Once upon a time, on a lovely bright morning in the green meadow, Hattie, the young hedgehog, poked her nose out of her cozy burrow and listened to the twittering and chirping all around. She longed to run and play with her friends, the rabbits and the squirrels, but she was so frightened because she knew they would chase her and bite her.
Now, some people think it is very lonely to be different from other creatures, and it is indeed very sad for creatures that have no other friends; but just think how empty the world would be if there were no different kinds of animals!
“I can’t understand it,” said Tommy, the kind old tortoise, who was once found a long way from home.
“I nests like a rabbit, yet my burrow is only a pile of stones. However, the house makes me a good one, for Mother Hare knows it is always dry.”
Born in a dry, rough burrow, close by an old hill, knew all these things very well.
“Would you like to come to a race with us?” said the rabbits to his family.
“Would you like to have a run with us?” asked the little red squirrel.
“I can’t run fast enough,” said Hattie, nearly crying.
“No, I can’t, really.”
“But a hedgehog’s legs are not made for running races,” said Betty Badger.
“Try and see how far you can go in such a short time,” said Mother Hare.
But Hattie dared not. She stood at the top of the hill and watched the short legs of her friends go in a circle, getting bigger and bigger every moment.
“I feel as if my house was falling off,” said the violets, as they danced to see the fun.
At last Hattie’s courage came back. Perhaps her friends had lost theirs, for they had grown too tired to go on chasing. Hattie trotted down the hill to ask if they were angry with her, but all her friends went up to meet her.
“How far have you run?” they all asked, one after another.
Hattie looked very proud and asked, “How far did you think I had gone?”
“Well, we began to count and went on counting towards a hundred, but the legs got so tired then we stopped,” said Peter Rabbit.
“Oh! I am so glad! Did you go on spinning and spinning till it tried once more in the morning?” asked little Dumpling.
“I should think so,” answered Hattie, who was now very, very tired.
“You are so brave to have come down and spoken to us when we were too frightened to speak to you,” said Tilly.
“Or ever to try the race,” said Tommy Tortoise.
“You are all sweet friends. Will you come to see me tomorrow morning at seven o’clock?” said Hattie, and this time Hattie the hedgehog went to sleep without any fears at all.
The next morning, when Hattie woke, she saw something very bright waving in the wind at the door. It was all one way, as well as being bright. Surely, she thought, there must be good news of her relatives at the top of the hill.
She put down her spines and trotted forward. The sunlight danced on the dew and made it look as if fairies were throwing diamonds from one to the other. When she trotted on a piece of the rainbow-waved one way, and when the sun shined on so brightly.
Before Hattie woke that morning some pigeons had stored some peas. So when she came up they were only just flying about with the wind. The eddies were on in a piece of velvet, but now Hattie’s friend, the tortoise, had to cross it.
At first little Hattie thought he needed no help, but at last, tired with the heat of the sun, when he stopped but did not get very low down.
“I cannot walk over,” said the tortoise sadly.
“Roll!” said Hattie.
He rolled to the edge and said as he rolled.
“How very soft and smooth it is! I could not have gone over without your happy advice. I feel as if the whole of this would try to crush me flat. You do not think so?”
Hattie thought that nobody wants to make friends should answer with opposite what is said to one’s self. “I should think not, it is so kind of you to think of it,” so said she.
“You are so brave,” said the tortoise.
“Good-bye, good-bye! Now, mind you come punctually, yes punctually at seven o’clock.”