll in the hay!”
“These piggies appreciate every little thing –
the bright stars at night, a butterfly wing,
an old crust of toast, a puddle of mud,
a sunshiny day spent outside with a bud,
a fresh patch of grass, the scent of a flower…
They’re grateful every second, every minute, and every hour!”
Later that night when Ziggy was in bed,
he couldn’t get the slumpigs out of his head.
He lay there, warm, and snuggled up tight,
and wondered how warm they were tonight.
The next morning at breakfast, as he sipped his tea,
he thought about saying “oh, woe is me!”
But then he wondered if the slumpigs were sitting down to food
and instead he said: “thank you, it’s very, very good!”
When it was time for school, he didn’t complain.
He thought “I’m lucky to be able to train my brain!”
And when he opened his lunchbox and rolled his eyes,
Ziggy realised – much to his surprise –
that moaning about this and complaining about that
probably meant he was a bit of a brat…
He decided then and there that enough was enough
and that he would be grateful for all kinds of stuff!
For every new morning and every new night,
for his little piggy tail, for his hearing and sight,
for his toys and tv and toad and pool,
his bike and his bed – and even his school!
He was a very lucky piglet – he understood that now,
and so he made a solemn vow…
He promised his mommy he wouldn’t complain
about the sun or the wind or the snow or the rain
or the shoes on his feet or the food on his plate.
Ziggy had learned to appreciate!
And a funny thing happened from that very day.
He began to see things in a whole new way.
The pool was refreshing – no longer too cold,
and his bike was awesome – didn’t matter how old!
The peanut butter sandwich was actually quite yum.
And that movie was funny – the one he’d thought was dumb.
Everything’s better when you’re grateful, you see.
From your clothes to your food to a warm cup of tea.
A dull day at the beach becomes a wonderful treat.
And that boring apple suddenly tastes quite sweet.
“This vacation’s so fun it must never ever end!”
and the kid down the street… starts to look like a friend.
In fact the whole wide world began to look better to young Ziggy
the day that ungrateful little swine became a thankful little piggy.
THE END
