Hedgehog's Good Deed: A Short Story

Hedgehog's Good Deeds

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Mr. Owl quickly flapped his wings to calm down the chattering animals. Smoothing his feathers, he pointed one wing to the board behind him where it said,“MAKING A DIFFERENCE.”

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“Summer break is just a few weeks away, but I’m not through with this class yet," hooted Mr. Owl. "This weekend, you must do three good deeds.On Monday, I want you to come back, and tell me what you did and how that helped make a difference. Now, class dismissed, and enjoy your weekend.”

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As Hedgehog left the room with the other young animals, his spiny head filled with ideas on how to improve the forest, but he couldn’t think of anything he could do right away.

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For the past week, the teacher had been talking about making

a difference. Hedgehog had listened carefully as Mr. Owl explained how one action was sometimes all it took to improve the world. But, now that he was assigned to make an actual difference, himself, he didn’t know what to do.

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“Hey, Hedgehog,” said Porcupine, interrupting his thoughts, “Want to hang out tomorrow?" Hedgehog nodded his spiky head with a smile, as Porcupine went on his way with a wave. He had to hurry home and rest until the morning. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

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The next day, Porcupine met up with Hedgehog, and they decided to walk around the forest. Hedgehog told Porcupine all about his busy week, while his friend listened and told him his honest thoughts. Just then, they heard a sound from behind one of the oak trees.

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Hedgehog darted to the back of the tree, only to see a small, gray kitten meowing at him. The young feline was nipping at the tree bark, and Hedgehog knew he must be terribly hungry. Before Porcupine could even realize what was going on, Hedgehog rushed to the grocery store to use the last of his allowance to buy a fish.

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He ran back and got the kitten’s attention.

The cat looked at the fish and meowed in happy approval. Hedgehog laid the fish on the ground, and the kitten pounced on it, gnawing on the meat with glee.Porcupine laughed as Hedgehog walked up to him. “Did you just spend your own money to feed a kitten?” he asked.

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Hedgehog nodded, “Just trying to make a difference in the world,” he replied.

“I guess," Porcupine shrugged,"I mean, millions of cats are hungry every day. Just feeding one won’t really make a difference.”

Hedgehog sighed, “Really?” he asked.

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Porcupine bobbed his head. Hedgehog felt upset, but smiled at his friend to hide his embarrassment. They soon came to the forest park, which unfortunately was covered in litter! Wrappers, cans and bottles covered the ground. Hedgehog’s eyes lit up, and before Porcupine could say anything, Hedgehog grabbed all the garbage he could. He even used his spines to pick more up once his hands were full!

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He dashed towards the garbage can and threw in the trash. Soon, the park was all cleaned up. Porcupine walked up to him, scratching his spiny head. “What did you do that for?” he asked.

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“Just making a difference with a bit of cleaning,” Hedgehog replied.

“Yeah, but there're tons of garbage out there. And come tomorrow, someone will just pollute the park all over

again.”
Hedgehog blinked back tears as he and Porcupine shuffled home.Porcupine was right. All his actions would be for nothing.

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When Hedgehog woke up the next morning, he asked his father for advice about his school assignment. His dad rubbed his spiny mustache replying, “When I was your age, we planted trees. Trees clean the air we breathe and can be a home to many animals.” He handed Hedgehog some money. “Why not go and buy a tree from the nursery?”

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Hedgehog did just that.At the nearest nursery, he bought a sapling. He soon found what looked like the perfect place to plant it, so he dug a hole and put the sapling inside. Sealing up the hole, Hedgehog admired how the little sapling stood straightly out of the ground.

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Just then, he heard footsteps as Porcupine walked up behind him. “What’s up?” he asked.
“Just planting a tree. My dad told me that’d be a good deed for class.”
Porcupine chuckled, “But trees take so long to grow, and with so many trees being chopped down, it’s not going to make a difference.”

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As Porcupine left, Hedgehog looked at the sapling and cried in frustration at last. It was true! His deeds were for nothing, again! He returned home and didn’t even bother talking to his parents. He was just too disappointed in himself.

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When Hedgehog returned to school the next day, Mr. Owl flapped his wings for attention and started speaking. “Who wants to go first?”
Hedgehog did not volunteer. He did not even look at the teacher. Instead, he cradled his head in his paws as the other animals told their stories.

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Frog explained how he helped an old toad across the lily pads, while Raccoon explained how he helped pick apples from the trees because Horse couldn’t reach them.

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Soon, Hedgehog was the last one left. He looked the other way and sighed, banging his head on the desk
“Didn't you do anything?” Owl asked.
“I didn’t . . . I mean, I fed a kitten, picked up litter and planted a tree, but what’s the point? They didn’t even make a difference!”

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Owl turned his head, “Oh, really? I would disagree with that. While those actions might not seem to change the world right away, they can inspire others.”
“What do you mean?” Hedgehog asked.

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“If others see what you’re doing, they can spread the word. One person feeding a cat won’t change much, but if everyone starts doing it, more cats will go to bed with full bellies. Some might follow your example and all the litter will be cleaned up. And there will be enough trees to cover the world. You, Hedgehog, did make a difference. You even told everyone what you did to motivate them.”

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The animals clapped, and Hedgehog smiled. After class was dismissed, Porcupine looked at Hedgehog with regret, “I’m sorry for making you feel bad. I was wrong. I spent so much time telling you what you were doing was useless, instead of thinking how to help the world myself. I even forgot to do my own good deeds, and I might get a zero for this assignment.

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Hedgehog patted Porcupine on the spiny back. “Well, why don’t we fix that? Wanna go to the park and clean up some trash?”
Porcupine nodded, “It’d be my pleasure.” The two spiky friends left the school, heading out to change the world.