I Can't Find My Way Home!

One day, Penny Piggy went for a walk.

Earlier that day, she had asked her four brothers if they would like to go with her. You see, Penny was the youngest Piggy, and was not so familiar with the woods surrounding their farm. Peter Piggy said that he was going to the market. Packer Piggy stayed home to nap. Proctor and Palmer Piggy were going out to lunch; Proctor was craving roast beef, and Palmer just wanted a salad. She then asked her master if he would like to go, to which he said, "I would love to Penny, but I have to do some work around the farm." And so off Penny went on her walk, all by herself.

After a while, she realized that she no longer knew where she was. "Oh dear," said Penny. "I'm afraid I can't find my way home."

And so Penny continued to wander through the woods until she ran into her friend Meep. Meep the Sheep, who belongs to Little Bo-Peep. “Hello Meep! How are you?” asked Penny.

“Oh Penny, I am very lost,” replied little Meep timidly. “It seems I’ve wandered a little too far from home, and now I can’t find my way back. Bo-Peep must be wondering where I am.”

“Don’t you worry, Meep! I’ll help you find your way home!” Penny said confidently, forgetting about her current situation.

And so off they went to find the house of Little Bo-Peep. While searching , they saw another one of their friends, Claire. Claire the Cow.

"Hello Claire! Would you happen to know where Little Bo Peep's house is?" asked Penny.

"I'm afraid not," said Claire. "I'm not even sure where my own house is. You see, my master Simon Brodie and I were playing hide and go seek and... well... I guess I went a little too far."

"Don't you worry, Claire! I'll help you find your way home!" exclaimed Penny.

And so off the three friends went searching for their homes, led by brave Penny. Although it was not long before Penny started to worry herself. She started to think, "What if we never find our way home, and we're lost forever??"

Feeling guilty, thinking she'd gotten her friends more lost than before, Penny said, "I have to tell you both something." She took a deep breath. "I'm lost too. I wandered too far on my walk today and I can't find my way home either. And now we may never get home."

Penny's eyes began to fill up with tears when Meep said shyly, "It's okay, Penny. We're all lost, but at least we're not lost alone."

Then Claire chimed in, "Don't you worry. We'll help you find your way home!"

Feeling comforted by her friends' kind words, Penny and her friends continued searching. Not too long after, they heard faint voices calling in the distance.

"Claire! Claire, where are you?"

"Meeeep! Oh, Meeeep!"

They ran towards the voices and there, just as they breached the woods, were Simon Brodie and Little Bo-Peep. Claire and Meep ran to Simon and Bo-Peep standing in the front yard of Simon's house. They wrapped their arms tight around their beloved animal friends and began to cry tears of joy.

Feeling proud of herself, Penny lifted her head high, turned, and went back into the woods. However, not a moment later, Claire, Simon, Meep, and Bo-Peep came running behind her. "Where are you going?" asked Penny with a puzzled expression.

"Where are you going?" replied Claire. "we told you we'd help you find your way home."

"After all," said Meep, "We couldn't have gotten home without you. So we have to return the favor."

So off they all went, and after searching for some time, they finally got Penny Piggy back home, where her master and all her brothers were waiting for her.

Her family embraced her as she ran up the front porch, showering her with hugs and kisses. Her master then asked her the question he asks all his piggies at the end of the day, "And what did this little Piggy do today?"

With a big smile on her face, Penny said, "This little Piggy, with the help of her fearless friends, found her way back home!" And then went on to tell them all about her day's adventure.

Author's Note: This story is a compilation of three nursery Rhymes: "Five Toes," "Little Bo-Peep," and "Simon Brodie's Cow" (I've included a list of these nursery rhymes below). Each of these nursery rhymes include animals getting lost: " Little Bo-Peep lost her sheep..." " This little pig said, 'Wee, wee! I can't find my way home.'" "He lost his cow and could not finder her." In finding nursery rhymes for this story, I already had "Little Bo-Peep" and "Five toes" in mind, but, of course, every story needs a dynamic friend trio. And so I used "Simon Brodie's Cow" to make the trio complete.

To personalize the animals, I gave them names, and of course the ability to talk. Since the animals are kids, I picked names that sound cute and go well with the type of animal they are. Penny, as you can see, starts with the letter P, like Piggy. Meep rhymes with "sheep" and sounds like "meek," which is how I think a sheep's personality would be like. And since just about every fictional cow has the name Clarabelle, it was only fitting that I name the cow Claire.

Since "Five Toes" is the only one of the three rhymes that does not tell us whether the pig makes it home, I decided to make the pig the main character. And since it is also the rhyme that is less of a story of more a game for your toes, I thought I could develop the pig's character the most. This is why Penny Piggy is the fearless, optimistic leader who is the last one to get home and who learns a valuable lesson: it's okay to be lost sometimes, but as long as you have friends beside you, you'll be okay.

Bibliography:

• The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes edited by Walter Jerold
• Denslow's Mother Goose by W.W. Denslow
• The Real Mother Goose by Blanche Fisher Wright.

Image Info:

• Cartoon Pig. Source: Pixabay
• Vector image of forest. Source: Public Domain Vectors