"The Old Woman and Her Pig" is a cumulative folktale about an old woman who buys a pig but cannot get it to cross a hill. She seeks help from a series of characters โ a dog, a stick, fire, water, an ox, a butcher, a rope, a rat, and finally, a cat โ each of whom refuses to assist until the next character intervenes. The cat agrees to help only if the old woman gets her some milk from a cow, who needs hay first. Once the woman completes the chain of requests, the cat kills the rat, setting off a chain of actions that finally gets the pig over the hill, allowing the old woman to return home. The story illustrates the concept of interdependence and how small actions can trigger significant outcomes.