but the song was quickly changed into a cry of despair when she reached the pig - stye , for there lay her cherished pig on its back , with its legs in the air and its eyes shut , just as if it were going to breathe its last breath . " what shall i do ? what shall i do ? " cried the poor woman , sitting down on a big stone and clasping her boy to her breast , heedless of the fact that she had dropped her bucket , and that the pig's - meat was running out , and that the hens were eating it . " first i lost my husband , and now i am going to lose my finest pig . the pig that i hoped would fetch a deal of money . " now i must explain to you that the house of kittlerumpit stood on a hillside , with a great fir wood behind it , and the ground sloping down steeply in front .
why did the widowed mistress feel upset after she saw her cherished pig on its back ?
she was going to lose her finest pig .
it was going to breathe its last breath .