Marina Korsakova – The Three piglets in business. The big game (страница 3)

Biggie felt a bit sick in his stomach.

“Only the most professional, talented and skillful builders should work for our dear, highly respected and beloved forest residents!” Fox finally finished.

The ferrets applauded. Junior shuddered because his tail started to itch.

“Tell us about your projects,” the ferrets addressed all the competitors.

“I will build houses for the forest residents on the river,” Otter began the presentation. “I will use the very best logs and clay. Everyone will get separate apartments with a water entrance. It’s very convenient, and that way they’ll also get fresh fish delivered straight to the kitchen!”

The ferrets exchanged glances.

“And how will the animals that can’t swim enter their apartments?”

Otter thought for a moment.

“We’ll have to give them swimming rings,” she stated authoritatively. The ferrets wrote something down in their notebooks.

Next was the piglets’ turn.

“Well,” Biggie began. “We’ll build house. Good house…” and suddenly he was lost for a moment. It turned out it was not that easy to tell a whole crowd about your idea.

“We will build house, and we promise,” Junior added excitedly, “we promise that… we will build house!”

The animals waited. Thin Ferret unwrapped a candy, and the rustling sound travelled through the silence.

“We have been living in this forest all our lives,” Middle said. “We value your trust and we will build that house as if it was our own!”

The first autumn wind blew in suddenly. That reminded the piglet of how the house he had built for himself had been blown away by Wolf. It seemed to him that everyone else thought the same thing.

“All right,” the ferrets said. “Please, dear Fox, please, continue.”

“Thank you,” said Fox, and took a graceful step towards the big oak tree. There she pulled out from the depths of her cloak a rolled-up poster, unrolled it and pinned to the tree trunk.

The poster said in capital letters, “IMAGE. PRESTIGE. DESIGN”. Then in smaller letters: “The Newest Technology”. And in very small letters: “First Class! High Quality!”.

“Dear Forest residents!” Fox said, elegantly clearing her throat. “The residential complex ‘The Wise Fox’ is all about being daring and unique. The newest technology.” Fox pointed to the poster. “Luxurious views. Legendary landmarks. Tasteful color schemes.”

“What is a tasteful color scheme?” asked the hares.

“White, cream, beige and silver,” explained the Fox kindly. Seeing that the hares still didn’t get it, Fox added: “No yellow, green… or,” Fox glanced at the piglets, “like… what do they call it… oh, pink.”

“But we like pink,” the twin elks seemed upset.

Fox examined them closely and then added:

“There will be mirrors everywhere in the housing complex!”

“We like mirrors,” the twin elks cheered up.

“There will be a lot of glass everywhere in the house,” Fox continued. “Glass and metal. It will be a sparkling house, like a big sparkling snowball or an iceberg. It will be a very modern see-through house, like a white lollipop. Clean design, a lot of space, the most modern there can be! Faster, higher, stronger!”

The hares started clapping.

“First class!” Fox said, concluding the presentation and pointing at the poster with an elegant gesture. “Top quality!”

The Meadow fell silent. White clouds floated over the serene sky. Fox bowed, waving her rich bushy tail. The animals shouted “Yay!”

“According to the terms of the competition,” Fat Ferret said, “today we have to decide which of the competitors will proceed to the second round. And I think we all can see that the most likely candidate for the title of Chief Forest Builder is Fox, and of course she makes it to the second round!”

Fox was glowing and looking at the hares. Her face was full with affection, as if she was imagining them stewed in cream.

“What we need to decide is,” Thin Ferret continued, “whether the piglets and Otter proceed to the second round?”

“Definitely!” said Marten, who was very fond of fresh fish.

“Sorry, but the swimming rings… that’s just too much!” Aunt Elk snorted.

“I agree,” Fat Ferret said. “In that case, the three piglets are advancing to 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 real builders? Just some misfits with snouts…”

Junior howled in offence. The clock struck at the Walnut Meadow.

“It’s time for lunch,” Thin Ferret said, collecting the notebooks. “I suggest the following. All the competitors go to the second round! Though, of course, not all of them deserve it!” He looked sternly at Junior. “Tomorrow in the second round we will be joined by another competent judge, Bear. And we will make the final decision who stays in the competition!”

The animals hurried for lunch. The mushroom soup aroma spread over the forest.

The three little piglets went home. Their spirits were low.

                           * * *

Drowning their sorrows in strong herbal tea, the piglets were discussing what just happened. Middle was first to speak.

“I’ve always thought,” he cleaned his throat, “that this whole idea was rather risky.”

“It’s just this Fox,” Junior said. “She is very… mean actually. She butters everyone up. She’s… stupid! And her poster is stupid! And… I’m not a misfit with a snout!”

“No,” Biggie said thoughtfully. “She’s smart. And her idea with a poster was good.”

Middle and Junior looked at their brother in surprise.

“You,” Junior asked suspiciously. “Whose side are you on anyway?”

“I’m on our side,” Biggie replied. “And for us to win, we have to be honest with ourselves. We have to admit that someone can do things better than us. We have 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,” Biggie continued. “She’s arrogant and I don’t trust her. But if we want to build a house, win the competition and become real entrepreneurs, we must not criticize her, but work hard and improve ourselves.”

…After making a batch of cherry compote, they spent the rest of the day preparing a new speech.

In the morning Bear joined the jury at the Walnut Meadow, Otter did a talk about water houses, Fox repeated her sweet speech, and then the three piglets took the floor.

“Well,” Fat Ferret said skeptically, “after we’ve heard the brilliant presentation of ‘The Wise Fox’ residential complex, what could you possibly offer?”

“We would like to present our house, which will be called ‘The Friendly Animals’!”

Biggie stepped forward. Middle stood beside him, and Junior was holding little pictures in his hooves. He had been drawing them all the night, and was now ready to hande them to his brothers.

“So, our house will be called ‘The Friendly Animals’, ” the eldest 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 cookies in the evenings.”

“There will be a lot of light light in the house,” Junior said. “We will make beautiful wooden furniture for everyone. When the weather is good, we can have breakfast on the terrace.”

“And when the weather is bad, we can close the windows,” Middle added. “And it will be a very warm house. And a very cozy one.”

“We’ll paint the walls in different colors, and make a little room under the roof and put cushions there, so that you can drink hot chocolate and read. And we’ll have a real pizza oven in the kitchen!” Junior finished the speech.

“What about the grounds?” Fat Ferret asked in a bored voice.

“We suggest to build the house in the Apple Meadow, where the big pine trees and raspberry bushes are. We’ll create vegetable patches and a herb garden next to the house,” the thrifty middle piglet said. “And there will also be a small pond with goldfish!”

Marten perked up.

“Just for decoration!” Biggie 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 someone to talk to and play with.”

“Well,” Bear said. “To me it’s all clear. Despite the fact that Otter is a more experienced builder than the piglets, they are the ones who make it to the finals!”