The story(*) is told of a Pig who fell into tough times--in fact, the poor Pig fell into a deep abandoned well. The farmer passed by and thought hard how he might recover his Pig from this predicament. At last, considering all alternatives, and the fact that the Pig was now past his prime and the well was not useful anymore, he decided that the most humane thing to do in this situation would be to bury the Pig and fill up the abandoned well at the same time. In this manner, the Pig would be quickly put out of his misery instead of facing a slow painful death, and the well would not be a danger to animals and humans alike in the future. Having made up his mind, the farmer called his neighbors for help, and soon a number of them were shoveling earth into the well.

The poor Pig was frantic. He had at first thought that his master would save him, and had kept his calm. His master's voice allowed him to stay composed. But now, he was panicking and crashing against the old walls of the well, cutting his flesh and opening up sore wounds. He could understand neither the hopelessness of the situation nor the difficult decision that his master had taken. The men at the surface did not even once looked into the well. They were tough farmers and understood the situation. They shoveled hard and fast because they had to return to their own chores, too.

Down in the well, the poor Pig finally understood how hopeless it all was, and stopped struggling. He bent his neck and settled down for what fate had decided to deal him all of a sudden on this otherwise very normal day. The night was coming fast and it was getting cold. Our Pig shivered and as he did so, the earth fell from his shoulders and body to the ground. Suddenly, the Pig realized the way to escape! He stood up resolutely, and everytime a shovel of earth hit his back, he shook it off and stepped on top of it. Soon, as you have probably guessed by now, the Pig shook and stepped his way (bruised, but triumphant,) out of the well, to the astonishment of the farmers! The very earth that was meant to bury him became his means of escape.

What is the moral of the story? Some would say, it is to turn lemons into lemonade, or never to give up. Real life is never that simple. And there does come a time in every man's and woman's life when it is time to give up. Not a giving up from hopelessness and defeat, but one of deep realization that we have reached the end of our course, and our Creator has called us back to Him. Our temporary journey on the face of this earth is over, better things are reserved for us. But, until that time, Never, Never, Never give up!

(*) The original story, as I heard it on the radio, was of a cow. I substituted the Pig, and since I do not remember the exact wordings, nor who was the author, I retold it in my own words. If anyone knows who the copyright belongs to, please let me know. Thank you!