The Super Pickle III: The Pickles and the Careless Hedgehog
That day, as the pickle was walking down the road, he remembered the time when the spider hit him, and he became very angry. He wanted to practice the Iron Head technique of the Shaolin monks. So, imitating the Shaolin monks, he started bumping his head against a tree by the side of the road. However, he used too much force and fainted after one collision. A hedgehog happened to pass by, found him unconscious, and decided to carry him to the hospital.
While the pickle was still unconscious, he suddenly felt a sharp pain all over his body and woke up. Upon opening his eyes, he saw that he was on the back of the hedgehog. He insisted on getting down and walking himself. Unexpectedly, the hedgehog refused adamantly.
The hedgehog said that since his head was already injured, falling again could be dangerous, so he had to carry him back home. The pickle couldn't refuse the hedgehog's kindness, so he endured the pain and let the hedgehog carry him back to his house.
As soon as the hedgehog left, the pickle couldn't help but cry out in pain due to the pain all over his body. His mother, Mama Pancake, came over and was shocked to see that her son was covered with thorns. She exclaimed, "Pickle, why are you full of spines?" The pickle replied, "These aren't mine, they're from the hedgehog. Please help me remove them." Mama Pancake took a pair of tweezers and began pulling out the spines. However, the spines were deeply embedded, causing the pickle to yell "Ouch!" every time she pulled one out. Each time, he would jump around, making it impossible for Mama Pancake to hold him down. As a result, the process was extremely slow. By midnight, they still hadn't finished. Mama Pancake, exhausted, complained while pulling the spines, "Look at this careless hedgehog. I don't know if he's helping us or harming us."
"Mom, how can you say that? The hedgehog had good intentions. We should thank him tomorrow," Pickle said.
The next day, Pickle and Mama Pancake brought gifts to thank the hedgehog. When they entered the hedgehog's home, they found the hedgehog lying in bed, looking even more like a hedgehog. Why? Because the hedgehog's spines were broken or crooked, and he looked rather disheveled. Seeing this, Pickle felt extremely sorry because he knew that the hedgehog's spines were broken while carrying him.
The hedgehog's mother brought over stools for Pickle and Mama Pancake to sit on. However, just as Pickle bent down, he jumped up in pain because his stomach was swollen, and sitting hurt. Seeing Pickle in such a state, the hedgehog's mother began scolding her son, saying, "You clumsy hedgehog! Knowing your appearance, you still didn't take care, always doing good deeds but causing harm. You've hurt 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 spines to carry him," the hedgehog explained.
"By the way, Pickle, why did you faint on the road?" asked the hedgehog's mother. "He wanted to practice the Iron Head technique but had no method, so he ended up knocking himself out," the hedgehog replied.
"My child, I thought you fell accidentally. Our family is too poor; otherwise, I would definitely send you to learn martial arts," Mama Pancake said, wiping away her tears.
"I've made up my mind. I'll buy a book and practice slowly after school," Pickle said.
"As long as you're happy, anything goes, my child," Mama Pancake said.