Dr. Pamela W. Petty
Associate Professor of Literacy
Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, KY 
pam@pampetty.com
http://www.pampetty.com

 ^..^
      ( oo )  )~
        ,,  ,,

This site contains expressions and phrases about pigs and hogs that are common in the English language.  

Classroom Suggestions:

Objectives:

1. Help students develop comprehension strategies to relate ideas, organize information, and distinguish fact from fantasy.  

2.  Help students learn to respond actively and imaginatively to literature.  

3.  Help students connect what they learn in school to what they do outside of school.

Activities:

1.  Have students read the following list of "Expressions relating to pigs and hogs."  Working individually or in small groups, have students select one quote and (a) explain what it means (b) write a scenario in which the phrase would be used.  Let students share with others what they think the phrase means and either read aloud the context in which the phrase would be used or act it out.  

2.  Building on the previous experience, have students work in pairs to devise a short skit relating to one of the expressions.  Students can act it out in front of the class or a small group and let others determine which phrase they are indicating.  

3.  Have students read, chant, or sing the original "pig" songs listed below.  Ask students to refer to factual information they have collected in a learning log relating to pigs and determine which parts of each song are "fact" and which are "fantasy."  

4. Have students write their own original song including as much factual information as possible relating to pigs.  Other students can read or listen to the song and see if the fact agree with what they have learned.  (NOTE:  A game format could be made with these songs with students including at least one totally "false" fact about pigs and other students identifying the false information.  

5.  Have students read the original stories at the bottom of this site.  These stories reflect how our real-world experiences can relate to classroom learning.  Have students "critically" read the stories looking for items that confirm what they have learned about pigs.  Have students write their own true stories of an encounter they have had with an animal of some sort.  Students can then research information on that animal and see if the experience they had relates to what we know about that type of animal.  

Idioms relating to "pigs" and "hogs":
in a pig's eye!
pig-headed
your room is a pig's sty
don't buy a pig in a poke
don't be a pig
piggy bank
piggyback ride
pig skin
pig Latin
as crooked as a pig's tail
as dirty as a pig
as fat as a pig
as happy as a dead pig in sunshine
as slick as a greased pig
bleeding like a stuck pig
Don't buy a pig in a poke.
He don't need it no more than a pig needs the New Testament.
squealing like a stuck pig
pig tail 

How about Hogs?
hogwash
hogtie
don't hog it all for yourself
go whole hog
hoggish
high on the hog
hog wild

               Five little pigs rolled in the mud
               Squishy, squashy, felt so good.
               The farmer took one piggy out.
               Oink, Oink, oink, the pig did shout!

               Four little pigs rolled in the mud
               Squishy, squashy, felt so good.
               The farmer took one piggy out.
               Oink, Oink, oink, the pig did shout!

               Three little pigs rolled in the mud
               Squishy, squashy, felt so good.
               The farmer took one piggy out.
               Oink, Oink, oink, the pig did shout!

               Two little pigs rolled in the mud
               Squishy, squashy, felt so good.
               The farmer took one piggy out.
               Oink, Oink, oink, the pig did shout!

               One little pig rolled in the mud
               Squishy, squashy, felt so good.
               The farmer took the one piggy out.
               Oink, Oink, oink, the pig did shout!

               No little pigs rolled in the mud.
               They all looked so clean and good.
               The farmer turned his back and then,
               Those pigs rolled in the mud again.
Song from:  http://daycare.miningco.com/library/weekly/blpigsong1.htm

Original "Piggie-Back" Songs by Pam Petty

I'm a Little Piggie
Sung to:  I'm a Little Teapot

I'm a little piggie,
Short and fat.
Found a little mud hole
And there I sat.

Up came a bigger pig
And pushed me out.
Now I'm just a muddy pig,
Pout, pout, pout!
 

Piggie Goes to Town
Sung to:  London Bridge

I am going to ride in the truck.
Ride in the truck.
Ride in the truck.
I am going to ride in the truck,
All the way to town.

Don't you want to go with me?
Go with me.
Go with me.
Don't you want to go with me,
All the way to town?

What do you mean, I won't be back?
Won't be back.
Won't be back.
What do you mean, I won't be back?
Just where will I be?

NO! You've got to hide me quick!
Hide me quick!
Hide me quick!
Somebody's got to hide me quick.
I don't want to go to town.

Farmer's had a change of heart.
Change of heart.
Change of heart.
Farmer's had a change of heart.
NO trip to town today.
Whew!!
 

Piggie, Piggie Where Are You?
Sung to:  Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Piggie, Piggie, Where are you?
We have got so much to do.
We can play out in the sun.
We will have so very much fun.
Then we'll take a roll or two.
In the mud hole, me and you.
 
 

Three Little Pigs
Sung to:  Three Blind Mice

Three little pigs.
Three little pigs.
See how we strut.
See how we strut.
We prance and dance
And whirl around
Jump up high,
And fall on the ground
We're the happiest pigs in all the town.
Three little pigs.
 

How to call  a Pig
Sung to:  The Muffin Man

Do you know how to call a pig?
Call a pig, call a pig.
Do you know how to call a pig?
Just use the telephone!

Piggies in the Mud
Sung to:  The Farmer in the Dell

One piggie in the mud.
One piggie in the mud.
Slip and slide and run and hide,
One piggie in the mud.

Two piggies in the mud.
Two piggies in the mud.
Squish and squirm and root and worm,
Two piggies in the mud.

Three piggies in the mud.
Three piggies in the mud.
Roll and run, it's so much fun,
Three piggies in the mud.
 

Old MacHoggie Had a Farm
Sung to:  Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Old MacHoggie had a farm.
And oh, that farm was big.
The only animals he would have
Was a pig, and a pig, and a pig.

Old MacHoggie had a farm
And oh, what a farm had he.
When he counted his livestock,
He counted, pig one, pig two, pig three.

Old MacHoggie had a farm.
And oh, that farm was great.
And when his piggies went to market,
He ate, and he ate, and he ate.
 

I'll be Headin' to the Market
Sung to:  She'll be Comin' Round the Mountains

I'll be headin' to the market when I'm fat.
I'll be headin' to the market when I'm fat.
I'll be headin' to the market.
I'll be headin' to the market.
Oh, I'll be headin' to the market when I'm fat.

And that is why I'm drinking Ultra-Slim.
And that is why I'm drinking Ultra-Slim.
And that is why I'm drinking.
And that is why I'm drinking.
Oh, And that is why I'm drinking Ultra-Slim.

And that is why I work out with Tae-Bo.
And that is why I work out with Tae-Bo.
And that is why I work out.
And that is why I work out.
And that is why I work out with Tae-Bo.

And that is why they call me "Skinny Pig."
And that is why they call me "Skinny Pig."
And that is why they call me.
And that is why they call me.
And that is why they call me "Skinny Pig."

I am going to live forever, yes I am.
I am going to live forever, yes I am.
I am going to live forever.
I am going to live forever.
Oh, I am going to live forever, yes I am.
 

Oinky Top
Sung to:  Rocky Top

Oink oink oink oink oink oink oinky-oink,
Oink oink oinky-oink oink.
Oink oink oink oink oink oink oinky-oink,
Oink oink oinky-oink oink.

Oinky-oink oink oink oink oink
Oink oink oink oink oink
Oink oink oinky-oink
Oinky-oink oinky-oink
Oinky-oink oinky-oink.
(se-cond verse, same as the first)
 

This Pig is my Pig
Sung to:  This Land is Your Land

This pig is my pig.
This pig's not your pig.
From his bright pink snout,
To his curly tail.
From his chubby hams,
To his flabby jowls.
This pig belongs to only me.

As I was walking across that pig pen
I saw beside me my special pig friend.
I saw behind me you trying to find him.
This pig belongs to only me.

(repeat first stanza)

I told You Once, I told You Twice
Sung to:  If I had a Hammer

If I had some straw,
I'd build a little house.
I'd build a little house.
And move right in.
I'd build it strong,
I'd build it tight,
I'd build it high and wide and hide inside.
Oh, Oh, all by myself.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.

If I had some sticks,
I'd build a little house.
I'd build a little house.
And move right in.
I'd build it strong,
I'd build it tight,
I'd build it high and wide and hide inside.
Oh, Oh, all by myself.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.

If I had some bricks,
I'd build a little house.
I'd build a little house.
And move right in.
I'd build it strong,
I'd build it tight,
I'd build it high and wide and hide inside.
Oh, Oh, all by myself.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.

And if someone came
To my little house.
Came to my little house
And wanted inside.
I'd call out, "Go away."
I'd cry out, "Now."
I'd scream out, "I told you once, I told you twice,
You're not nice."
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.

Now I've got the phone
And I know what to do.
I know what to do,
About you.
Dial 9-1-1
Dial 9-1-1
I'll call for help, they'll save me too.
And that's the end of you.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.

Hog Wash

I have personal experience in the world of pigs.  When I was seven years old and living on a farm in a southern Tennessee county, I became the proud "mama" of a newborn baby pig.  Many times in a litter of pigs, one baby pig will be significantly smaller than the others.  Nature's way is for the mama pig to ignore that "runt" and not let it feed with the others.  Then the little guy's fate is sealed.

Knowing that one of our old sows had just given birth to quite a large litter of pigs, I ran to the barn to see them.  There they were:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and tiny Mr. 13.  Within the first hour of birth, Mr. 13 had become an outcast and was clinging onto life on the periphery of a circle of feeding baby pig siblings.

I begged my father and grandfather until they let me have the little pig.  Getting near the mama pig to retrieve the little guy was potentially dangerous, but my father and grandfather were somewhat less afraid of that big sow than they were of my grandmother if I had gone crying into the house telling her how much I wanted that baby pig, so they gave in and got it for me.  They told me how it wouldn't live very long and that I should not get attached to it.  I took it in to my grandmother and she helped me mix up a little formula that we kept on hand to feed baby calves who had been abandoned by their mothers.  He was so small we had to feed him with a medicine dropper.

He was pink and tiny and so sad looking.  He  lived on for about two days before he his tiny little body gave out.  I had tried not to get too attached to him, but it was sad to see him go.

A few days later I found the old mama sow out in the pen and knew that I could slip into the hog stall in the barn and see the babies.  One of them came right over to me and I picked him up.  He was strong and healthy, but definitely needed a bath.  What a great idea, I thought.  So I sneaked him into the house, caught some water in the bathroom sink, added bubbles, and gave him a bath.  I can't say he really liked it, but he looked so much better afterward.  I slicked him up with baby oil that made him shine and then topped him off with a little after-bath powder.

 I slipped him back out into the pig pen without anyone knowing about my "pig beauty treatment."  The next day I went to the barn to check on him.  I walked  up on my father and grandfather talking about another pig dying.  It happens and they weren't really looking for a reason, but I immediately wondered if it had been the little pig I spruced up the day before that had died.  They all looked so much alike, I would never really know.  Two dead pigs within a week was almost more that my seven-year-old heart could take.

Whether it was the same little pig, or whether it wasn't, I never stole another pig or had any desire to improve the physical appearance of one in any way.  I learned early on in life that people and pigs have two different methods of measuring beauty.  From then on, I thought a muddy pig was just perfect.

Rules and Pork Chops

My grandfather has two rules on the farm:  don't mess with the granddaughters, and hard work never hurt anybody. My grandfather has farmed his whole life and has a real way with farm animals.  He is strict, but generally very gentle with the variety of animals on our farm.  However, dangerous or ill-natured animals are not tolerated.  I grew up right next door to my grandparents house and have the pleasure of knowing first hand what living on a farm is all about.  The good and the bad, though most of it is good.

There are many stories that I can tell about interactions I had as a child with the cows, chickens, ducks, mules, and ponies on that farm, but my most memorable stories are about the pigs.  We had three different pig lots between our house and my grandparents house.  Pigs are fascinating animals to watch and the best part is when baby pigs come along.  They are cute and comical and among some of the friendliest farm animals (although their mothers don't always welcome intrusions by people).  We always knew to pick up a nice sturdy stick when walking through the pig lot.  Most mother pigs will just let you walk on by, but every now and then one of them wants to make a show of being protective and might charge a person walking too close to her babies.  Just the threat of a stick will warn most of them away, but occasionally you had to nudge a particularly protective mother back with the end of that stick.

Grown male pigs, on the other hand, were aggressive and very dangerous.  They generally did not stay with the other pigs and, unless it was breeding season, they were kept in separate lots behind an electric fence.  Even then they would charge the fence, squeal loudly, and throw dirt into the air.  Quite a show -- from a distance.  We were taught from a very early age to give male pigs our utmost respect and never cross their paths.

The front door of our house was exactly 285 little girl steps to my grandparents front door, down a dusty dirt road.  One time, when I was five years old, my mother and I were leaving my grandparents house and heading back toward our house.  We were going to give the baby pigs some water so we cut through the pig lot and since we were already half-way home, my mother decided we would just cut through the next pig lot and go through the fence into our back yard.  My mother did not realize that one of the big male pigs - the fiercest my grandfather had ever owned - was in that lot and not behind the electric fence.  We were walking together hand-in-hand - I remember laughing - I remember the bright sunshine - I remember the green of the slightly high grass around us - and I remember the sound of the squeal as the 700+ pound hog charged us.  Like all pigs he had canine teeth.  The tusks had been clipped, but had grown back out into fangs that kept his mouth from closing completely. I remember the ground shaking under my feet as he ran toward us at full speed.

My mother was terrified, but she responded instantly.  We ran.  Rather she ran and I was dragged along behind her.  When you are being charged by a 700+ pound hog, running is not the right thing to do, but standing there didn't look too good either and those were the only options we had.  That, and screaming.  All three of us, my mother, myself, and the big hog, screaming for all we were worth.

We weren't far from the fence surrounding our yard; safety was on the other side of it.  My mother picked me up and threw me across the fence and then did the most amazing thing.  With that 700+ pound hog close enough to drip slobber on her, she turned around to face him, drew back her foot and kicked him as hard as she could right in the snout.  His momentary surprise gave her just enough time to put one leg on that fence and throw herself over.  The hog continued to run against the fence, squeal, and try to tear up the ground.  We lay on the ground on the other side, backing away, trying to catch our breath and to get our hearts to stop beating so loudly in our ears.

It's amazing how all those things can be frozen in memory - the sounds, the sites, the smell of fear.  Our screaming had alerted by grandfather who was in the garden.  He made it to the pig lot just in time to see my mother narrowly scale the fence to safety.  That hog might have known a lot about scaring people and showing his power, but he obviously didn't know about rule number one:  don't mess with the grandkids.  My grandfather seemed seven feet tall as I lay on the ground and watched him use a stick to move the angry animal to the barn.  He put the hog in a section of the barn that leads to the chute used for loading cattle to take to the sale barn.  I don't know how long my mother and I sat there, my mother crying and me shaking, but the next sound we heard was the sound of my grandfather's truck.  Without saying a word to anyone, my grandfather backed that truck up to the loading chute.  It seems that this particular show of power had won Mr. Pig a free ride into town - one way.

It may not be politically correct nowadays, but the truth is, when you live on farm you know for darn sure where meat comes from - and it's not the grocery store.  Sometimes it's from a farm animal that doesn't know rule number one.

       ^..^
      ( oo )  )~
        ,,  ,,

top of page
Back to Pig Homepage
To Pig Internet Links

05/04/08 12:08:52 PM