Pinky, a pink piglet given to twelve-year-old Robert in return for helping his neighbor's cow give birth to twin piglets.
For Robert, a rich but poor farm boy, Pinky was his only possession.
Robert lovingly raises Pinkie, and they romp through the grassy, ​​corn-filled Vermont meadows, sharing countless stories with crows, frogs, hares, eagles, squirrels, and pond crayfish.
Robert tries several times to graft Pinkie, who has grown up, with the neighbor's pig to get her to have piglets, but all attempts fail.


Robert's father not only farms but also works at the town slaughterhouse, slaughtering pigs in hopes of one day owning the land that will eventually become his own farm.
He worked hard and tried to live frugally, but he could not overcome the poverty of winter and the illness that came upon him.
To overcome the harsh poverty of that winter, his father had no choice but to kill Pinkie, who was unable to produce offspring but instead ate a huge amount of food. Robert, with tears in his eyes, had no choice but to help him with the task.


Robert turns around and comes to understand his father's tears, and this marks his coming of age ceremony.
The following May, on the day his father, who had been so dependable, passed away, even his father's colleagues came to pay their respects and took a day off, so finally not a single pig died.


At the age of thirteen, Robert's world was no longer filled with only dreams and hopes.
As Robert prepares for his father's funeral, he vows to take care of his mother and aunt, take charge of the farm, and maintain his own world.