This is a story about Chauncey the Pig who lives at a Sanctuary in the country on the eastern plains.
Now, there are cookies that pigs like a lot.
But when it comes to Chauncey the Pig…HE LOVES NUTTER BUTTERS.
How did I find out how much he loves Nutter Butters?
Well, I will tell you the story.
All summer Chauncey would go out to the large front yard area where the Hoop House stands.
Sometimes, he liked to visit Princess Water Lily and Chief Thumper there even though they startled Chauncey with their drumming feet the first time they met .
Chauncey would saunter around the Hoop House garden eating a tomato here and some broccoli there. Smacking away the day munching on lunch and things.
As fate would have it, Chauncey couldn’t go out into the big yard again because, being a pig, he ate too much of the garden, he scared the roosters and chickens, and he didn’t listen when it was time to go back to his house.
Chauncey missed going out into the big yard.
One day, I had an idea.
I remembered a small door that was sitting on the floor in our basement.
I had always loved the movie “The Secret Garden”.
Why couldn’t we put a secret door from Chauncey’s pen into The Children’s Garden, I thought? That way, Chauncey could bypass the large front yard where all the temptations were present.
I brought the door up from the basement and designed how to place the door in the garden so Chauncey could go into the Children’s Garden without having to go into the front yard.
The door was attached. It was painted white but it looked as if it had always been there in order to add such a unique element of surprise and wonder.
This secret garden door has to be magic in nature as it began reflecting the image of Peter Whistle and Frog…as if the shiny, white door was a mirror.
Who knew a Gnome could be in two places at once? Peter Whistle and Frog on our front porch and now they began appearing on the Secret Garden Door for Chauncey to walk through. Peter Whistle and Frog must be Chauncey Pig’s “Secret Pals”.
Now, Chauncey would have to follow two ramps after he left his pen which led him closer to the garden and the secret door. The path to the Secret Garden Door was a little bit like a maze so I had to teach Chauncey how to find this special little door.
How could I get him to follow me?
I had another idea.
I went inside the house and checked inside my piggy cookie jar. I saw Nutter Butters inside.
I never realized what kind of love affair with a cookie I would create for Chauncey the Pig.
Out I went with the Nutter Butters that I had placed in a small paper bag to teach Chauncey how to find the secret door.
Chauncey smelled the small peanut butter filled cookie…his eyes lit up, his mouth watered, and his short little legs began to follow me up the first stair to the ramp. He ate a Nutter Butter on the way.
He was definitely more interested in the taste of the Nutter Butters than the actual steps of where he was going.
We made it to the small paver ramp that went down to the secret door which would lead him straight-away into The Children’s Garden. Another Nutter Butter kept him busy walking without thinking.
Pigs are really little “fraidy cats” in truth…It doesn’t take much to scare them. And, oh how they can squeal:)
But, the tiny cookie held his interest. He followed me down to the door. I tossed a Nutter Butter into “The Children’s Garden”. Chauncey walked right through the door and into the garden. He picked up the Nutter Butter. He munched…he chewed…his mouth watered and he was in the garden…one, two, three…my idea had worked.
Chauncey was in a place he had never been. I closed the secret door so that we were now both in the garden together.
I knew there were many more things for Chauncey to taste today in The Children’s Garden…like…tomatoes, green beans, broccoli, squash, cucumbers and cabbage so I hid the bag of Nutter Butters on the garden table. In truth, Chauncey loved vegetables which he ate everyday…Nutter Butters were a tasty dessert which he ate on occassion as a special treat on his way to and from the garden.
For a minute, Chauncey was still looking for his favorite cookie. Then, the other smells of the garden beckoned him on to taste the fresh garden vegetables.
He loved walking all over the small garden…around each raised bed. He was thirsty so he took many drinks out of a water bowl then placed himself under the shade of a Canadian Cherry tree that spread its limbs out over a portion of the garden.
The day was very warm so Chauncey was enjoying the shady place he had found.
He liked to watch the chickens and roosters on the other side of the garden fence as they pecked and strolled their way through the day.
We had lots of fun in the garden. Chauncey the Pig got some nice scratching on the wooden sides of the garden beds. I scratched behind his ears and patted his head.
He looked up at me and opened his mouth and began making sounds as if he were talking. I think he was remembering the Nutter Butter cookies again.
I asked him if he would like “another Nutter Butter” and I am sure he said “yes” as he worked his mouth like he was chewing the cookie.
Ok, I said…but first you have to head back to your pen now so follow me. Chauncey was listening very closely.
I picked up the Nutter Butter cookies off of the garden table where I had hidden them from Chauncey’s sight when we had arrived earlier.
He heard the package crackle. He knew what was in the bag. He even had learned what the words “Nutter Butter” meant.
Chauncey used all of his senses but smelling, hearing and tasting were his best. Did I mention to you how smart these little pigs are?
He immediately started following me back to the secret door that would lead to the ramps that would return Chauncey to his pig pen…
We arrived at the secret door. I immediately noticed that Peter Whistle and Frog were more visible now than before.
I tossed a couple of the Nutter Butters through the door onto the first ramp.
Chauncey went right through the door picking up the cookies on the ramp. He was smacking so loud and tasting each crunchy bite with such delight.
I closed the secret door and then sprinkled a few more Nutter Butters on the path back to where Chauncey lived.
Chauncey followed making all kinds of happy sounds with his mouth still chewing and watering.
Right in his pen he went. How easy was that I thought.
Now, when I want Chauncey to walk to the secret door that opens to The Children’s Garden, I will go to the Piggy Cookie Jar, put several Nutter Butter’s in a paper bag and say let’s go Chauncey…
Guess who walks right to the secret door and then through it every time as he munches his favorite cookie in the whole wide world…NUTTER BUTTERS?
You guessed right…Chauncey the Pig
P.S. Stay tuned as Chauncey the Pig tries another kind of cookie soon…who knows, Chauncey may become an expert “cookie taster”.
