The Boy and the Garden Hedgehog

On a sunny Saturday morning, Leo puts on his green rubber boots and carries his canvas satchel of garden tools outside to check the flowers his mum planted near the fence. There he spots a small hedgehog pattering along the old wooden boards, looking for a way through, but the gap beneath the fence is much too small. The little visitor bumps and squeezes, then sits back puzzled, and Leo feels a tug in his heart as he watches.

Leo fetches his mum to watch too, and she explains that hedgehogs roam at night to find food and friends, and that fences and walls can block their paths. Leo thinks hard and comes up with his own idea: a secret door just for hedgehogs. With his dad's measuring tape and saw and his mum clearing prickly twigs, the family plans and cuts a neat gap under the fence, which Leo lines with smooth stones, soft moss and dry leaves. Written by Jane MEADOW, this gentle tale can be read on Kids Tale Book.