Raymond the Pacifist Pig (A True Story for Children of All Ages)

You’ve heard of gentlemen, right? Well, Raymond was a gentlepig.

He was not a gentlepig in the sense that he wore a suit and tie and stood when a lady entered the room saying, “Madame,” in a snooty voice (although he might have liked to do that, too).

Raymond was a gentlepig in the sense that he was a pacifist.  A pacifist is somebody who believes in being peaceful and who won’t hurt anybody else no matter what.

Some pacifists won’t even fight back if someone tries to fight with them.  That’s the kind of pacifist Raymond was.

Raymond was also a very sad pig, though.

That’s because he lived with more than fifty other pigs in a yucky dirty barn.  You may have been told before that pigs are dirty, but that is not true.  Pigs are super duper clean, and it makes them very sad to live in a dirty place.

But the yucky dirty barn was the least of Raymond’s problems.  His biggest problem was that he and the other pigs didn’t have enough water and food to go around.  So all the pigs fought to get a little food or water.

But Raymond was a gentlepig, a pacifist.

He knew those other pigs were only fighting because they were scared.  Raymond had compassion for them, which means that he understood their feelings and wanted to help them.

He refused to fight the other pigs for food and water, and showed them only love and kindness. He was not as scared as them, for although he was very hungry and thirsty, pacifists are strong. Raymond knew in his heart that help would come soon.

But time passed by. Days turned into months, and no help came.  Some of the pigs died.  Raymond was very hungry and very sad.

Raymond was getting very skinny, and really needed some water.  Still, he stayed true to himself. Raymond refused to fight, and showed the other pigs only love and kindness.  Raymond was a true gentlepig.

One day, the barn door opened.  The light hurt Raymond’s eyes, but he knew that help had come at last.

A beautiful lady in a police uniform, a funny gentleman (not the kind that wears a suit and says, “How do you do?” but the kind that’s nice to pigs), and a bunch more humans were there to save the pigs!

They had compassion in their eyes, just as Raymond knew they would.  They understood how Raymond and the other pigs felt, and wanted to help them.

Gently and carefully, they moved all the pigs onto big trucks and took them to safe places.

Raymond’s new home was a place called Indraloka Animal Sanctuary.  The word Indraloka means heaven in an Indian language called Sanskrit.  Raymond thought it was very well named.

He had a cozy and clean little house that he shared with 2 other pigs.  They could go inside and outside whenever they wanted.

There was lots of green grass and all the clean water they could drink!  Raymond and the other pigs were given special meals of fresh vegetables, fruit, and grain to help them gain weight.

Best of all were the humans who volunteered at the sanctuary!  They were gentlepeople, too. Not in the sense that they did their barn chores in ball gowns and tuxedos and said, “Charmed, I am sure.” whenever they were introduced to Raymond, but they were pacifists just like Raymond!

Raymond loved his new home. He spent the rest of his life teaching humans, pigs, chickens, and other animals about compassion, pacifism, and joy. Plus eating lots of delicious fruits and veggies and drinking yummy fresh water!