The Christmas Pig

Kinky Friedman's The Christmas Pig: A Fableis a fun fable about King Jonjo Mayo I, his sycophant advisor Feinberg, a peasant boy who never speaks but is a tremendous artist, and a talking pig. The king needs a masterful portrait of the nativity scene by Midnight mass on Christmas Eve. There isn't much time. Feinberg suggests a 10 year old genius, who of course is quirky. It's a gamble. Will he finish in time? Will the picture be just to weird? Will the king and the crowd like it or want to throw tomatoes and all involved?

Friedman employs all the conventions of the fable to a witty, fun, brief story. Of course, there's a message. Readers can anticipate the moral, but it's satisfying.