The Super Pickle: The Third Story of Pickle and the Careless Hedgehog
Column: Fairy Tale Added Time: February 8, 2011, 1:45:07 PM Source: Admin Clicks: 1727
That day, as Pickle was walking on the road, he thought about the time a spider had attacked him and became very angry. He especially wanted to practice the Shaolin monks' Iron Head technique, so he imitated their movements and charged toward a tree by the side of the road. However, he used too much force and immediately fainted after hitting the tree. A hedgehog happened to be passing by, found him unconscious, and decided to carry him to the hospital.
Pickle woke up in the middle of his fainting spell, suddenly feeling an intense pain all over his body. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was on the back of the hedgehog and insisted on getting down to walk himself. Unexpectedly, the hedgehog refused adamantly, saying that Pickle's head was already injured, and if he fell again, it would be disastrous. Therefore, the hedgehog insisted on carrying him back home. Unable to refuse the hedgehog’s kindness, Pickle endured the pain and let the hedgehog carry him back to his house.
As soon as the hedgehog left, Pickle couldn't help but cry out in pain due to the pain all over his body. His mother, Mama Pancake, came over and examined him carefully. She exclaimed in surprise: "Pickle, why are you covered with spines?" "These aren't mine; they belong to the hedgehog. Please help me remove them," Pickle pleaded. Mama Pancake took a pair of tweezers and began pulling out the spines. However, since the spines were deeply embedded, every time she pulled one out, Pickle would scream in pain and jump around uncontrollably. Mama Pancake could hardly hold him down, and the process was extremely slow. By midnight, they still hadn't finished, and Mama Pancake, exhausted, complained: "Look at this hedgehog, how careless can he be? I'm not sure whether he helped us or hurt us."
"Mom, how can you say such things? The hedgehog was just being kind-hearted. We must thank him tomorrow," Pickle said.
The next day, Pickle and Mama Pancake brought gifts to thank the hedgehog. When they entered the hedgehog's house, they found him lying in bed looking even more like a hedgehog. Why did they say that? Because the hedgehog's quills were broken and crooked, giving him a droopy appearance. Seeing this, Pickle felt extremely saddened. He knew that the hedgehog's quills had been broken off on his own body, leading to this sorry state.
The hedgehog's mother brought over a stool for Pickle and Mama Pancake to sit on. However, as soon as Pickle bent over, he jumped up because his stomach was swollen, and bending over to sit on the stool caused him pain. Seeing Pickle in such a condition, the hedgehog's mother started scolding her son: "You careless hedgehog, knowing your own appearance, you still weren’t careful enough, always doing good deeds but causing harm instead, hurting yourself and others."
"Why did I have to carry young Pickle? It’s because we both look ugly and are looked down upon by others. That's why I didn't hesitate to break my own quills to carry him."
"By the way, Pickle, how did you faint on the road?" asked the hedgehog's mother. "He wanted to practice the Iron Head technique but ended up knocking himself out," replied the hedgehog.
"My dear child, I thought you accidentally fell. Our family is too poor; otherwise, no matter what, I would have sent you to learn martial arts," Mama Pancake said, wiping away her tears.
"I've already made up my mind. I'll buy a book and practice slowly after school."
"As long as you're happy, anything is fine, my child," said Mama Pancake.