Nessim had a knack for organizing memorable games, Babakar had developed a talent for clowning, Arthur enjoyed the calm of his solitary reveries, Pablo delighted in a good fight and David made the best slug cakes on the terrrrreeee. They were all very proud of their prickly coats, well almost all of them… No matter how hard Arthur trained on the advice of his brothers, his quills didn’t sting…
Nessim, Babakar, Pablo and David surrounded him and shouted:
Get into a ball, tighter your ball… Get out your quills, stronger your quills… You rub it, you prick it! If you rub it, you prick it!
They approached, touched the quills and burst out laughing…
You tickle us, HIHIHIHI! You rub it, you tickle it! You rub it, you tickle it!
Arthur, exhausted, walked away sheepishly. He would have loved to have had the sharp, pointed prickle. He knew he was vulnerable, unprotected. He’d had to give up fights, too dangerous for him. The others often made fun of him, especially in the presence of girls: Arthur the coward, who rubs it, tickles it!
He had learned to avoid groups. Over the years, he developed strategies for avoiding fights, dreaming of becoming the invisible hedgehog.
At first, he confided in his mom and dad. Total incomprehension. Mom had doubled his slug ration for breakfast, and as a result… he’d put on weight! Dad told him: “Stand up for yourself! There’s no such thing as a hedgehog that doesn’t bite.
Maybe Dad was right, he didn’t exist as a hedgehog??? Alone, he was alone.
One day, deep in his dark reverie, he heard shouting not far from him. He approached cautiously – he knew very well how to be cautious. Oh, it’s Pablo! he thought. Pablo loved to fight, he was robust and brave, but here! Pablo was fighting the guard’s dog. The dog was a HUGE monster with saber-sharp teeth.
What to do?
He had noticed that when his brothers rubbed up against him, they were seized with a furious urge to laugh. He sensed something new inside him that compelled him to intervene. He curled into a ball, the tightest possible ball, so tight that he felt every muscle in his body contract. And he launched himself in a roll towards the dog’s hind legs.
The dog, surprised, stuck his muzzle into this ball of hair and howled in a thunderous and overthrowing fit of laughter: It tickles me!!!! It tickles me!!!
Pablo took the opportunity to retreat into a thicket, and what a surprise to see Arthur’s muzzle emerge from the fur ball that had just saved his LIFE!
Pablo told everyone how Arthur had bravely saved his life by tickling the guard’s enormous dog. Mom, Dad, Nessim, Babakar and David gave Arthur a hero’s welcome. Arthur’s eyes shone with delight.
I’m a hedgehog, he thought, I’m a hedgehog.
Moral of this story:
He who rubs it, tickles it, or how to make the most of his difference.
Arthur has used his difference peacefully and courageously to gain recognition from his family and other hedgehogs.