If
the TV show Through The Keyhole visited Dick
King-Smith’s cosy cottage it wouldn’t take the contestants
long to work out who lives there.
Plump
model pigs in wood, china and brass stand on the windowsills of
almost every room.
The
mugs on hooks above the Aga are all decorated with pigs, and a cartoon
of yet another pig with the legend ‘Grandpa, I saw this and
thought of you’ hangs on the kitchen wall alongside the biggest
giveaway of all - a poster from the film Babe.
Writing my books is like handing out presents. Giving children
pleasure gives you a wonderful sort of Father Christmassy feeling. |
| Dick
King-Smith |
The
hit 1995 movie about the adventures of a talking pig was based on
Dick’s book The Sheep-Pig.
He
had already made quite a name for himself as a children’s author
after publishing his first book in 1976, but the success of the
film that charmed audiences the world over catapulted him to global
fame.
The movie
was a pleasant surprise to the author who had qualms about what Hollywood
would do with his story.
"One
of the nicest things was that the actor who played Farmer Hogget
on screen was the image of the man I had in my head eight or nine
years before, right down to the last eyelash."
The
moneyspinning business that Babe and Dick’s books have become
is a change of fortunes that he could scarcely have dreamed of 30
years earlier when he was struggling – and failing - to make
ends meet as a Gloucestershire farmer.
 |
| The
story of Babe was inspired by Dick's own farming experiences
- and changed his life |
Finally
he was forced to give the agricultural life up
and look for a new career in his mid-40s. He says: "Although
I’m good with words I’m no good with numbers. If you’re
no good at numbers you are no good at business and if you’re
no good at business you are no good at farming."
So
is Babe a Gloucestershire pig? "No," explains Dick, "Because
he would have had to be a Gloucester Old Spot and he’s not,
he’s a Large White "
Pigs
have always been Dick’s favourite animals. When
he was farming his favourite of all time was a
larger-than-life boar called Monty who loved having
his head scratched.
"He
was one of many characters but he is the one I mourn most. He had
10 wives and a pretty happy life."
The
idea of Babe himself was born one summer day when Dick was in charge
of the village fete’s Guess-The-Weight-Of-The-Pig stall.
He
started musing about what fate might have in store for the little
pink porker if he didn’t grow up, like most pigs, to end up
on someone’s dinner plate.
But
Dick admits his and wife Myrle’s affection for their
animals may have been the nail in the coffin of their farm life.
"We
treated them like the pets we had as children and the whole farm
was like the model farms we played with as kids.
| The
things kids say |
|
Some
of the things youngsters have written to tell Dick King-Smith:
I
do enjoy your books, please try to write a few more before
you die.
Dear
Dick King-Smith - my favourite author is Jacqueline Wilson
. . .
When
you die, say hi to Roald Dahl for me.
|
"Everybody
had names and while to some extent it mattered whether a cow gave
1,000 gallons or 500 it mattered more whether she had pretty eyes
or a nice colour or a nice nature."
With
a wife and three children to support after
leaving the farm, Dick tried several jobs - including
a short spell as a travelling salesman and a slightly
longer one in a shoe factory - before deciding to
re-train as a primary school teacher.
The
job also allowed him time to write, and realising
how much his young pupils enjoyed animal stories Dick found himself
dipping back into his farming
experiences for inspiration.
Dick’s
first book, published in 1976, was The Fox
Busters, the tale of chickens who take their revenge
on their traditional enemy.
"When
I was farming a fox killed lots of my chickens. Foxes are foxes
and that’s what they do but I did think one day I might have
bash at a story where the weak are triumphant over the strong and
the chickens beat up the foxes."
Now
80, Dick is still writing and his stories come to life in a tiny
study with walls crammed with framed illustrations from his books
and a window with more little piggies on the sill overlooking open
fields.
He
writes in longhand for a couple of hours in the morning then copies
it out one-fingered on a battered portable typewriter.
 |
| Dick
relaxes in the armchair he bought when he sold his first book
|
Dick’s
affection for youngsters is obvious - which is just as well, really
since he has 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren of his
own.
Then
there are the millions of young fans to whom he’s become a
kind of honorary grandpa.
"I
love children" he says. "They were the nice thing about
teaching. I wasn’t mad keen on some of the adults but the children
were great. I
like their lack of self-consciousness and their curiosity.
"The
single nicest thing I think about my success is
not the critical acclaim or the money - it’s the tens of thousands
of letters I get from children all over the world.
"Writing
my books is like handing out presents. Giving
children pleasure gives you a wonderful sort of Father
Christmassy feeling."
At
an age when many are happy to put their feet up
Dick still regularly travels all over the country to
meet his young fans at schools and book festivals,
including the Cheltenham Festival of Literature where
he last appeared two years ago.
And
Dick hopes he has a "a few more books in me yet". That
hope will be shared by his millions of fans around the world.
Dick
King-Smith’s autobiography, Chewing The Cud, is published in
paperback by Penguin, price £5.99.
 |
| Dick
King-Smith in his farming days with his favourite pig, Monty |
|
