from falling into the puddle.

But they had the pig!

"Sure, she is a beautiful little pig, and we'll call her Deirdre,
because we found her in the bog just in the same way as Conchubar
himself," said Larry.

"Indeed, Deirdre was too beautiful altogether to be naming a pig after
her," Eileen said.

"Isn't she a beautiful little pig, then?" Larry answered.

"Well, maybe we might be calling her `Diddy,' for short, and no offence
to herself at all," Eileen agreed.

The poor little pig was so tired out with struggling, and so hungry,
that she was fairly quiet while Dennis carried her on his shoulder to
the road. Eileen walked behind Dennis and fed her with green leaves.

She was so quiet that Larry said: "We'll tie the rope to one of Diddy's
hind legs, and she'll run home herself in front of us."

So when they reached the road he and Dennis tied the rope securely to
Diddy's left hind leg and set her down.

They found Colleen asleep, standing up.

Larry woke her. Then he said, "Eileen, come now, you take the jug, and
get on Colleen's back. Dennis can lead her, and I'll drive the pig
myself."

But Diddy was feeling better after her rest. She made up her mind she
didn't like the plan. She squealed and tried to get away. Once she
turned quickly and ran between Larry's legs and tripped him up. But she
was a tired little pig, and so it was not long before, somehow, they got
her back to where Mr McQueen was working.

He hadn't heard them coming, though what with the pig squealing, and the
children all speaking at once, they made noise enough. But Mr McQueen
had his head down digging, and he was in a bog-hole besides, so when
they came up right beside him, with the pig, he almost fell over with
astonishment.

He stopped his work and leaned on his clete, while they told him all
about the pig, and how they found it, and got it out of the hole, and
how the Tinkers must have lost it. And when they were all done, he only
said, "The Saints preserve us! We'll take it home to Herself and let
her cosset it up a bit!"

So the children hurried off to take the pig to their Mother without even
stopping to eat their bit of lunch. Mr McQueen came, too.

When they got home, they found Mrs McQueen leaning on the farmyard
fence. When she saw them coming with the pig, she ran out to meet them.

"Wherever did you find the fine little pig?" she cried. Then she threw
up her hands. "Look at the mud on you!" she said.