In a small English village, an old woman lived in a cottage with a thatched roof. One morning, she found a fat pig wandering along the lane. She decided to take it home for her supper. But when they reached a stile between two fields, the pig stopped. It refused to climb over the wooden steps. No matter how she pushed or called, the pig stood still. The old woman grew frustrated. She knew she could not carry the pig, so she needed help. She looked around and saw a dog sitting by a gate.

"Dog," she said, "will you bite this pig so that it will go over the stile?" The dog replied, "I will not bite the pig unless you give me a piece of bread." So the old woman hurried to the baker's shop. "Baker," she said, "give me a piece of bread for the dog so that he will bite the pig, so that the pig will go over the stile." But the baker said, "I will not give you bread unless you bring me a bushel of corn from the field."

The old woman went to the field where a cow was grazing. "Cow," she said, "give me some corn for the baker so that he will give me bread for the dog, so that the dog will bite the pig, so that the pig will go over the stile." The cow replied, "I will not give you corn unless you give me some hay from the meadow." So the old woman went to the meadow, but the hay had not been cut. She saw a stream nearby.

"Baker," she said, "give me a piece of bread for the dog so that he will bite the pig, so that the pig will go over the stile.

"Stream," she said, "give me some water to wet the meadow so that the hay will grow, so that the cow will give me corn, so that the baker will give me bread, so that the dog will bite the pig, so that the pig will go over the stile." The stream replied, "I will not give you water unless you bring me a duck from the pond." The old woman walked to the pond where a duck swam.

"Duck," she said, "come with me to the stream so that it will give water to the meadow, so that the cow will give corn, so that the baker will give bread, so that the dog will bite the pig, so that the pig will go over the stile." The duck agreed. It waddled to the stream, which then gave water. The water wet the meadow, the hay grew, the cow gave corn, the baker gave bread, the dog bit the pig, and the pig squealed and scrambled over the stile. The old woman finally got her pig home.