Outskirts Press, INC.

A Boy Learns A Lesson

When Robert’s father decides to purchase an expensive boar hog to improve the bloodline on his farm, his son is assigned to care for this impressive, aristocratic hog named Richard. But will “Sir Richard” prove to be too much of a responsibility for an eight-year-old boy? In the small town of Washington, Georgia, in 1912, Robert’s father builds a special house for Richard, and all goes well…until Robert decides to experiment with Richard’s feed. During the cane syrup making time in October, Robert goes against his father’s directions and feeds the hog a large quantity of fermented syrup “skimmings” and corn meal mixture—and Richard becomes so drunk that he eventually falls over and appears to be dying. Unable to admit to the family that he has killed the prize hog, Robert feels his only option may be to run away from home…