The hares started clapping.
“First class!” Fox said, finishing the presentation and pointing at the poster with an elegant gesture. “High quality!”
Silence covered the Glade. The sky was serene, white clouds floated over the Walnut Glade. Fox bowed, waving her luxurious tail. The animals shouted “Yay!”
“According to the terms of the competition,” Fat Ferret said, “today we have to decide which of the competitors go to the second round. And I think we all understand that the most likely candidate for the title of the Chief Forest Builder is Fox, and of course she goes to the second round!”
Fox glowed and looked at the hares so nicely, as if she imagined them stewed in sour cream.
“What we need to decide is,” Thin Ferret continued, “whether the piglets pass to the second round and does Otter pass?”
“Definitely!” said Marten, fond of fresh fish very much.
“Sorry, but swimming rings… that’s just too much!” Aunt Elk snorted.
“I agree,” Fat Ferret said. “Then the three piglets are in the second round together with Fox.”
“Wait a minute,” Fox intervened. “What piglets?” she looked around, and then for some reason under her feet. “These ones?! Well, let’s be honest, are they really builders? Just some misfits with snouts…”
Junior howled in offence. The clock struck at the Walnut Glade.
“It’s time for lunch,” Thin Ferret said, collecting the notebooks. “I suggest the following. All the competitors get into the second round! Though, of course, it will be too much of an advance for some.” He looked sternly at Junior. “Tomorrow in the second round we will be joined by another competent judge, Bear. And we will finally decide which of the competitors will stay in the competition!”
The animals hurried to lunch. The smell of a mushroom soup spread over the forest.
The three little piglets went home. They were not in the best mood possible.
* * *
Considering how upset they were, they drank some herbal tea. Then the piglets decided to discuss what had happened. Middle was the first to speak.
“I thought and still think,” he cleaned his throat, “this whole thing is rather dangerous.”
“Just this Fox,” Junior said. “She is very… bad actually. She plays up to everyone. She’s… stupid! And her poster is stupid! And… I’m not a misfit with a snout!”
“No,” Major said thoughtfully. “She’s smart. And her idea with a poster was good.”
Middle and Junior the piglets looked at their brother in surprise.
“You,” Junior asked suspiciously. “Whose side are you on anyway?”
“I’m on our side,” Major replied. “And for us to win, we have to be honest. We have to admit that someone can do something better than we do it. We need to learn from them. The jury liked Fox. She was really good. She had a great speech, and she knew exactly what she wanted to say… But we were not prepared and got confused.”
The piglets were silent.
“I didn’t like Fox either,” Major continued. “She’s arrogant and I don’t trust her. But if we want to build a house, win the competition and become real businessmen, we must not scold her, but work hard and become better.”
…Having made a lot of cherry compote, they spent the whole day till late at night preparing a new speech.
In the morning Bear appeared at the Walnut Glade, Otter spoke about the water houses, Fox repeated her sweet speech, and then the three piglets took the floor.
“Well,” Fat Ferret said skeptically, “what do you have to offer, after we have heard the brilliant presentation of the ‘Wise Fox’ residential complex?”
“We would like to present our house, which will be called ‘Friendly Animals’!”
Major stepped forward. Middle stood beside him, and Junior was holding in his hooves the little pictures. He had drawn it during all the night, and now was ready to give them to his brothers.
“So, our house will be called ‘Friendly Animals’, ” the major piglet repeated. His voice grew stronger. “The biggest room will be the common room, where we can talk, play board games, and have tea with some pastry in the evenings.”
“There will be very light in the house,” Junior said. “We will make beautiful wooden furniture for everyone. We can have breakfast on the terrace when the weather is good.”
“And in case the weather is bad, we will close the windows,” Middle added. “And it will be a very warm house. And very cozy.”
“We’ll paint the walls in different colors, and we’ll make a little attic under the roof and put pillows there so that you can drink hot chocolate and read. And we’ll have a real pizza oven in the kitchen!” Junior added.
“What about the backyard?” Fat Ferret asked in a bored voice.
⠀
“We offer to build the house at the Apple Glade, where there are big pine trees and raspberry bushes. We’ll plant a vegetable and herb garden next to the house,” the thrifty middle piglet said. “And also there will be a small pond with goldfish!”
Marten perked up.
“Just so it will look nice!” Major added sternly. “And around the pond we will plant tulips.”
“We’ll build a house,” Middle continued, “that will be fun to live in! And everyone will have plenty of space for their things. So that when you want to be alone, you can be alone, and when you are sad, you can easily find friends and have someone to talk to and play with.”
“Well,” Bear said. “Everything is clear to me. Despite the fact that Otter is a more experienced builder than the piglets… they are the ones who go to the finals of the competition!”
Fox’s eyes sparkled.
“Honorable jury, greatly respected Bear,” she said. “I have a suggestion. The piglets really have little experience… and, as we all saw yesterday, they don’t always take the task seriously. I suggest to make a deal. If the piglets finish their building on time and their house turns out to be better, they get both the piggy bank and the honorable title of Chief Builder. But if I win, they give the forest residents their own, wonderful, very cozy brick house!”
Bear thought for a moment. That made sense. He nodded.
“We agree!” the major piglet answered for all of them, having tasted the wine of victory.
Junior and Middle the piglets stood next to him shoulder to shoulder. Despite the tough new terms, they had won the competition today and they were very pleased!
And Fox was also very, very pleased…
Chapter