The Hog and Friends Make A Pie

There was a terrible thunderstorm going on outside so Hogbert, a wild hog, decided that he wanted to make a pie. The problem was, Hogbert had never made a pie before and he didn't really know where to start. 

"I'm sure the first thing you have to do is make the pie's crust." Thought Hogbert, "But maybe there is a step before that?" 

Hogbert wasn't sure. 

As Hogbert was thinking about pie crust he heard a familiar voice calling out to him,

"Hogbert! Hogbert! It's me, your friend Turtlebert!

"Well hello Turtlebert! What brings you here today?" 

Hogbert had always really liked the name Bert and wanted all his friends to just call him Bert, however, there was another Bert in the forest already, she was a turtle. The turtle was Bert before the hog had ever wanted to be Bert. The two were eventually able to come to a compromise, the turtle would be named Turtlebert and the hog would be named Hogbert. 

"Oh Hogbert, I was just in the neighborhood and decided to stop by, as you know. What are you up to today?" 

"Well Turtlebert, I'm making a pie. I'm starting on the first step to make a pie which is to make a pie crust." 

"That sounds delicious Hogbert, what kind of pie are you making?"

Hogbert was embarrassed, now he knew that when making a pie, there is a step before making the crust -- 

Step 1: Decide what pie you want to make

"Hmm... what's a good kind of pie to make?" Hogbert asked. 

"I like tomato pie." 

"...I have tomatoes."

The two stood quietly for a perfect moment amidst the bullying and menacing thunderstorm raging outside. 

"Let's get to it then!" Hogbert continued. 

The thunderstorm swelled and swirled with loud claps of thunder and flashes of lightning happening constantly. It was perhaps one of the worst storms seen in the low forest in many years. Hogbert and Turtlebert's nerves were a mess but making the pie together seemed to help keep everything in check. 

Turtlebert began to dice the tomatoes as Hogbert prepared the crust. 

"Hey! Hello? Hogbert? Hello? Are you here?" 

A mole popped up from a hole in the ground and started calling out. The ground was soaking wet and the storm made it difficult for the mole to stay in his home while it was in danger of being washed away. 

"Hi Molebert, welcome! What brings you into my kitchen today?" Hogbert asked. 

In reality, Hogbert always knew what brought folks to his place during thunderstorms. His place would usually turn in to the de facto meeting point where all of his friends would come during bad storms because it was a good shelter. Even though they could sometimes be scary, ultimately this made Hogbert enjoy thunderstorms much more than he would if he were dealing with them alone. 

"Well, I figured it was high times I paid a visit to Hogbert since he sent over a fruit basket for me after I got my promotion!"

Molebert, despite what one may think, didn't actually have much of an affinity or interest in the name Bert. But, after all the commotion between turtle and hog the mole figured, hey, if this many other people want to be named Bert then it must be a pretty good name, so he adopted the name as well. 

"Well Molebert, we're making a tomato pie, does that sound good to you?" 

Molebert thought for a moment. He looked at Hogbert preparing the crust and Turtlebert preparing the filling. 

"Is tomato pie a pretty popular pie?" 

Hogbert and Turtlebert considered the question. 

"The two of us are pretty big fans," Turtlebert said. 

"Well, that's good enough for me!" Molebert acquiesced. "Should I put on some music for --"

A huge flash of lightning and a massive clap of thunder shook the entire world and interrupted Molebert's music offer. All three of the friends were shook. Rarely did they hear a thunder and a lightning that tremendous... 

"Some storm we're having today, huh?" Turtlebert said, breaking their silence. 

"Sure is. Pretty intense stuff. Kind of scary." Molebert added. 

"Well, one things for sure, we sure needed the rain." Hogbert pointed out. 

Molebert and Turtlebert reluctantly agreed with that point. 

Then, the three sat together listening to music, waiting for pie to bake, and enjoying each other's company as they waited for the storm to pass.