THE HEDGEHOG 



It is this ball of prickles — ^and very prickly 

 prickles they are too — ^which most people think 

 of when they speak of a hedgehog. Very few 

 know what the creature is like when happy 

 and unfrightened. When rolled up like this a 

 hedgehog is well worth looking at carefully, for 

 we have no other creature in England which 

 defends itself in the same way, though in other 

 countries there are animals with even longer 

 spines, e.g. the North American porcupine, 

 which with its long quills has carried the idea 

 a great deal further than our little English 

 hedgehog. However, as I have said, the latter 

 is quite prickly enough, yet it is worth while 

 picking one up and turning it over. How 

 tightly it is rolled up ! Even by pushing one's 

 fingers into the spot where its head and tail 

 meet one cannot force it to uncurl — indeed 

 it only rolls tighter. The spines, about an 

 inch long, stand out in every direction, and the 

 more the hedgehog is frightened and annoyed 

 the more tightly it contracts and the more 

 the prickles stand on end. The rolling up is 

 done by means of a powerful muscle which lies 

 under the skin, being also used in raising the 

 spines. These it will be found are very hard, 

 but not brittle, so do not break easily, and 



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