Under a maple tree at the edge of the forest, a family of hedgehogs settled. The maple didn't mind this neighborhood at all. It was badly troubled by mice and all sorts of bark beetles. And they were all afraid of the hedgehogs.
Mother Hedgehog bustled about all day, tidying up the burrow. Father slept, and at night he went out hunting. Soon the little hedgehogs began poking their curious noses outside too. But it was very scary, with so many unfamiliar things all around.
One day Mother hurried off on errands, and the bravest hedgehog, little Pip, crawled out of the burrow. He squinted for a long time in the sunlight, and he liked being above ground more and more. So many tempting smells and so much rustling!
He wasn't afraid of enemies, because Mom had taught him to curl into a ball when danger came, and to raise his prickles upright. He found some treats and happily ate them.
He lay down under the maple beside the burrow and began to doze to the whisper of the leaves. One maple leaf told him about everything it had seen from its height. And Pip sighed quietly, because he could not wander so far from home.
Then Mother came back and, cross, led the hedgehog home. She worried terribly about her little ones and tried to keep them safe from danger.
Soon the hedgehogs grew up and scattered into different burrows. Only Pip never forgot the maple, and he always came running into its shade to listen to the rustling leaves. He alone knew what they were saying.
Emma and the Hedgehog
Through the forest Emma strolled,
Tripped, and tumbled, down she rolled.
Then on a leaf, right there, she spied
A hedgehog curled up at her side.
'Oh, what a prickly thing you are,
Funny, but not mean.
Come on, let me carry you
Back home, if you please.'
But the hedgehog bristled cross
And snorted his reply.
And Emma heard a firm,
Resounding: 'No!' go by.
'I've settled here, you see,
And this is my own home.
So grab a pencil, if you please,
And a sketchbook, not a phone.'
Draw a portrait, then,
Teach the children too.
They'll give them to their moms
To admire, through and through.
A Forest Incident
One day a magpie brought news to the forest:
'Spring! Spring! Spring has come!'
And the forest woke, hummed, and rustled.
All the beasts and birds shouted at once:
'Why didn't we welcome spring?
Didn't we notice even a single trace of her?'
Only the spruce stayed quietly silent.
She stood on a little hill, guarding with her branch
A snowdrop that had just burst open.
Spring's creation: a little white flower.
