Pamela lived on a farm in Texas. She had two sisters named Linda and Sammy. Pamela was the youngest of the three. Pamela’s father worked hard in the oil fields all day while her mother worked as a waitress in town. When her parents were at work, she often wandered off far from home. Her sisters didn’t keep a close eye on her. They were to busy making dresses and watching TV.

Many times she was warned that she shouldn’t run off to far. Her family worried she would get lost and never be seen again. Her sisters complained that Pamela would not listen to them. Pamela was not a bad girl, she was an adventurous girl. Her sisters warned her that her running off would get them into trouble. Pamela would easily forget the time and she often was far from home just before dinner time. She regularly ran home when she saw the sun setting just above the hills. She knew that was the time supper was going to be served.

Pamela’s father was tired of her playing so far away from the home. He worried she would get hurt or get lost or maybe even never come back. So he bought her a dog. They named the dog Pig Iron because of his tail that curled up tight and the sound he made like a pig snorting. He was a small stoutly bull dog with a big head. Her father felt better about her playing in the country as long as the dog was with her. It was in Pamela’s nature to run and play, and a tuff little dog would help defend her if she needed help.

So off Pamela would go, and Pig Iron would follow her everywhere. Pamela and her dog went every place together. She carried beef jerky in her pockets to feed Pig Iron when they were away from the home. They were the best of friends and Pig Iron would do tricks so that he could get rewarded with the Beef Jerky. And when the sun was setting in the hills, they ran home together. Pamela would run and her dog Pig Iron would run right after her making that funny snorting sound when he ran. Just like a Pig snort, Pig Iron the dog would snort as he ran.

Pamela and Pig Iron were late too many times for supper, and her Mother was becoming tired of it. Her mother was fatigued after work and came straight home to cook for the family. She noticed that Pamela was coming home later and later every day. So she warned Pamela’s sisters that if she was late again, they would be in trouble for not keeping an eye on her.

Pamela’s sister Sammy noticed that Pam had scratches on her leg. She asked her if she was climbing the fence down at the end of the farm. Pamela said she had jumped over the fence to save time since she knew she was late for dinner. So Sammy walked Pam out to the end of the farm where the fence was. As they talked about how far she was allowed to go and play, they noticed a new family moving in at the house way down at the end of the trail. Sammy knew that Pamela would be tempted to go meet the new neighbors and of course be late to dinner. Mother had warned Sammy and Linda that if Pamela was late to dinner again, they would be on restriction and that would be awful since it was summertime.

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