Bramble the Brave Little Hedgehog

Bramble was the smallest hedgehog in Willow Lane, and he was quite sure he was not brave. The big hedgehogs crossed the garden at night without a wobble. Bramble stayed under the woodpile and listened to the wind. One blustery autumn evening, he heard a tiny cry. It was Dot the dormouse, stuck high on the garden wall, where a gust had blown her. "Help!" squeaked Dot. "I can't get down!" Bramble looked at the big dark garden. His spines trembled. "I'm too small," he whispered. But Dot was smaller still, and she was cold, and she was frightened. So Bramble took one step out from the woodpile. Then another. The leaves swirled. The wind whooshed. He kept going, past the flowerpots, round the watering can, all the way to the wall. He pushed an old flowerpot against the bricks, then another on top, and climbed up and up until his nose touched Dot's whiskers. "Hold on to me," he said. Together they climbed down, one pot at a time. "You're the bravest hedgehog in Willow Lane," said Dot. "But I was scared the whole time," said Bramble. Dot smiled. "That's what brave means." That night Bramble curled up in his woodpile, feeling big inside even though he was small, and slept the best sleep of all. The end. Goodnight.