Hedgehog Lament

A hedgehog once got stuck in a tree,
Through how he got there quite beats me.
His prickles so long,
And his body so fat.
He just couldn’t budge,
So he sat and he sat.

A woodpecker heard hedgehog shout:
“Will someone kind please help me out!
My prickles are long,
And my body is fat.
I can’t even budge,
What is sadder than that?”

The woodpecker chirped: “Goodness me,
I’ll have to peck into this tree.
His prickles are long,
And he is ever so slow.
He’s not going to budge,
If I don’t have a go!”

He pecked round the hedgehog until
He’d freed every prickly quill.
Before very long,
Hedgehog’s tight groove
Had loosened its grip,
And at last he could move!

The Hedgehog said: “Thank you from me,
Now, woodpecker, come home to tea.
My prickles are long,
And my body is fat.
But I can cook well-
What is better than that?”

∼ Porter G., Hilda Offen, Pradera, Esme Eve, Alan Jesset, Richard Hooke