Little Hedgehog

Spring was already smiling with sun rays, but winter was in no hurry to leave and everything was white around. A hedgehog very quickly ran along the snowy slope, moving his paws. The snow was dense and even covered with a thin crust of ice in places. From afar it looked like he was rolling. The hedgehog suddenly stopped and curled up into a ball.

We stopped too, looked around, and at each other. The evening came in, there was snow all around and the thawed patches were very far away and who knew which of them was the hedgehog’s house? My daughter carefully took the hedgehog, hiding her palms in the sleeves of her jacket, but hedgehog’s quills still pricked her. “Mom, why does he need quills?”, she asked.

Our house was nearby, and we decided to share our warmth. We settled him in a quiet corner of our home and put milk nearby. At night, the hedgehog travelled all over the house, loudly puffing and stamping his paws. And then he found the best place by the fireplace in the living room and then slept there during the day, snoring funnily.

The hedgehog didn’t live in our house for long, but the memories of that time still live on. That’s how this fairy tale appeared, which I’m happy to share with you.
And what about this hedgehog? He came to the porch of our house every evening. We shared milk with him and if we heard a rustle in the garden, we knew who it was.

Welcome to a fairy tale world!
Olga and the Fairy Tale Team😊

LITTLE HEDGEHOG

Little Hedgehog could not understand why he had quills. . . .
He felt the quills every day, looking at their sharp ends, and kept asking himself one question: “Why do they grow on me?” But he could not find the answer.

He didn’t want to ask his parents: they were always busy with daily affairs and didn’t have time just to sit with him. But both Mom and Dad loved, took care of him, and, gently calling “Little Hedgehog”, were proud of him.

Only parents can be proud like this, rejoicing in the way their child grows, and seeing in them the fulfillment of their dreams. Little Hedgehog never lost the feeling of reliable support, gentle, and at the same time big and strong. Little Hedgehog himself could not give it a name: he just had it. He just knew there was a warm, round, slightly fluffy Mommy’s belly in his World, which he could always bury his wet nose, snuffle a little, and then everything complicated became simple, clear, calm, and not so painful.

Today, when Little Hedgehog again accidentally scratched himself with his own quills, he finally decided to find out why he had them. “Clever Raccoon arranged his house near the Big Christmas tree yesterday!” Little Hedgehog remembered and, hastily moving his short, small paws, headed over there.

Clever Raccoon was very old and so, being tired, he often basked in the Sun, turning his gray snout with long shaggy hair to the warm sunrays. No wonder the raccoon was called “Clever Raccoon”, because, despite his old age, no one of the forest’s inhabitants could give the best advice for any of life’s situations, except him.

“Good morning!” Little Hedgehog said stomping on the ground and was embarrassed to see that Clever Raccoon was not asleep, but his shining eyes were looking at him with a smile.
“Good, good!” Clever Raccoon answered and, without delaying the conversation, immediately asked, “Why have you come?”

Little Hedgehog was confused. “Um . . . as for my quills, I . . .” Clever Raccoon, raising his snout, chuckled, saying, “Heh! Do you want more?”
“No, no, I’m not talking about that,” Little Hedgehog hurried to explain. “Dear Clever Raccoon, tell me, please, why do I have them?”

Clever Raccoon did not expect such a question. . . . He was silent for a long time, looking thoughtfully at Little Hedgehog, then at the trees, then at the grass, and then said, “Well, when my grandma was still alive, I heard from her that a long time ago, you hedgehogs did not have any quills.”
“O-oo . . . really?!” Little Hedgehog was surprised and carefully touched his paw to their sharp ends.
“Y-e-pp! None!” confirmed Clever Raccoon.
“And why do I have them now?” asked Little Hedgehog touching his quills again.
“Because now there are fangs and claws.”
“Who needs them?”
“Those who have them.”
“And you?”
“H-mm. It turns out, that is so.”
“And you can’t do without them?”
“I don’t know . . . maybe someone has tried.”
“And you?”
Clever Raccoon was silent for a long time and then huskily said,
“E- e . . . I somehow haven’t thought about it.”
“Why? You’re the smartest in our forest. If not you, then who?”

Simple, and at the same time profound, as is our World, Little Hedgehog’s questions made old Clever Raccoon consider himself from the height of his years.
He couldn’t find a response for this little prickly lump, quietly sniffing his wet nose, who still didn’t know why he had quills on his back.

Little Hedgehog, waiting no longer for an answer from Clever Raccoon, quietly padded his way home. He knew there was a warm, round, slightly fluffy Mommy’s belly. Maybe today, he would bury his wet nose there and snuffle a little again. Then everything complicated will become simple, clear, calm, and not so painful.
“Or . . . maybe,” Little Hedgehog thought, slowly moving his paws along the forest’s path, “I will find the answer to this question myself . . . ?”

From the book “Happy Home Fairy Tales for children and adults”
https://olgaverasen.com/library/