Nelly's father, the diminutive "Sir Winston Churchill", was the cocky centerfold of the Potbellied Pig Journal, and had the lofty purchase price of $25, 000. He was only a scant 12 inches high at the shoulders at 6 years of age. Nellie's mom, Mona Lisa, was one of the very first snowy white pigs imported into America. She was refined and demure, with petite hooves and long, flowing, shiny bristles.

Even at birth, Miss Nellie was different than any other of the sow's brood...She was energetic and inquisitive, constantly on the run, and eagerly gravitated to whomever entered the farrowing room. At 8 weeks, 5-lb Nellie would make the move that would change her life - she was placed aboard a jet and flown across the nation to live in her own upstairs bedroom in the Valentines' abode in the state of Washington. She was pure white, except for two charming marks directly centered where eyebrows would be on a human. She had a wide, oval-shaped pink nose stopper, long eyelashes, and a tail with a flag on the end. Her her large eyes were a translucent hazel.

Right away, it became apparent that Nellie needed something extra. She didn't sleep as much as normal pigs, and got bored easily. She was temperamental, sensitive, and didn't like to get dirty or root. She seemed at her happiest when learning or performing simple tasks.

She caught on so quickly, it was a challenge to keep her stimulated. She learned trick after trick, and would often be in her bedroom, door closed, doing them all by herself. It was usual to be waked in the middle of the night by the sound of the tinkling keys on her miniature grand piano. She pushed a golf ball around for hours, trying to get it in the putting cup. After her first appearance in front of an audience, there was no going back. The pint-sized pig raced across the stage chasing soccer balls, flew through hoops, and played to the audiences enthusiastic hand clapping. She had found her niche.

Nellie would become a star.

"The time has come," the Walrus said, to talk of many things:
Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings,
And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings."

Miss Piggy dives off a 13ft platform before landing in a pool of water.

Crowds have been arriving 40 minutes early to watch the display, now so popular that latecomers have to peer through the railings.

Miss Piggy's trainer, Tom Vanderleur, has been taking flying pigs around Australia for nine years,but this is the first year that pig diving has featured at the show.

The Year of the Pig

If you were born in one of the following years, you were born during the "Year of the Pig:"

Famous people born this year are Albert Schweitzer and Ernest Hemingway. A person born this year is likely to be a good parent. He may be easy to anger, but is intelligent, honest, courageous, completes projects, is gallant, and sincere. People born in these years are honest and straightforward. and can be relied on to see things through. They tend to be popular, make lasting friendship and are good neighbors.