The Adventures of Pigsley and Rio – Into the Orchard

It was morning on the farm and Pigsley the pig woke to a warm, sunny day.

His very best friend, Rio the dog, stuck his head around the barn door.

“Hello Pigsley,” he woofed. “It is time to wake up. Come on. Up, up, up! Where are we adventuring today?”

Now before we continue with this story, you need to know a very special secret. This is a secret most adults do not even know…

animals talk to each other

YES, THEY REALLY DO!

And that is why Pigsley understood what Rio was saying. Even though Pigsley was a pig and Rio was a dog.

“Morning Rio,” yawned the sleepy pig. “Hmmm, let me think,

think, think,

how about the orchard? The apples are falling from the trees so there will be lots of delicious fruit to eat. And plums and figs too. Yum, yum!”

“Yes, yes, yes!” yapped Rio, jumping up and down. “Come on Pigsley, let us go.”

You may have guessed by now that Rio was a very excitable dog, always bouncing about here, there and everywhere.

He thought he was still a puppy.

So off the friends walked. Past the big tree,

and into the orchard

past the cottage, where the people lived, past the hedge,
across the garden,

where apple trees, plum trees and fig trees grew.

Rio ran to an apple tree, lay down under it and started munching on the fruit that had dropped beneath it.

And Pigsley snuffled about with his nose in the ground, taking bites of the apples that had fallen.

As you may know, a pig’s nose is called a snout. And a very strong snout it is!

Pigs spend a lot of time digging in the ground with their snouts, sniffing out roots and grubs to eat.

And this is just what Pigsley did, making furrows all over the orchard.

side view of snout front view of snout

“Hey, you two! What are you doing down there?” shouted someone.

Pigsley and Rio looked around trying to find the owner of the voice.

They looked under a plum tree and behind a fig tree, but they did not see anyone nor anything.

“I am up here.”

Both friends lifted their heads and discovered a creature staring down at them from the branch of an apple tree.

“Who are you?” snorted Pigsley. “And what are you?” growled Rio.

They had never seen an animal like that before: all furry, with a looong tail.

“My name is Sam. I am a Samango monkey.”

“What are you doing up in that tree?” asked Pigsley.

“I was searching for food and saw these delicious apples so I have stopped to eat my breakfast.” replied Sam as he plucked an apple and took a bite.

“Monkeys spend a lot of time in trees. We move around by climbing and jumping from branch to branch. And we can see far from up here.”

Sam thought for a while…
he ate another apple then replied,

“Not today, thanks. I am meeting my friends on the next farm for a tree party.”

“Oh!” exclaimed Pigsley.

“Well, my name is Pigsley and this is my friend, Rio. We live on this farm and today we are exploring the orchard. And eating apples, just like you. Do you want to come down and play with us?”

Pigsley and Rio were confused.

They knew what a tea party was, because they had seen the people in the cottage having one, but what was a tree party?

Scratching his head Rio asked, “What is a tree party?”

“We all bring food to share and have a party in the trees,” explained the monkey. “We play games, do tricks on the branches and have a fun time together.”

With that, Sam grabbed a few more apples and jumped away through the trees.

“Goodbye!” he howled. “I will come back and play with you soon. And bring my friends too.”

Pigsley and Rio watched in amazement.

This was the first time they had met a monkey and the very first time they had seen one jumping through the trees.

“Wow!” exclaimed Rio. “That sounds like fun. Should we join Sam and his friends for the tree party?”

The pig nodded in agreement.

Pigsley and Rio decided to climb the apple tree. But no matter how hard they tried, they just could not get up it.

Eventually they realised that maybe climbing trees was something monkeys did and that pigs and dogs were not meant to.

So the friends spent the rest of the day playing in the orchard.

Rio dug a big hole. He was trying to catch moles.

And Pigsley rolled around in it and got very dirty.

They both ate a lot more apples, plums and figs until their tummies were full.

As the sun began to sink behind the hill, they heard the farmer call.

“Piiiigsley!” “Riiiiooo!”

The pig and dog walked back home to their dinner and beds. Looking up at the trees, they wondered where Sam was eating his dinner tonight.

Goodnight Pigsley.
Goodnight Rio.
We look forward to your next adventure.

Sam Samango

Sam the Samango climbing through the trees off to see his monkey friends for a party stopped for breakfast of apples and plums met Pigsley and Rio now his new chums he couldn’t come down to play
but will be back soon
and bring his friends for the afternoon

Samango monkeys eat fruit, flowers and leaves. Sometimes they eat insects.

They live with other monkeys in a group called a troop.

The troop live in or near a forest.
We need to respect and look after nature.

<End of the story Into the Orchid – from The Adventures of Pigsley and Rio>

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