Under a maple tree at the edge of the forest, a family of hedgehogs settled in. The maple didn't mind having them as neighbours at all. It had been terribly bothered by mice and all sorts of bark beetles, and they were all afraid of hedgehogs.
Mama Hedgehog bustled about all day, tidying up the burrow. Papa slept, and at night he went out hunting. Soon the hoglets began poking their curious little noses outside. But it was scary. So much was unfamiliar all around them.
One day Mama hurried off on errands, and the bravest hoglet, Prickles, crawled out of the burrow. He squinted for a long time in the sunshine, and he liked being above ground more and more. So many enticing smells and so much rustling!
He wasn't afraid of enemies, because Mama had taught him to curl into a ball when danger came, and to stick his quills straight up. He found some treats and enjoyed eating them.
He lay down under the maple beside the burrow and dozed to the whisper of the leaves. One maple leaf told him what it had seen from its high branch. Prickles sighed softly, for he could not wander so far from home.
Then Mama came back and, cross, led the hoglet home. She worried greatly about her little ones and tried her best to keep them safe from danger.
Soon the hoglets grew up and scattered to different burrows. Only Prickles never forgot the maple, and he always came running to its shade to listen to the rustling leaves. He alone knew what they were saying.
Emily and the Hedgehog
Emily strolled through the woods one day,
She tripped on a root and lost her way.
Then on a leaf, so small and round,
She spotted a hedgehog on the ground.
'You're prickly, funny, and not unkind,
Let me carry you home, if you don't mind.'
But the hedgehog bristled and gave a huff,
And Emily heard a firm 'Enough!'
'I've made my home right here, you see,
So grab your pencil and sketchpad for me.
Draw my portrait, teach the kids to draw,
Let the moms all admire it, with wonder and awe.'
A Forest Incident
One day a magpie brought news to the trees:
'Spring! Spring! Spring has arrived with the breeze!'
And the forest woke, humming and stirring around.
The beasts and the birds all cried out with a shout:
'Why didn't we greet her? Where's her footprint, no doubt?'
Didn't anyone notice a sign of her about?
Only the spruce stood silent and still,
On a little hill, shielding with a branch at will,
A snowdrop that had just unfurled in the gloom,
Spring's little creation, a white flower in bloom.
