The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood

by Sy Montgomery

“We had this couple up from New Jersey,” the agent told Ray. “They were looking for a nice, quiet place, sort of out of the way, so I showed them this house. We did the entire inside of the house and they liked it. They were very happy with it. We went outside and there was this beautiful garden back there, with flowers in bloom, and they were really enjoying it. They were really looking like they were interested in the house. I thought they were going to make an offer. The husband was just about to say something to me—at which point we heard this yell. “And I looked over to this other yard, next door. And there is this little, skinny, five-foot-five woman, wearing these huge floppy boots, and she is running as fast as she absolutely could. And she is carrying this bucket, which is obviously heavy, and running like mad. Why on earth is she running? “So we look behind her. And what we saw was this: The head of an enormous black and white hog. And then we saw the body of an enormous hog. And then some more of the body of this hog. This hog is thundering out of nowhere. And it’s running after her making loud, snorting noises. Snort, snort, snort! Snort, snort, snort! And then the woman goes flying into the barn. And the pig goes flying into the barn. And then the door slams. And then there’s silence.” “So what did you say to the couple?” Ray asked. “I turned to them and said, ‘So it’s a nice neighborhood.’” The couple left in stunned silence. They never called again. HOWARD A...