Maa [about Babe]
You see, ladies? A heart of gold.
Played by Miriam Flynn 
Babe (1995) · 37 quotes
Babe (1995) · 37 quotes
5th most-quoted character in Babe (1995): in 6 of its 37 quotes
Most scenes with: Babe (5), Fly the Border Collie (4), Narrator (4)
Scenes with Maa
6 scenes Maa 
[The same fact happens later as Babe tries to follow the sheepdogs to the fields]
Not you, dear.
Why not?
We have to do dogs' work. You're a pig. Your job is to stay here and eat your food. We'll be back at the end of the day.
Maa [Babe is very confused. He does not even know what a sheep is. He looks around the busy farmyard. Hens bustle in their coop. Ducks wash in the pond. And no one pays the slightest attention to him. Then he hears something new]
Darn wolf! Never do leave a body alone. [Babe investigates inside the pen] Nag, nag, nag, all day long. Go here, go there, do this, do that. [coughing]
I'm not a wolf.
Maa Oh, I knows all that. Calls yourself a sheepdog. But you don't fool none of us.
I'm not a sheepdog, either. [moves to look through a gap between the planks of the pen]
Maa Well, I'll be dipped! What are you?
Pig. Large White. What are you?
Maa Ewe.
Not me, who are you?
Maa That's what I am! I - am - a - ewe!
Oh, you're a sheep! [goes inside the barn to see Maa]
Maa The name's Maa. And I'm stuck in this little box till the Boss makes me well again.
What's wrong with you, Maa?
Maa Foot rot. And I've had a nasty cough. And I'm not as young as I used to be. [coughs]
[Outside the barn, Esme hears the sheep bleating. She shrugs and harvests more vegetables. Back inside the barn]
You don't look very old to me.
Maa Too kind. First kind word I've heard in donkey's years. You seem a nice young chap, not like them wolves. Treat you like dirt, they do so. Bite you as soon as look at you, the–
Bite you?
Maa And worse. Much worse. Savages!
Fly would never be mean.
Maa Who's that?
She's my mu – she's the sheepdog here.
Maa Fly, is that it? Black-and-white? Teeth sharp as a steel trap? [Babe nods] All them wolves is cruel to us sheep. Always have been. No brains, no heart. [She coughs again] Wouldn't want to see a gentle soul like you mixing with the likes of them.
[Now Babe is more mixed up than ever. Is his new mother really bad? That evening as Fly comes in from the fields, she gives Babe's face a big, slurpy kiss. As he nuzzles against her, Babe decides that the old sheep may be wrong. Perhaps Maa is confused because she is sick. Babe hopes she will get better soon]
[Soon Babe is pink again. The puppies are sold to other farmers who needs sheepdogs. Rex has no patience with Fly's disgrace, but Mr. Hoggett pats her gently, and Babe licks her snout]
Fly, may I call you Mom?
[Fly nuzzles the piglet tenderly. At last, Babe has truly found his place on Hoggett's farm. As the nights grow longer and colder, Babe grows bigger. First, Mr. and Mrs. Hoggett's daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren come to visit. The farmhouse is suddenly filled with all sorts of bright, shiny facts. There is singing and laughter. And the people pile brightly wrapped boxes under a tree inside the house]
Hello!
The Hoggetts' son-in-law: Hey, folks, how are you? Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! How's my favorite girl? Nanny has a jellybean. Give us a kiss. And guess what we're having for Christmas dinner? Roast pork.
The Hoggetts' granddaughter: I hate pork.
Maa Darn silly carry-on, if you ask me.
The cat says they call it Christmas.
Christmas! Christmas dinner, yes. Dinner means death. Death means carnage! Christmas means carnage! CHRISTMAS MEANS CARNAGE!! [runs off in fear]
Maa [Then one day, Mrs. Hoggett washes the mud off Babe and measures his taut belly with a tape measure. But Fly knows. She has seen other animals taken into the building near the barn. It is the fashion of nature, that doesn't stop her from feeling mournful]
Eating pigs! Blaah! Barbarians!
Maa Oh, young'un, tragic there ain't more of your kind. I'll be thinking of you always.
I could come and visit you, Maa.
Maa I'd like that, but...well, we shouldn't hope for too much. [gets yanked as the cart pulls forward, she follows]
[humming the tune of "Jingle Bells"]
La la la, la la la, la la la lala. La la la, lala la la, lalala la la la la, hey!
[We cut to the Arthur and Esme cooking up some Christmas dinner]
And then, it was Christmas Eve, and time had run out for the pig.
Mrs. Hoggett
Are you doing him tonight, then?
Huh.
Mrs. Hoggett
Sure. The blood will drain by morning.
Pity.
Mrs. Hoggett
What's that?
Nothing.
Mrs. Hoggett
What on earth are you rambling on about?
Exchange to miss out on the best ham prize at next year's fair, is all. Nice plump haunches he's getting. Beautiful. Yet...silly to wait, I suppose so.
At any other time, the pig would've been tickled pink by his first visit to the sheep fields. But now, there was fear in the air. Maa and her kind were under threat.
[Babe wriggles through the fence and runs across the field to join the frantic sheep. Woolly flanks press against him as the sheep are herded toward the truck]
Hey, Frank, feel like pork for dinner tonight?
Maa Young'un! You're alive!
Maa! What's going on? Who are these men?
Frank
I'll get him out. Come around, Sniff! [whistles]
[Sniff runs up while jumping on the flock]
Where's our boss? It doesn't seem right. [gets knocked over by Sniff]
[Babe runs for dear life, with the dog barking and snapping at his heels. He wriggles back through the fence and runs squealing louder to the farmhouse. The Hoggetts' granddaughter opens her last Christmas present in a greedy excitement to reveal the beautiful, extravagant, ultra-realistic handcrafted dollhouse her maternal grandfather, Arthur, made for her, unexpectedly lets out a loud, anguished shriek]
[upon seeing her granddaughter heartbroken]
What's wrong, dear?
The Hoggetts' granddaughter: [complaining and sobbing] It's the wrong one! [shrieking tearfully as we see Arthur smirking at his granddaughter's tantrum, trying not to laugh] I WANT THE HOUSE I SAW ON THE TELEVISION!! [crying]
[comforting her granddaughter]
Oh, there, there.
[We see see the Hoggetts' daughter chuckling and grinning at her daughter's tantrum. We see Fly and Rex past the fireplace. Fly watches this scene with pity in her eyes as if to say "Poor little tyke", but Rex lays down on the floor, looking away without showing any care or worry about his owners' granddaughter. Mr. Hoggett sees Fly's ears perk up at the sound. She starts barking. Something is wrong. The farmer races away in his truck. The dogs run across the fields. Rex reaches the other truck first. It is yet empty. The thieves hit the tailgate shut and smash through the fence at top speed. Rex is yet barking until Fly and Hoggett arrive. They are followed by an exhausted Babe. Hoggett pats Fly's head]
Nice dog. [Fly jumps into the truck bed. Then the farmer lifts Babe up behind her] Nice pig.
[That night, it is all over the farm that Mr. Hoggett thinks Babe is a watch-pig. Rex sulks because he hasn't heard Babe first. But Fly beams as she licks Babe's wounded tail]
I'm very proud of you, my boy.
I'm going to be a nice sheepdog if I grow up, aren't I?
None of my pups would have done any better than you did so today.
A pig doing the work of a sheepdog? With Rex out of action and Fly injured from the fight, Farmer Hoggett had no choice.
Maa! Maa! The boss has to give you some medicine.
Maa Oh, dear, I thought so! It's horrible stuff, that.
I know, but it's for the best.
Maa Oh, our young'un, if you say so.
[With that said, the old sheep walks right up to Hoggett and takes her medicine, easy as you please]
Shoo! Shoo!
[Now, a pig doing the work of a sheepdog seems like a full miracle to Farmer Hoggett. He can't deny what he has seen with his own eyes. In the fertile field of his imagination, his daydream swiftly grows into a certain plan. He will take Babe to the trials]
As the thought first came to him, Farmer Hoggett dismissed it as mere whimsy, but like most of his harebrained ideas, it wouldn't go away.
[That afternoon, Hoggett takes Fly and Babe to a field bustling with sheepdogs and Bosses and reluctant-looking men with clipboards]
What are they doing here?
It's a sheepdog trial.
Then it's like a competition for sheepdogs.
And their bosses. It's like an obstacle curse.
How do they decide who wins?
Well, it's time and mistakes. You get points for how fast you are and they take points away for every mistake. Every time a sheep goes the wrong road, that's a mistake and you lose points.
Looks like fun!
Oh, for a sheepdog, there's no prouder moment. You know, Rex and I used to...never mind.
Mom. Mom! Mom! Can we start work early today?
Oh, dear, it's not even dawn yet. You can go to work until the rooster crows. Go back to sleep.
[In fact, Babe is so eager, he tries to get the rooster to crow early the next day]
Excuse me. Hello, sir. Excuse me, but it's almost dawn and......
Rooster
Wait, what?
I'm sorry to disturb you, but it's almost dawn, and I wondered if you'd mind crowing just a few moments early this morning.
Rooster
Get out of here!
But, well, see I just...
Rooster
Get lost!
Oh, okay Rooster.
[Babe hears terrified bleating. He runs to the aid of the flock. There are sheep tangled in the fence wire. The rest runs to and fro, with three wild dogs snarling and snapping at their heels. The growling dogs pull down a ewe. As the Christmas Eve rustlers come, Babe has felt fear mixed with frustration]
Now the pig understood why the sheep called all dogs wolves. And he was filled with a deep and horrible rage.
[Babe charges the nearest wild dog and knocks it on its side. The next one he bites as hard as he can. Babe tastes blood] [All three dogs run howling apart with their tails between their shaking legs. Babe chases them to the far fence] [As he is sure they are gone, Babe turns back to the frightened flock, which is gathered around the fallen ewe]
Maa! Maa! Are you alright?
Maa Hello, young'un.
Oh, Maa, can you get up?
Maa [Babe licks Maa's wounded neck. Blood smears his snout] [last words]
I don't reckon.
It's over, Maa. The wolves have gone far off. I'll get the boss up here to look after you. You'll be alright. You'll be alright! [but her eyes are far apart. Her head droops and life leaves her] Oh, Maa! Maa! [chokes back sobs, then bleating depressed as the sheep saying his name] MAA!! MAA!! MAA!!! MAA!!! [the Boss's truck rumbles up]
[Fly cannot meet Babe's eyes]
Fly knew that there was only one fate for any creature that took the life of a sheep on Hoggett Farm.
