Hans The Hedgehog
On a warm spring day my son and I took a long hike into the woods to a
far away place… It was warm and sunny when we started out on our journey
happily singing and marching along the wooded paths.
We ventured deeper and deeper into the lush green forest.
We came upon a swiftly flowing creek and decided to help each other
across it. Once across, we stepped
into a magical land of enchantment! Where
normal animals don't exist and fairy tale animals can be seen playing along the
forest floor.
This was called the forest of children's hidden dreams and imagination.
Just then a mystical garden appeared out of thin air. Exotic creatures made their way around busy with the day's
events as if not to notice our intrusion.
There were a variety of flowering plants each one perfect in color and
glittering in the golden sun. We
stood mesmerized by two whimsical animals enjoying a picnic in the middle of
this garden. On one side of the
table was "Hans The Hedgehog." With
his red wool cap, baggy jeans, brown hiking boots and green wool jacket as he
sat upright on the old wooden bench.
Across from him was "Mr. Fitzgerald" a well-dressed brown
jackrabbit with long ears, a green vest, red sports coat and a kerchief in his
pocket sitting on a rattan chair. They
shared crumpets and tea under the shade of the chestnut tree.
Mr. Fitzgerald had a proper English accent when he spoke softly to Hans.
Hans had a rather rough voice from working hard in the forest.
The two of them laughed and shared stories over a cup of English tea.
Swooping down below the clouds we could see a large black raven.
He flies with a soft wind as he lets his gentle presence be known. He has black soft feathers as dark as coal and he loves
jewels and bright colored objects. His
name is "Brody The Black Raven."
We lured him a little closer to us with some bright shiny treasures we
found near the creek. He was a
talkative bird and startled by our presence at first, but certainly more
interested in the shiny jewels we proudly displayed to him.
Hans and Mr. Fitzgerald were still sitting in the garden enjoying each
other's company. Fitzgerald poured another cup of tea and told a magical story
we couldn't help but overhear. It
went something like this…
"Once upon a time in the dense green forest two humans
went hiking. They crossed over the
swiftly flowing creek to our magical land of enchantment. When they tried to find their way back, they quickly realized
they were lost. They laid a trail
of chestnuts down behind them to find their way back home.
But they had no idea that those chestnuts were Brody, the Ravens favorite
snack. Brody had eaten them just as
quickly as they had laid them down."
Well, at this point of the story we turned around and sure enough all the
chestnuts we laid down behind us were completely gone!
Then we heard Mr. Fitzgerald continue the story…
"Well now," Fitzgerald said; "Those two lost humans in our
forest needed help." "They
had picked up something that belonged to us from the creek."
Fitzgerald continued… "Until they return the magical jewels back
to the creek, they may never find their way home." Fitzgerald smiled and looked our way. After hearing this we found our way back to the creek, laid
the jewels back down right where we found them.
We quickly crossed over the creek together and looked back to see Hans,
Mr. Fitzgerald and Brody all smiling and waving good-bye.
We returned what wasn't ours and were guaranteed safe passage home.
My son and I never forgot that magical journey.
The creek is still there for others to enjoy.
Hans and Mr. Fitzgerald can still be heard telling the same stories in
the lush flower garden under the old chestnut tree.
We looked in our pockets and there were three chestnuts reminding us of
the three magical animals in the enchanted forest!
Copyright
1997 by Author Patti Tricoli
