a fable

Once upon a time, there were a family of wild boars who loved nothing more than rolling in a mud pit. They loved it so much that it was all they did. Whilst they were in the mud pit, they often jostled for the best spot. And occasionally, amicable fights led to small bloodshed. But it was nothing alarming. The fighting parties would be on grunting terms after a brief standoff, and they would be sharing their mud in no time. After all, they were a family. A family never held hard feelings.

One day, one of the boars gave birth to a baby boar. The whole family came to congratulate the boar, rubbed mud on the baby and wished him a long, hairy life in the mud. For the time being, the baby lived happily in the mud like the others. But the mother boar soon realised that the baby would never grow hair or tusks . When the others knew this, they shunned him because of the differences. One respectful elder boar said, "he is never going to be like us." The other laughed at the way he walked and how the mud wouldn't cling to his ridiculously shiny skin." They drove the baby to the edge of the pit because, just like one boar put it, a hairless and tusk-less boar is just a pig and a pig doesn't deserve a place among 'em proud boars.

Since he found no one to play with, the baby wandered off into the woods. At first, the baby would return with stories. But life beyond the mud pit was of no appeal to the family. So mum was the only listener. Over time, she said that if he was happier out there, he should not come back. "But what about you, mom. I can't leave you here." the baby asked. "I'm a wild boar. Don't worry." mum held her tusks high.

This time, the baby walked away determined to find his own life. Believe it or not, he even made friends with eagles, cheetahs and lions (and they didn't eat him!). It was quite an adventurous life. Eventually, when he's too old to travel, he settled down in a cave behind the prettiest waterfall in the woods, only a few short miles from the mud pit. The one thing he cherished the most was his morning bathing in clean spring water which softened his wrinkled skin. You see, he had no hairs whence bugs might grow, so he did not need mud after all. The pig, as his relatives called him, never visited the mud pit. He had, just opposite to their wishes, a long and hairless life. Meanwhile, the wild boars had long forgotten about the baby. They rolled in the mud exactly the way they liked.