The Wild Pig

Hercules' third task was to find a special deer with golden horns. This deer was so fast that no hunter had ever been able to catch it, but Hercules found it and killed it easily with his bow.

After completing this task, King Eurystheus ordered Hercules to catch a famous wild pig that had been hurting some of the farmers in a nearby town. The king felt that this task was too easy for Hercules, and Eurystheus still secretly hoped that Hercules would fail in one of his tasks so that he would have to be his slave forever. To make the task harder, King Eurystheus asked Hercules to bring the wild pig back to him alive.

As he walked to the town where the wild pig lived, Hercules thought about the king's request. He knew that his cousin was jealous of him, and wanted him to fail at one of the tasks. However, Hercules knew he wouldn't fail in a task as easy as this one! "I have killed many animals easily!" he thought. When he arrived at the town, he asked for two cooking pots and some rope. After he obtained these items, he began walking up the mountain while hitting the two pots together. "Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!" went the pots.

When the wild pig heard the sound it became so scared that it ran up the mountain. Hercules followed the pig, still hitting the pots together. Eventually the wild pig was scared into running to the very top of the mountain. Once the wild pig had no more place to run, Hercules grasped it tightly and tied it up with the rope.

The people of the town were so happy to see the wild pig tied up that they had a great party to thank Hercules. "Let's kill the wild pig and eat him!" suggested one of the villagers, but Hercules shook his head.

"I have other plans for this pig," he said.

When Hercules arrived back at the castle, Eurystheus was still in his bedroom. Hercules took the ropes off the pig and let it free in the great hall. He then went to see his cousin and told him that he had brought the pig back. Now, King Eurystheus thought that the pig would certainly be tied up and walked into his great hall to see the animal. Just imagine his surprise to find the pig running around wild! The king jumped onto a table out of fear and, again, Hercules laughed at the weak king.

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