Cinderella and the Barking Pig

by Dr. Leslie Parrott
5/13/2006
I have always thought the Cinderella story is a little bit lame. Primarily because it describes a young woman whose position in life is to wait — to wait for the prince, to wait for the fairy godmother. She’s just waiting to see if something will happen. Have you ever fallen into this trap? I know I have.

That’s why I loved hearing about the little kindergarten boy, Norman, who decided to create a new role for himself in the story. His class was acting out the fairy tale for a teachers’ convention, and as students were sorting out various roles among themselves, he ended up without a part to play.

Norman was a bit tubby and not particularly involved with other kids in the class. As his teacher put it, Norman was a little different.

“Let’s see, Norman, what could you do in this story?” the teacher thought aloud.

“I think I will be the pig,” said Norman.

“There is no pig in Cinderella.”

“Well, there is now,” Norman replied.

So they left it to Norman to figure out the pig’s part in the story. And as it turns out, Norman knew exactly what his part was. It was one of the great walk-on parts of all time.

His notion was to go with Cinderella wherever she went and to do whatever she did. So Norman was always there. He had nothing to say, but Norman’s face reflected the action of the drama. When things were serious, he was serious. When things looked worrisome, he looked worried.

He began to fill the stage with his presence by simply being there.

And at the end of the performance, when the princess was carried off to live happily ever after, Norman stood on his hind legs and barked.

In rehearsal, this had been troublesome because the teacher said, “Look, Norman, even if there is a pig in the story, pigs do not bark.”

And Norman said, “Well, this one does.”

You can imagine what happened the night of the performance. The audience laughed hysterically and gave a standing ovation at the end for the pig. Norman, the barking pig, it turns out, was the Cinderella in the story after all.

Word got around and Norman’s teacher began to get calls: “We hear you have this terrific rendition of Cinderella for kids. What’s so special about it?”

She said, “Well, there is a pig in it — actually, a barking pig.”

And the person on the other end of the telephone would say, “But there is no barking pig in Cinderella.”

And the teacher would say with great conviction, “Well, there is now.”

What an amazing phrase! It changes everything.

Norman made a place for himself as a barking pig in the story of Cinderella by uttering these four powerful words. And the real fairy godmother was the teacher, who recognized the truth Norman was reaching for. She affirmed his place in the scheme of things when Norman made it so.

My question for you is whose role do you most identify with, Norman’s or the teacher’s? Or do you identify with both?

You see, most of us are doing our best to find our role and to make a difference with our lives. And sometimes the biggest difference we will ever make is in helping barking pigs find their place. So it doesn’t matter if you see yourself as Norman or the teacher.

We are all in this together.

Each of us is forever finding our own role as we help others find theirs.

From You Matter More Than You Think by Dr. Leslie Parrott