Henley, the Frozen Hedgehog

A little hedgehog finds big hearts and many friends.

 

 Henley, the Frozen Hedgehog

 

One day Squeakie Squirrel came to see Henley Hedgehog.  "Hey, Henley, come out to play," he called from outside his friend's cage.

 

"I-I c-can't," Henley said through chattering teeth. "It's way too c-c-cold and I-I-I'm fr-r-reezing!"

 

 

Squeakie lifted the small hollow log that housed the little hedgehog. He found Henley curled into a tight ball with all his quills spiking out. Getting a small twig from the fireplace, Squeakie tried to pry Henley open, but the little hedgehog wouldn't budge.

 

 

"What can I do to help?" asked Squeakie.

 

"You c-could get some more new-newspaper for my log," Henley replied.

 

 Squeakie gathered all the bits of newspaper he could find in Henley's cage and pushed them into the log from both ends. He was sure Henley must be warm when he finished. But the poor little hedgehog's teeth still chattered as he thanked his friend.

 

"Gee, I don't know why you're so cold," Squeakie replied. "I played outside all day and I’m not cold."

 

"Y-y-you have a f-f-fur coat," said Henley. I h-h-have only my quills. They are to keep me s-s-safe, not warm. In the part of Africa where I was b-b-born it's hot most of the time. I r-r-really didn't need fur like yours. When I moved to Maryland, my quills weren't enough to k-k-keep me warm. Lady t-t-tries to keep me warm with the newspapers and my log. I-i-it isn’t enough."

 

"I'm sorry you can't come out and play. Maybe another night will be warmer. I'll see you later. Bye," said Squeaky and he scampered off to play with his brothers, Snappy and Slugger, and sister, Skitzie.

 

The squirrels often helped Henley out of his cage, and out of the house. They would play in the woods all night long. But not tonight.

 

Poor Henley, no matter how tightly he rolled into a ball, he couldn't get any warmer. He looked forward to when Lady and Mister came home. They would make him feel warm again.

 

Mister ate supper, and Lady put on big protective gloves to take Henley out of his cage. Every night she crooned, "Oh no, our poor little hedgehog is cold again. What can we do to get him warm?" She held Henley close to her chest. He liked Lady. He began to unroll.

 

Little bit by little, he moved toward Lady's neck. It was always very warm there. Lady's neck kept his tummy warm and made his feet feel better. The rest of Henley stayed cold.

 

Then Mister would say in his "I know what's best" voice, "Give Henley to me. I'll put him on my stomach to keep him warm. Lady, heat a blanket by the fireplace. We'll cover Henley with the blanket and he'll get warm."

 

How Henley wanted to curl up next to Mister's soft tummy! It was so cozy there. Henley stretched his body out to get as warm as he could. Lady covered him with the blanket and Henley trembled with delight.

 

This night when Mister came home, everything went just as Henley thought it would. Mister and Lady ate supper. Mister stretched out in his big comfortable chair, and soon Henley lay toasty warm on Mister's tummy. He was a very happy hedgehog.

 

Lady worried about Henley. She asked Mister, "What can we do to keep him warm all the time. Henley can't stay cold all day. He's going to get sick."

 

 Peeking out from under his blanket, Henley saw Lady's kind face creased into a frown. He heard Mister reply, "Let's get a table and put his cage on it. It will be warmer there than on the floor."

 

"I could line his tray with extra newspaper. Surely that will keep him warmer," said Lady.

 

Mister nodded. "Yes, and let's put this little blanket in his cage too."

 

Lady found a table and covered the floor with lots of newspaper into Henley's cage. She used some newspaper for Henley’s bed. When Henley got warm on Mister's stomach, she took his blanket and reheated it by the fireplace. Wrapping Henley in his blanket, she placed the little hedgehog back under his hollowed log.

 

Henley was in hedgehog heaven. He felt so snug and warm and very happy. No matter how long he lay in his new bed, it never turned cold. Even his little twitching shiny black nose felt warm.

 

Henley left his nest to get food and water. He climbed up the steps of his cage. Before he was halfway up to the next floor, he shivered with cold. The colder he grew, the slower he walked.

 

Cold is a terrible thing for a hedgehog. By the time he ate his supper, drank his water and got back to his nest, he was almost frozen. His new bedding lost its heat while he ate. It seemed like forever before it started to warm up again.

 

 "What am I to do?" wondered Henley. "I have to eat and drink, but I can not stand the cold."

 

The next night Squeakie came to visit Henley after the people had gone to bed. Henley poked his head out of the log, but refused to come all the way out to see his friend. Henley told the squirrel his problem, and Squeakie thought a lot. He couldn't find an answer for Henley.

 

In the morning Squeakie called all his friends together. Hoot E. Owl came, Mrs. Fox, Little Fox, and Captain Kit, the house cat, came. Mrs. Squirrel brought a nut cake to share. Squeakie told everyone Henley couldn’t stay warm. The animals had never been really cold. After all, everyone except Hoot E. Owl had fur. And even Hoot E. Owl had a thick growth of feathers. They thought and thought and before the meeting ended, they made a plan.

 

Henley didn't see his friends for three nights. He thought he had upset them all. What if they never come to visit me again? He thought. I really like Squeakie...but he has not come to play.

 

Henley sighed. "Perhaps I will hibernate." That meant he would go to sleep and not wake up until the weather got warmer. "I can see my friends in the spring." But no matter how hard he tried, he was too cold to go to sleep.

 

Squeakie and the other animals came to see him four days later. They waited until Mister and Lady went to bed. Squeakie made his way down the chimney and opened the big glass door to let the other animals in. All of them gathered around Henley's cage.

 

"Hey, Henley, wake up!" called Squeakie.

 

Henley uncurled and stuck his head out of his log. His friends were back. He was so happy to see them that he almost left his warm nest. Almost, but not quite.

 

"Hi, Squeakie. Hi, folks. Boy, am I glad to see all of you. I thought you might be angry with me," said Henley.

 

"Oh no. We've been working on a way to keep you warm when you leave your nest. And we think we solved the problem," replied Squeakie.

 

The animals presented Henley with the most wonderful gift he had ever seen. Mrs. Fox handed him a warm hedgehog coat made from fur collected from everyone's homes. What a beautiful coat it was!

 

There was red fur from Mrs. Fox's den, beautiful gray fur from Squeakie Squirrel’s nest. Captain Kit had brought some of his handsome dark, dark gray fur with a swatch or two from his white chest fur. Hoot E. Owl added some of his precious feathers to decorate the neck of the coat.

 

Henley couldn't wait to try it on. It was so warm. Even when he was out of his nest he was warm. Except for his bare little feet, which were just as cold as ever.

 

"Here, dear. We thought you might need these too," said Mrs. Squirrel. In her paws she held two pairs of lovely fur shoes. One set was for Henley's front feet and the other set was for his back feet. Eagerly he tried them on.

 

"Oh, thank you. Thank you!" squealed Henley. Now I can go out and play! Now I can be warm when I eat! Now I can do everything! Thank you all very, very much! You are true friends."

 

To everyone's amazement, Henley danced on his hind legs. Dancing isn’t something a hedgehog does. But dance he did. He followed his friends outside and played until dawn.

 

When Henley came home, he was just as warm as when he left. Henley the hedgehog wasn't frozen any more.

 

Author's Note

Please let me know if this flows well and is not too preachy to children. Thank you.

Reviews

[WriterMe]

Oh I think it was wonderful. Personally, I am a huge fan of stories for children. Being 18, I am not ashamed to say I still read Franklin, Winnie the Pooh and Peter Rabbit stories. They have this homey warmth to it, which I cant really explain, but it does feel great.
Great work =]