The little ten-year-old boy who is hired to paint the Nativity scene for the king, he's never spoken in his life until he meets the pig, Valerie, in the barn as he's painting the Nativity scene. And that's the first conversation he's ever had, is with Valerie the pig. They become very close friends, and it hurts him very much to have to tell her that he cannot include her in the Nativity scene.
There was a time in American history when everyone knew about the 1815 wreck of the American cargo ship "Commerce." It ran aground in northern Africa, where its crew was captured and enslaved. Upon his safe return, Captain James Riley became an early American celebrity. The incredible story is told in Dean King's book.
The little ten-year-old boy who is hired to paint the Nativity scene for the king, he's never spoken in his life until he meets the pig, Valerie, in the barn as he's painting the Nativity scene. And that's the first conversation he's ever had, is with Valerie the pig. They become very close friends, and it hurts him very much to have to tell her that he cannot include her in the Nativity scene. 
