Making his way around the small swamp, the hedgehog met a beautiful frog, wished the green beauty – good luck in the hunt and recognition of her singing talent!
– Kuva – kuva – kuuvaaa… – the solo singer sang, touched by praise.
Hedgehog invited her to go with him along the banks of the Yauza! The ringing frog, having got out of the creek, also greeted the brave traveler and wished him a good mushroom hunt. But when the hedgehog proposed to go on a journey with him, she rolled her eyes, croaked affably, but she was in no hurry to go with him, she felt good here, friends, girlfriends, a lot of midges.
And the restless traveler, the little hedgehog ran on.
Here is the familiar meadow by the stream, which is in a hurry fill the Yauza with your water. Lush grass grows here and you can meet familiar inhabitants or completely new ones, and it was very cool for a little traveler curious about everything new. And indeed, the hedgehog saw a sheep from afar, which were a rarity on the banks of the Yauza. But the hedgehog was a traveler and had already met these calm, slow persons earlier, and he joyfully greeted the sheep – good morning, Sheep!
All enveloped in white fluffy wool, the lamb that nibbled the grass on the lawn nodded in response, waved its short tail back and forth and smiled after the hedgehog, as her mouth was full of juicy soft riverine grass. «Apparently, she recently settled in that house with a fence», the hedgehog decided and hurried on.
A huge watchdog in a vast estate near the forest gnawed a huge bone, trying to gnaw it and get to the middle, to the delicious filling of this bone, left his tasty occupation for the sake of greeting and good morning to the hedgehog's wish, looked carefully after the little traveler, answered affably – woof, don't get lost in the woods!
– I'm not mistaken! – the hedgehog answered cheerfully to the dog and ran happily on. The watchdog also wanted to run after the hedgehog along the forest paths, but he had to guard the entire estate with a beautiful house, which the dog loved and protected very much. The dog was also very fond of all the inhabitants of the estate and the beautiful house, him, the watchdog, the estate and his house. So, the watchdog reasoned, considering not only a cozy booth, but everything that was in the estate and the entire estate as his own. But the dog looked for a long time towards the hedgehog who ran away along the path, even for a while forgot about his tasty bone.
And the hedgehog had already disappeared behind the bushes and ran on. The trampled path in this place was smooth and level. And the hedgehog was easy to run, and there was such beauty on the sides! He greeted the hedgehog and the ladybug sitting on a plantain leaf and ready to fly into the blue and cloudless sky today!
– Good morning, baby!
The ladybug was not offended by the «baby», because the hedgehog said it kindly and not offensively. And the «baby» also greeted the hedgehog – wiggled her antennae – wires and flew next to the hedgehog.
A huge fat turkey coming out of the yard into the open gate stopped by the path and to greet the hedgehog, opening his luxurious tail with a fan, also wished him a good day and a joyful journey, but looked sternly after the hedgehog – and where he was running, so small and alone, a mess, decided the strict father of the turkey family. He would never have let his little son wander along the banks of the Yauza alone. But the turkey reasoned that way, because his turkey son did not have such sharp needles as the hedgehog did. And the hedgehog at any time could curl up into a ball and turn into a prickly lump inaccessible to anyone's teeth! Therefore, the hedgehog dad and the hedgehog mom did not interfere with the travels of their «prickly» son. And the hedgehog fearlessly ran further, hurrying to meet something unknown and beckoning him to travel as soon as possible.
And now the hedgehog is again in a deserted place, houses and estates are left behind, and you still have to run to others. The «baby» flew away somewhere, which joined the hedgehog from the plantain leaf, the huge turkey is no longer visible, but the hedgehog runs on.
But the hedgehog's path was blocked by a strict goose and the hedgehog stopped to greet her too. The goose was not alone, but with her son and was heading to the Yauza to teach her son to swim. The strict goose was very worried about the hedgehog – why is he alone, and not with his mother?!
The hedgehog hastily greeted the strict goose and hurried to take her leave, fearing that she would pinch him now for traveling without parents.
«It is evident that the strict goose, like the angry turkey, does not understand that I am not her son with soft fluff, I have needles!» – the hedgehog reasoned mentally, but still he hurried to increase the distance between himself and the strict parent of a fluffy cute gosling.
And the little son of the goose, not knowing about the hedgehog's needles, gazed with admiration after the independent brave man – wow, so small, much less than me and travels himself, I would sooner grow up! And the fluffy gosling looked after the hedgehog for a long time, until he disappeared into the thick grass.
And the hedgehog ran on, hurrying to see as many new unknown places as possible for him until evening and to meet new people he met, to wish them a good day now, because the morning was long over.
It was a clear, sunny day. And the clear warm Sun warmed Yauza and everything around with its rays.
Near the forest, on the lawn, a herd of goats with a stern bearded goat grazed, every now and then menacingly putting forward its sharp horns! But a herd of goats with little kids looked adoringly at the goat's sharp horns and grazed safely under the protection of their formidable protector.
Hedgehog greeted the formidable goat, goats and little kids. The whole herd greeted a greeting and a hedgehog.
And one inquisitive kid rang a bell – where are you going?
Hedgehog Mouse sniffed – in Forest …
Here is the forest!
The hedgehog ran along the forest path, not forgetting to greet all the inhabitants of the forest who met on his way …
In response, the inhabitants of the forest just as joyfully and benevolently greeted the hedgehog …
It was good for the hedgehog in his native forest! And he could travel the whole day through forest glades and gullies, climbing farther and farther from home, echoing with the inhabitants of the forest, depending on the season, eating either forest berries, then apples from forest apple trees, or sweet juicy roots that the hedgehog washed in the tributaries of the Yauza or in hidden forest springs, springs. Or russula mushrooms, which were abundant in the rainy months.
And the hedgehog usually returned home at sunset, tired of running through the woods, but happy, having dinner with his friendly family and during dinner he said that he saw something interesting! The hedgehog was telling and who he met new, colorfully describing all this. The relatives were interested in listening to their little traveler, through whom they learned the world around them. All this was so entertaining that every evening the family greeted their storyteller and connoisseur of their native land with delight. And the hedgehog excitedly sniffed his tiny nose and looked forward to the next day!
Once the hedgehog wandered so far from his home that he had to return at dusk.
It was a warm summer evening. There was already twilight in the copse under the dense crowns of trees.
And in these twilight, climbing the hillocks, rolling into holes, stumbling over dry twigs, the Little Mouse hedgehog hurried home.
In the deepening twilight, the bushes and trees acquired outlandish outlines and sometimes very scary in the imagination of a little hedgehog. And owls and eagle owls flying over the trees seemed to the little hedgehog to be monstrous dragons and their cry was the cry of unknown night monsters in the night forest.
Hedgehog Mouse hurriedly ran through the forest, trying not to look around. He used to be so late that the hedgehog mother was already waiting for her restless son on the