WE WERE GIVEN THE FOREST

That morning Roque, the good-natured pig, was about to meet Coke -the old fox, as they usually did under the Oak of Parliament. There, they often talked about developments taking place in the Extremadura pasture, since not only did the paddock and around offer excellent sausages, wine, oil, cork, honey, milk and dairy, but also any novelty that the birds were singing: that the flowers of the almonds have started to bloom; that the brook is full of fingerlings; that partridges swamp through the olive groves; that blackbirds embarrassed the berries and grapes...

Roque liked being on this site due to the fact that, while the two friends were commenting on the local news about the cuckoo, the turtledove as well as the most distant ones upon the duck and the crane, he could gobble very sweet acorns, his favorite food, and Coke, the old fox, always attentive, nodded to the songs of birds, intoxicated by the sounds and smells of the forest or put on guard by altering the face, if he felt any disharmony within that perfect symphony. But today, Coke, the old fox, was still absent, and Roque, the good-natured pig, recalled the words of his friend when he was told that there was a night pasture with barn owls & tawny owls and another one, a day pasture where Don Pedro, Roque’s master, lurked around hidden in the darkness to attack him.

Roque, the good-natured pig, laughed at ease with the adventures of his friend, inexplicable to him, but could not believe that his master could hurt anyone. He was so kind and loving. Suddenly Roque, the good-natured pig, felt boar nostalgia well known to him, and got upset. Boars always made ​​fun of Roque and his littermates, calling them “paté”, rather than by their names; however Roque, the good-natured pig, had always admired the boars as if they were Coke, the old fox, though he didn’t know exactly why being the two of them like chalk and cheese, he felt so comfortable with Coke.

Sometimes, the pasture received human visitors seeking the sun, the oxygen, the hunting, asparagus, truffles, mushrooms, golden thistles, dock, watercress, chives... they brandished sticks, knives, guns and bags in their hands as they posed in front of digital cameras for posterity. One day, they started a fire with a barbecue that wasn’t completely off, but the woodpecker immediately reported in Morse code to the hares and the hoopoes, which in turn got ready at high speed to put all the animals safe. That day they lost thousands of hectares of forest and scrubland. Roque, the good-natured pig, was saved by Coke, the old fox, by guiding him to the riverbank. There, among the oleanders were the siskins, the coal tits, the bunnies, the warblers, the greenfinches, the goldfinches, the linnets, the shrikes... Coke, the old fox, knew everyone and introduced them, one by one, to Roque, the good-natured pig, that was scared and confused... Roque, the good-natured pig, heard two gunshots in the distance and sniffed at the new daisies to ask for Sarita, her favorite pig, but the daisies told him again that there was nothing to do. Coke, the old fox, did not return on that day, or any other day. Roque, the good-natured pig, is always waiting for his friend under the Oak of Parliament. If you go to the pasture, you'll sure find him.