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This little creature, eight to ten inches long, is something like a pig and is covered on the upper parts with yellowish colored, sharp spines and so we shall call him Sir Stickleback.
Sir Stickleback remains hidden in the hedges and bushes all day, but at night he comes out to root around for food. He is really rather slow most of the time, but the sight of a nice looking worm makes him move his short little legs faster. His beady, black eyes sparkle and his moist, black snout quivers in anticipation of that tasty worm. A stubby tail seems to stick straight out as he wiggles and squirms for food. Not always does Sir Stickleback feed on worms; he likes birds’ eggs and insects such as beetles, cockroaches and crickets. Because of his taste for such insects, he is sometimes kept in the house to rid it of these pests.
What do you suppose Sir Stickleback would do if he should meet you? In the first place he would stop and listen, put his head down and make those little spines stand straight up on his back. If you passed on without bothering him, he would straighten up and go on hunting worms; but if you should annoy him, he would roll up into a tight little ball of spines. Those spines are hard but not brittle and so will not break. You could roll him all around and still he would be unhurt. Sir Stickleback is slow, he can neither fight nor run away, but he can roll himself into a coat of armor that almost every animal respects.
Once in a while a fox terrier dog will brave those spines and succeed in killing a hedgehog, but not often. Even if the dog does come out the winner, he is a sorry looking creature, showing the marks of that battle. While the fox terrier is giving the final blows of victory, the hedgehog is sending out some pathetic and screeching cries of pain that sound almost human. Ordinarily the hedgehog gives only a squeak that becomes louder with excitement or fear.
Occasionally a hedgehog will attack a snake. He seizes the snake’s tail in his mouth, hangs on and rolls up into a ball of spines. The snake darts at the hedgehog to loosen his tail but each strike is a painful one against those spines. Finally the snake kills itself just by hitting the hedgehog.
If Sir Stickleback should be at the top of a hill or ledge and wanted to get to the bottom, he would roll up into his ball of spines and then roll over and down. Of course, in a very short time he would reach the bottom where he would calmly uncurl himself and shuffle off again.
Sometimes, something gets in amongst his spines and tickles Sir Stickleback. This ticklish spot is rather hard to reach so Sir Stickleback just spits at it.
Two families of five to seven young are raised each year, one in the spring and one in the fall. A nest of dry leaves in some hedge is their home for a time. These little hedgehogs are blind at first and covered with soft, pale spines. In the fall each hedgehog rolls himself up in some dry leaves and goes to sleep in a burrow until spring.
An interesting old legend is connected with the hedgehog. Some people believe it and some say it is only another legend handed down through the centuries. According to this old belief, the hedgehog likes certain fruits to eat, such as apples, pears and grapes; the young hedgehogs seem to be especially fond of them. When the dusk of evening begins to darken, the old hedgehog slowly shuffles out to the orchard. He pushes and gathers the scattered fruits into one pile and then deliberately throws himself on his back in that pile and rolls around. The fruits stick on the sharp spines so when he once more rights himself his back is covered with fruits fastened to the spines. Then he easily carries a load of fruits home to the hungry youngsters in the nest. This occurrence has actually been seen by a few people and so probably really does happen occasionally.
Formerly, gypsies, living in England, ate hedgehogs. They were fond of them roasted with potatoes.
Thus Sir Stickleback, whose ancestors were known to the ancients centuries ago, wanders around at dust unmolested. Protected only by his coat of spines he goes about his own harmless business. Miriam Wood
Sir Stickleback remains hidden in the hedges and bushes all day, but at night he comes out to root around for food. He is really rather slow most of the time, but the sight of a nice looking worm makes him move his short little legs faster. His beady, black eyes sparkle and his moist, black snout quivers in anticipation of that tasty worm. A stubby tail seems to stick straight out as he wiggles and squirms for food. Not always does Sir Stickleback feed on worms; he likes birds’ eggs and insects such as beetles, cockroaches and crickets. Because of his taste for such insects, he is sometimes kept in the house to rid it of these pests.
What do you suppose Sir Stickleback would do if he should meet you? In the first place he would stop and listen, put his head down and make those little spines stand straight up on his back. If you passed on without bothering him, he would straighten up and go on hunting worms; but if you should annoy him, he would roll up into a tight little ball of spines. Those spines are hard but not brittle and so will not break. You could roll him all around and still he would be unhurt. Sir Stickleback is slow, he can neither fight nor run away, but he can roll himself into a coat of armor that almost every animal respects.
Once in a while a fox terrier dog will brave those spines and succeed in killing a hedgehog, but not often. Even if the dog does come out the winner, he is a sorry looking creature, showing the marks of that battle. While the fox terrier is giving the final blows of victory, the hedgehog is sending out some pathetic and screeching cries of pain that sound almost human. Ordinarily the hedgehog gives only a squeak that becomes louder with excitement or fear.
Occasionally a hedgehog will attack a snake. He seizes the snake’s tail in his mouth, hangs on and rolls up into a ball of spines. The snake darts at the hedgehog to loosen his tail but each strike is a painful one against those spines. Finally the snake kills itself just by hitting the hedgehog.
If Sir Stickleback should be at the top of a hill or ledge and wanted to get to the bottom, he would roll up into his ball of spines and then roll over and down. Of course, in a very short time he would reach the bottom where he would calmly uncurl himself and shuffle off again.
Sometimes, something gets in amongst his spines and tickles Sir Stickleback. This ticklish spot is rather hard to reach so Sir Stickleback just spits at it.
Two families of five to seven young are raised each year, one in the spring and one in the fall. A nest of dry leaves in some hedge is their home for a time. These little hedgehogs are blind at first and covered with soft, pale spines. In the fall each hedgehog rolls himself up in some dry leaves and goes to sleep in a burrow until spring.
An interesting old legend is connected with the hedgehog. Some people believe it and some say it is only another legend handed down through the centuries. According to this old belief, the hedgehog likes certain fruits to eat, such as apples, pears and grapes; the young hedgehogs seem to be especially fond of them. When the dusk of evening begins to darken, the old hedgehog slowly shuffles out to the orchard. He pushes and gathers the scattered fruits into one pile and then deliberately throws himself on his back in that pile and rolls around. The fruits stick on the sharp spines so when he once more rights himself his back is covered with fruits fastened to the spines. Then he easily carries a load of fruits home to the hungry youngsters in the nest. This occurrence has actually been seen by a few people and so probably really does happen occasionally.
Formerly, gypsies, living in England, ate hedgehogs. They were fond of them roasted with potatoes.
Thus Sir Stickleback, whose ancestors were known to the ancients centuries ago, wanders around at dust unmolested. Protected only by his coat of spines he goes about his own harmless business. Miriam Wood
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