My neighbor said he found a pig
And he didn’t know what to do.
I told him that, if it were me,
I’d take it to the City Zoo.

Last night I saw him once again.
The pig was sitting in his truck.
I thought the zoo had turned him down
And I told him, “That’s sure tough luck.”

He said the pig enjoyed the trip,
And it thought the zoo was groovy.
So they were going out to eat
And then maybe catch a movie.

The right instructions, the wrong interpretation; if you’re a parent I’m sure you’ve heard the age old excuse, “I thought that’s what you told me to do.” In the Air Force we were taught that instructions must be worded so that even the least intelligent member of one’s group can comprehend. This was called the “Dick and Jane System”.

In the military, lives depend on clear instructions. That’s why they use the twenty-four hour system for telling time. It could be very embarrassing for a commander to charge across the enemy lines twelve hours early because someone’s ‘P’ in PM looked like an ‘A’!

In The Pig the neighbor who found the pig was not the smartest pup in the litter, but his heart was in the right place. I’m sure that he and the pig went on to have many happy times together.