Hiccup the Wonder Pig

Hiccup the
Wonder Pig
By Enley Ploeger
Illustrated by Jalyn Lockett
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Hiccup the Wonder Pig
by Enley Ploeger
of Kingsley-Pierson Elementary School
Illustrated by Jalyn Lockett
Special thanks to Enley’s sister, the real Farmer Elle, who cared for
Hiccup and taught Enley about pigs.
This book was the 2021 elementary division winner of the A Bushel of
Stories writing contest. This contest was made possible by the Iowa
Agriculture Literacy Foundation and the National Agriculture in the
Classroom Organization.
Special congratulations to second place elementary division A Bushel
of Stories winner Asher Keene and third place winner Maddie Pralle.
Shaker Pigs
Shaker pigs or dancing pigs suffer from a virus from the pestivirus
family. It infects young pigs and can cause them to shake involuntarily,
which can prevent them from nursing in severe cases.
The disease is relatively uncommon, and the tremors decrease
with age. Affected piglets usually survive with careful care and
management. Researchers are working to develop a vaccine to
combat the virus.
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Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation
P.O. Box 14458 - West Des Moines, Iowa 50306-3458

Hey! My name is Hiccup! But you can call me
The Wonder Pig! This is the true, real-life story of my
crazy, shaky, piggy life. So, let’s get Oink Oinking!
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I was born on a chilly winter day in a nice
warm barn. My momma had lots of piglets.
Sometimes it’s hard to just have one
sister or brother, but I had 15 siblings!
Yes! My momma had 16 piglets.
But right away I knew I was a special piglet.
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I was cold
and shaky when I was born. The
farmer had to put me in a warm bucket
under a nice warm heat lamp to warm me up.
I wondered what was wrong with me?
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Once I got out of the warm bucket, I started to walk
around. But there was something wrong.
I couldn’t stop shaking my head. It went back and
forth and back and forth until I got dizzy!
And I couldn’t help it.
I wasn’t doing it on purpose! I couldn’t stop.
None of the other piglets did this!
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All of a sudden, I felt two warm hands pick me up. I
was so scared I squealed!
But then the warm hands wrapped me in a blanket
and held me close. The hands and the blanket were
so warm. My eyes were getting droopier and droopier
until I fell asleep.
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I blinked my eyes awake. My tummy was rumbling,
and I was shivering and shaking a lot.
The warm hands picked me up again, and I saw Farmer
Elle looking back at me.
“I’m going to help you, Hiccup.” Her voice was so
soothing. And that is how I got my name, Hiccup.
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I heard the barn door open again and Farmer Lonnie
came into the barn. Farmer Elle told Farmer Lonnie
that I was a Shaker pig. She said I would need lots of
help if I was going to grow up like all the other piglets.
Farmer Lonnie agreed.
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He said to Farmer Elle, “Shaker pigs are born with the
shaking condition. They cannot help it. Poor thing is
going to need lots of care.”
It made sense now why I was getting so dizzy.
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After my first day alive, things start to get easier.
Farmer Elle came to the barn every day with a warm
blanket for me to snuggle with. She would help me
drink from my momma.
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I noticed that all the siblings were starting to get
bigger and bigger.
I was still shaking my head, but not as much anymore.
It was happening only when I was scared, hungry, cold,
or upset.
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By the time I was a week old, I started to get too big to
cuddle in a blanket anymore.
That made Farmer Elle really sad. But she was also
happy because she knew that meant I was getting
bigger and doing well.
I could drink by myself now. My head didn’t shake
when I was drinking.
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I began to feel better and better.
I overheard Farmer Elle tell Farmer Lonnie that she
knew she could save me. I am so glad that she did. I
knew without her love and care, I would never be as
big as the other pigs.
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Soon it was my four-week birthday! It was also Farmer
Elle’s birthday.
I got to leave the barn and go into the farmhouse to
celebrate!
This was very special because pigs never go into the
house!
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Then the day came that I was old enough to leave
the crate.
I said goodbye to my momma and moved into a new
huge barn with all my siblings.
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Moving to a new place was really cool but really scary.
I missed my momma and was scared that the other
pigs would make fun of me.
My head started to shake some more. I was swinging
it back and forth and back and forth until I got dizzy.
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I was so worried that all the other pigs would think I was
weird and different because I was a Shaker pig.
But they did the opposite. They thought it was so cool
that I was unique. They loved to play with me.
I kept growing and growing and having fun in my new
barn. Farmer Elle would still visit me and tell me how
proud she was of me!
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I learned love and care can really help you in the
end.
Without Farmer Elle’s love and care for me, I wouldn’t
have been able to beat my Shaker pig disease. So,
there is the story of my crazy, shaky, piggy life. I hope
you enjoyed it!
-Hiccup
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Iowa Agriculture
Literacy Foundation
www.iowaagliteracy.org
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