Once upon a time there was a teacup. It lived a long life, worked honestly, served milk and warmed people with tea. But suddenly it felt rather sad for some reason. It didn't chime like a little bell, like the other cups sitting in a row on the draining rack. It didn't sparkle with cleanliness, no matter how often it was washed.
So the teacup decided to quietly leave home. To see the world it had heard so much about during teatime. Above all, it longed to find a friend.
For a long time it wandered along unfamiliar paths, saw a great deal, and miraculously stayed in one piece. But it never found a friend. Then one day it sat on the bank of a stream, feeling glum, and thought it heard someone crying.
It looked closer and saw a small, grubby little piglet. He snuffled quietly and didn't notice anyone around him. So the teacup sent him a sunbeam. It skipped playfully along Percy's back, peeped into his tearful little eyes and dried every tear.
The piglet squealed with delight so loudly that the teacup nearly cracked from the fright. Then it filled itself with spring water and offered the piglet a wash. The sun warmed the water, and the piglet splashed happily in the cup as if it were a bath. And he turned out to be a delicate shade of pink.
All the creatures of the wood gathered. Everyone felt merry. But then a magpie flew in and reported that Percy's mum was running through the wood, searching for her beloved little son. So the animals plaited a strong length of rope from grass and tied it to the handle of the cup.
The piglet climbed into the cup, and the birds took off, holding the loose end of the rope in their beaks. They lifted the cup high and flew so high that the piglet's breath was taken away. But they reached Percy's home very quickly.
Everyone was overjoyed: Mum had found her son, and the cup had found friends. Little Percy was happy for everyone.
And so that's the end of the story. Do you have a favourite cup of your own? Won't you share your secrets with it?
