A/N: I'm a horrible human being, I know.
I really am so sorry this isn't what you were expecting; this isn't the fourth part of the 'Senses' series. To be honest, I'm not confident in the first draft of it, and I need more time to perfect it. I want only the best for you guys; you're worth at least a bit of sweat and tears!
Hopefully you all enjoy this little tale I put together! It started as an assignment in school to write a Fable, much along the lines of Aesop's. I wrote mine about a Hedgehog not judging a book by its cover and finding a friend. It hasn't changed much, but I did beef it up for you all!
Tomorrow I will have the 'Senses' installment; pinky promises!
The Quiet Hedgehog and the Insightful Otter
The quiet, lonely hedgehog wobbled along searching for a new home. His old burrow had been flooded over, filled with water like a broken well. Now he roamed the grass, under the hot summer sun. He was thirsty, hungry and tired; little legs hurt like twigs under the pressure of a rainforest canopy.
Suddenly he came upon a brook where a tall, funny looking otter sat. The hedgehog stared at the sleek animal, not the least bit sure of its opinion on lonely hedgehogs. He was so tall, so different from any other the shorter creature had ever seen. It was endearing, but also a tad bit intimidating. Anything tall was potentially dangerous and danger, something the hedgehog had seen enough of in his younger days, was something to be avoided.
But he was hungry, he was thirsty, and he was so very lonely. There was nowhere to go anymore, no home for him. What had he to lose?
Summoning the courage deep inside him, the hedgehog came beside the Otter, glancing up cautiously. The odd-faced animal looked into the water, giving no sign that he even noticed the spiky brown being beside him. No hello was uttered, no social nicety – though the hedgehog assumed Otter's weren't the most friendly of beings, not many appreciated the slick and smart mammals. They were often misunderstood and dismissed as over-watered ferrets.
The patient hedgehog waited as the breeze played on their backs, the scent of the wild moving around them. Suddenly, there was a webbed paw handing over a small branch. On the branch the hedgehog found small raspberries. Elation blossomed within his heart. This was what he had been searching for; this sustenance, this livelihood and perhaps someone to share both with as well.
He had found a new home, tall and odd and kind, in the most unexpected of places.