The hedgehog conspiracy E-Book

Anne Sagner

• Herausgeber: BoD - Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Deutsch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 22

Beschreibung

Most people think hedgehogs are funny little animals. They always look so cute with their black beady eyes, but they are also crafty and cunning. This story is about a family man who allows his two children to take in two hedgehogs in need and then realises that the small, prickly animals are beginning to turn his life upside down.

Leseprobe

This story is fictitious, any resemblance to live hedgehogs is purely coincidental.

For my mum and my sister

It's a beautiful day in December as I stand on my porch enjoying the winter sun. I hear a cough and spot a hedgehog. Then I do something very, very rash. I call my children. "Look at that! A hedgehog!"

My daughter runs straight to the cupboard, takes out her work gloves and before I know it, she has the hedgehog in her hands and is running towards me. "It's far too light and too small to make it through the winter!" she exclaims, holding a spiky ball out to me. My wife, who has realised that something strange is going on, shouts from a safe distance: "Put that away! Hedgehogs have ticks, fleas and diseases!" The look on my daughter's face says that she wouldn't part with this little creature for anything in the world. As if to emphasise his need for help, the little hedgehog coughs again.

My daughter marches towards the patio door. My wife reacts promptly. "This animal is not coming into our house!" Our son dashes off and returns with a cardboard box in which the animal is placed on an old rag. I consult my smartphone. "How much does a hedgehog have to weigh to survive the winter?" "At least 500 g" I scrutinise the hedgehog. It could make it. It's not actually that small. "Listen, we'll weigh him now and if he weighs more than 500 g, we'll let him go again, OK?" My wife shakes her head with dismay. "But not on the kitchen scales, just so we're clear." We shouldn't have played so much memory with our children. "Grandma's old scales are still in the shed, I'll get them!" my son shouts and dashes off.

A short time later, the hedgehog is sitting on the scales. I look carefully at the display. 480 g! My daughter is triumphant. "That's almost 500 g!" I try my luck, although I realise that I've already lost. My wife has an idea: "There must be a rescue centre near here." I don't need to be told twice. I search the net for "rescue centre" and "hedgehog". The first hit is: " Rescue centres overcrowded!"

Cough! My daughter is now in love with a spiky little hedgehog. "He's sick, he needs to see a vet!" “Okey, if you pay for it out of your pocket money?" I say irritably. It's worth a try. Pocket money is sacred. My daughter nods. "I'll do it, I'll call her Anneliese!" (name changed to protect the innocent)