Once upon a time, in a village full of bamboo and banana trees, there lived a young man named Teo. Teo loved new things, and most of all he loved to hear people say, "Oh, how nice!"

One morning Teo got a brand-new coat. It was bright blue, with shiny round buttons that sparkled in the sun. "Everyone must see my new coat," he thought. So he put it on and went to stand at the village gate, where lots of people walked by.

He stood there, and stood there, and stood there. He stood up tall. He turned left. He turned right. He lifted his arms, flap, flap, so the coat would swing. But the people going to market were busy with their baskets and chickens and vegetables, and nobody said a word about his coat. "Hmm," thought Teo. "Maybe they need a closer look."

Just then, a young man named Ti came running up the path, puff, puff, puff. His face was red and his hair was full of leaves. "Excuse me!" he panted. "Have you seen my wedding pig run past? She is round and pink, with a big red ribbon on her neck. She is supposed to walk at the front of my sister's wedding parade today, for good luck, but she ran off to play!"

Teo saw his chance. He stretched out both arms and spread his coat wide, like a big blue bird. "Well," he said in his proudest voice, "ever since I put on this NEW COAT, I have not seen any pig run past here at all!"

Ti blinked. He looked at the coat. He looked at Teo's arms. Then Ti puffed out his chest too and said, "And ever since I started looking for my WEDDING PIG, I have not seen anybody show off a coat as much as you!"

For a moment they just stared at each other. Then Teo's mouth began to wiggle. Ti's mouth began to wiggle. And then, ha ha ha, ho ho ho, they both laughed so hard they had to hold their tummies. "We are both a little bit silly," giggled Teo. "Yes," laughed Ti. "Two show-offs at one little gate!"

"Come on," said Teo, wiping his eyes. "Let's find your pig together." So off they went. They looked behind the haystack. Not there. They looked beside the well. Not there. They looked in the vegetable garden. And there she was, the round pink pig with the red ribbon, happily munching a sweet potato. Oink, oink!

Teo tiptoed one way, and Ti tiptoed the other way. The pig trotted through a puddle, splish, splash, and a little mud jumped onto Teo's new blue coat. "Oh no, your coat!" said Ti. Teo looked at the mud and smiled. "It's okay. It will wash. Helping a friend is much more fun than standing still at the gate."

Together they walked the pig home, one on each side, and she marched very nicely at the front of the wedding parade, her red ribbon bouncing. At the party, someone finally said, "Teo, what a lovely coat!" Teo laughed and said, "Thank you. But the best thing about today is my new friend." Ti laughed too, and the pig said, "Oink!"

Parent tip: Read Teo's and Ti's big boasting lines in a puffed-up voice, then pause for a beat so your child can laugh along before you go on.

Ask your child: After the story, you can ask: “Who was kind in this story, and what did they do?”

This gentle retelling keeps the humour kind, the pig is a happy guest in the wedding parade, and nothing scary happens.