Last year a hedgehog decided to take up residence in our garden, and I have been putting out food for it regularly. Also I built a little shelter for it, although I don’t think that it actually lives in there. We have only met directly on two occasions, and seen it a couple of times on a “trail cam” borrowed from a friend. I know it is still around, however, because the dish of food is cleaned out regularly.
I was amused this evening when I went down the garden to feed it. The food dish had been pushed completely outside the shelter. I was reminded of the often-quoted line from Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. “Please sir, I want some more!”
That made my day, burdened as I have been by the need to write a difficult letter, and the fag of clearing out some old files. Neither of these is my idea of enjoyment, but the hedgehog has given me cause to smile.