A litter of 11 piglets are born to a mother pig on a farm owned by the Arable family. The 11th of the 11 baby pigs, named Wilbur, is a very small and the mother pig can't feed him. So John Arable decides to "do away" with Wilbur. However, when his daughter, Fern Arable, hears of the pig's fate she rescues him and tells her father it is unfair to kill Wilbur since he is smaller than the others. John agrees and Fern is allowed to keep the little piglet as a pet. Fern and Wilbur loved each other. Fern takes Wilbur around in a baby carriage and gives him a bath. However, after only six weeks of raising him, John Arable tells Fern that it's time for him to be sold. Wilbur was no longer a baby piglet but a full grown boar. Fern sadly says good-bye as Wilbur is sold down the street to her uncle, Homer Zuckerman. When Wilbur wants to play with a lamb, the lamb's father says that sheeps do not play with pigs because it's only a matter of time before they are turned into smoked bacon and ham. Wilbur starts crying saying that he does not want to die, but a voice from above tells him to "chin up". Wilbur goes to sleep feeling better.