Plot synopsis
We
begin at the Grand Challenge Sheep Trials, a sheep-herding competition in which
Farmer Hogget is set to compete with a strange sheepdog named…Pig. Hogget’s
border collie, Fly, explains the strange situation to us, taking us back in
time to the village fair. At the fair, encouraged by Mrs. Hogget, Farmer Hogget
competes in a weight-guessing contest and wins Babe, our hero. Hogget brings him
back home to the farm and Babe tries to fit in. Babe just wants his mum, so Fly comforts him
and tries to make him feel at home. Babe meets the other eccentric animals on
the farm including a sick sheep named Ma. He decides that he wants to be a
sheep-pig—but a polite one, not the sort who simply orders others about. One night, Babe goes to visit Ma and finds
himself in the middle of a kidnapping. Babe saves the sheep from the sheep
rustlers, earning the love and respect of everyone on the farm—even Mrs.
Hogget, who now thinks of him as a pet and not as livestock. The soft-spoken
Farmer Hogget is keenly aware that Babe is a special pig and decides to teach
Babe how to herd sheep. The sheep are thrilled; after all, Fly thinks they are
stupid creatures. Then, the unthinkable occurs. The flock is attacked by wild
dogs and, though Babe tries to fight them off, poor old Ma doesn’t survive. Through
this sadness, Fly helps train Babe for the challenge, but she’s worried…how
will the strange sheep at the sheep trials know that Babe can be trusted?
Putting her pride aside, she asks the farm sheep for help. She learns a secret
password and teaches it to Babe. The night before the competition, Babe has a
terrible nightmare, but when he awakes his friends are there to cheer him on. Lo
and behold, the trial sheep recognize the password and Babe wins the Grand
Challenge Sheep-dog Trail! And in the end, the thing that makes him happiest is
not the Grand Challenge Cup. It’s the simple praise from Farmer Hogget: “That’ll
do.”