Amy the Hedgehog Girl

Miserable Mr Peck

Her mum was in the kitchen when Amy rushed in.

‘How was school?’ asked Mrs Harris, expecting the usual answer, ‘OK.’

‘It was great,’ cried Amy. ‘A lady gave us a talk on wildlife and she showed us a hedgehog expert.’

‘A what?’ said Mrs Harris.

‘A hedgehog expert. Someone who knows all about hedgehogs.’

‘That’s good,’ said Mrs Harris. ‘You’ll need to go the library and see if you can find some books.’

‘Oh dear,’ Amy groaned. ‘I’ll have to see Mr Peck.’

Mr Peck was the children’s librarian. He was a mean and miserable sort of person. He also lived next door to Amy.

The library was almost empty when Amy arrived. She looked along the shelves, trying to find a book on hedgehogs.

‘What are you doing?’ snapped a voice behind her.

Amy nearly jumped out of her socks. It was Mr Peck.

‘I was looking for a book about animals.’

‘Animals , indeed,’ sniffed Mr Peck. ‘What sort of animals? Tame animals? Wild animals? Animals from Africa? India? Britain?’

‘Hedgehogs,’ said Amy.

‘Hedgehogs!’ bawled Mr Peck. ‘The very worst animals there are. They dig up vegetables and bite lumps out of them.’

He pulled a book from the shelves.

‘If you must study the horrid things, this is the best I can do.’

‘Thank you, said Amy politely.

‘Make sure you bring it back on time. And don’t you dare bring hedgehogs into your garden. Your garden is next to mine, don’t forget. If I see a hedgehog near my carrots, do you know what I am going to do?’

‘No,’ said Amy.

‘I’m going to squirt it with my spray gun.’

At home, Amy read the book on hedgehogs. She found out that they ate slugs and snails. The book didn’t say anything about vegetables.

The next day she took the book back to the library.

‘What’s this?’ said Mr Peck. ‘This book is not due back for another twenty days.’

‘But I’ve read it,’ said Amy. ‘Have you got any more books about hedgehogs?’

‘Over there,’ snapped Mr Peck, pointing with his nose.

Amy walked slowly along the shelves. Where were the books about animals? She was just about to risk asking Mr Peck, when she saw something. It was an old cassette tape, called ‘Calls of the Wild’. It looked as if nobody had ever played it.

Amy took it down from the shelf. It was part of a set of animal noises. This was tape number 12 and it was called Hedgehogs.

Amy asked Mr Peck if she could borrow the cassette.

‘Of course you can,’ he said rudely. ‘Though anybody who wants to listen to horrid animal noises must be mad.’

He stamped the cassette box.

‘And don’t forget to rewind the tape.’

 

Hedgehog talk

Amy sat in her room listening to the sounds of hedgehogs on her personal stereo, over and over again. Amy repeated the sounds herself.

‘I’m talking hedgehog,’ thought Amy. ‘I wish I knew what I was saying. I really need a hedgehog to help me. I’m sure there’s one in the garden. If I make hedgehog noises, perhaps it will hear me.’

Amy ran down into the garden and made hedgehog noises as loudly as she could.

She stopped and listened, but no hedgehogs answered. Amy tried again. But only a cat came into the garden.

‘I’m going to keep trying,’ said Amy. ‘I’m sure I can do it.’ At last she got cold and she went indoors.

The next night Amy tried again. She tried every night for a week.

‘What are you doing out there? ’asked Mrs Harris.

‘Wait and see,’ said Amy.

Just then the door bell rang. It was Mr Peck. He stood at the door in his dressing gown. Amy noticed that his hair was wet.

‘Mrs Harris,’ said Mr Peck. ‘Every night when I have my bath I can hear a noise. It seems to be coming from your garden.’

Amy giggled behind her hand.

‘Noise?’ said Mrs Harris.

‘Some sort of animal,’ said Mr Peck. ‘I’d put poison down if I were you. That is the only way to deal with animals.’

As soon as Mr Peck had gone, Amy dashed out into the garden. ‘Mr Peck thought I was an animal,’ she said to herself. ‘I’m going to try one more time.’

Amy went down on her knees and began to make her hedgehog sounds again.

Almost at once there was a rustling noise and a hedgehog lumbered onto the lawn. Amy was delighted. The hedgehog and Amy snorted and squeaked at each other.

Suddenly a torch beam shone in their eyes.

‘What’s going on?’ said a voice. It was Mr Peck, still in his dressing gown. The hedgehog rolled into a ball.

‘I’m chatting to a hedgehog,’ said Amy.

‘You cheeky young thing. Talking to hedgehogs indeed.’

‘Excuse me—‘ began Amy.

‘And what’s more,’Mr Peck cut in, ‘hedgehogs are dirty little beasts and they eat up all the vegetables in my garden.’

‘Rubbish!’ said Amy crossly. ‘Hedgehogs are not dirty. And they don’t eat vegetables. They eat slugs and snails. Now, if you don’t mind, I was talking to a hedgehog.’

Mr Peck was too shocked to answer. His mouth dropped open as Amy snorted gently to the hedgehog. Slowly it unrolled.

A sly look crept across Mr Peck’s face.

‘How often have you been doing this, my dear?’ he asked.

‘Never before,’ said Amy. ‘But from now on, I’ll be every night.’

‘Hm,’ said Mr Peck. ‘You’re going to be here every night, you say.’

The amazing hedgehog girl

When Amy came home from school the next day, Mr Peck was in his front drive. He was fixing a large board to the gate. As soon as he saw Amy, he throw his coat over it.

Amy had promised to show her mum the hedgehog. It was getting dark when they stepped into the garden to see her hedgehog friend.

Amy went down on her knees and began to snort. This time two hedgehogs came up to her.

‘What are you talking about?’ whispered Mrs Harris.

‘Slugs.’

There was a sound from next door. Amy shone her torch towards the fence. There were people staring into her garden. They all had their mouths open.

One person stood out. It was Mr Peck.

‘I’ve asked a few friends over,’ he said smoothly. ‘I hope you don’t mind.’

Amy was cross, but she also felt rather proud that so many people had come to see her. ‘You may wath. But please don’t talk or make a noise. And no photos.’

The people nodded.

Amy went down on her knees and snorted once more.

This time three more hedgehogs came up. Amy managed to tell the hedgehogs that they had nothing to fear. The people just wanted to see how clever they were. Amy and the hedgehogs talked and played together.

As soon as the hedgehogs had gone, the people behind the fence began to clap and cheer. Of course they wanted to know what Amy and the hedgehogs had been talking about.

‘They told me about their young. Then they told me why they curl up into a ball. And where to find the tastiest grubs. Oh, and they told me where they are going to sleep for the winter.’

Mrs Harris hugged Amy.

‘You were fantastic,’ she said. ‘Come in and I’ll make you a nice hot drink.’

‘Yes. In you go,’ said Mr Peck cheerily. ‘I’m sure you must be very tired.’

There was something strange about Mr Peck. He had never said anything kind to Amy before. Then she heard an odd noise. It was the sound of coins being dropped into a box.

‘It was worth a pound of anybody’s money,’ she heard someone say.

‘Ssh,’ said Mr Peck.

Then Amy remembered the board that Mr Peck had been fixing to his front gate. Why had Mr Peck tried to hide it? Amy rushed round to the front of the house. There on the board in large letters it said: ‘What a nerve,’ said Amy. Then a smile crept across her face. ‘I know how to fix you, Mr Peck.’

She raced round to Mr Peck’s garden. Some of the people were still enjoying a cup of tea and biscuits.

Before Mr Peck could stop her, she said, ’Ladies and gentlemen. There is something I must tell you. All the money you have given tonight is going to a hedgehog hospital to look after sick hedgehogs.’

Everyone clapped and nodded their heads. Everyone except Mr Peck. His face went bright red and he made a strange spluttering noise.

‘Not only that,’ went on Amy, ‘but Mr Peck has agreed that for every pound that you give tonight, he will give another pound of his own money.’

Everyone clapped again and cheered. Mr Peck went a very pale colour. Somehow he managed a smile.

Before he could say anything, Amy said,’ And I am happy to say that the hospital has asked me to take the money for them.’

She held out her hand. Gloomily, Mr peck passed the box over to Amy.

Then, an even gloomier look spread across his face as he dug into his pocket and pulled out two ten pound notes.

‘A big hand for Mr Peck,’ said Amy.

This is not quite the end of the story. Amy felt rather sorry for Mr Peck.

After she had sent the money to the hedgehog hospital, she asked the hedgehogs to patrol Mr Peck’s garden. She told them to make sure that no more of his vegetables were eaten by slugs.

A few weeks later, Mr Peck won third prize for his marrows, runner beans and carrots at the local show.

That evening he leaned over the fence to show Amy his three prizes.

‘It’s all thanks to those hedgehogs,’ he said. ‘I wish I had known before how useful they are. I’ve bought them a present.’

He handed her one tin of dog food.

‘I’ve just got some new books about hedgehogs in the library. I read that they adore dog food,’ he explained.

A group of hedgehogs were soon busy tucking in. Amy knelt down beside them.

‘What are they saying?’ asked Mr Peck.

‘Well,’ said Amy. ‘Hedgehogs are a bit hard to understand when they have their mouths full. But I think they are saying thanks for the dog food.’

‘I should think so too,’ said Mr Peck. ‘I paid a lot of money for that tin. And could you teach them not to speak with their mouths full? It is so rude.’

‘I’ll try,’ said Amy.

She looked at the hedgehogs and smiled.

It seemed to her that they smiled back.

 

 卑鄙的Peck先生

当艾蜜冲进屋的时候，她的妈妈正在厨房里。

“在学校怎么样啊？”Harris太太问艾蜜，希望艾蜜像往常一样回答说“很好”。

“太棒了”艾蜜大叫。“一位女士讲了关于野生动物的课，并给我们展示了一只刺猬。我要打算成为一个刺猬研究专家”。

“一个什么？”Harris太太问道。

“一个刺猬专家，一个知道刺猬的一切的人”。

“那很好啊”Harris太太说，“你应该去图书馆看看能不能找到相关的书籍”。

“噢，天哪”艾蜜抱怨道：“那我就不得不去见Peck先生了”。

Peck先生是孩子们的图书管理员。他是一个小气而且卑鄙的人。他经常住在艾蜜的隔壁房间。

当艾蜜到达图书馆的时候，图书馆几乎没有人。艾蜜顺着书架看，试着找到一本关于刺猬的书。

“你在干什么呢？”一个严厉的声音从艾蜜身后发出。
艾蜜被吓到了。

“我在找一本关于动物的书籍”

“动物，真的吗？（表示怀疑和讽刺）”，Peck显示嗤之以鼻

“什么种类的动物啊？驯养动物？野生动物？来自哪的动物呢？非洲？印度？英国？”

“是刺猬”，艾米回答说。

“刺猬！”Peck先生大叫，“这最坏的动物，它们掘起蔬菜，并咬下一大块”。

Peck先生从书架里取出一本书，说：“如果你一定要研究这个恐怖的东西的话，这是我能为你做到的最好的了”。

“谢谢！”艾蜜礼貌的答道。

“记住要准时还书。你难道不怕把刺猬引进你的花园吗？别忘了，你的花园将步我的花园的后尘。如果我看到刺猬接近我的胡萝卜的话，你知道我会怎么做吗？”

“不知道”，艾米说。

“我会用我的喷水枪射击！”

回到家里，艾蜜读了关于刺猬的那本书。她发现刺猬会吃鼻涕虫和蜗牛，但书上并没有提到会吃蔬菜的事情。

第二天她把书还到了图书馆。

“这是什么？”Peck先生问，“这本书还有20天才到期呢！”

“但我已经读完了啊！”艾米说，“这儿还有更多的关于刺猬的书吗？”

“在那边呢！”Peck先生厉声回答。

艾蜜慢慢得沿着书架走着。关于动物的书会在哪儿呢？当艾蜜又想冒险问Peck的时候，她看到了什么东西。那是一个很老的盒式磁带，叫做“野性的呼唤”。看着好像从来没有人播放过。

于是艾蜜从书架上取下了磁带。这原来是一系列关于动物噪声的一部分。这是第12个磁带，而且就叫“刺猬”。

艾蜜问Peck先生可不可以借走这个磁带。

“当然可以”，Peck先生粗鲁地说。“尽管那个想听受人讨厌的动物的声音的人绝对是个疯子。”

Peck先生给那个磁带盒子做上了标记，说：“别忘了听完磁带再次把它倒会初始。”

刺猬的谈话

艾蜜坐在自己的房间里，用她自己的立体声耳机一遍又一遍地听着刺猬的声音。艾蜜自己也重复着刺猬声。

“我在和刺猬谈话，”艾蜜想着：“我很想知道他们在说什么”。我真的需要一只刺猬来帮助我。我很确定花园里就有一只。如果我发出刺猬声的话，它们可能会听到的。

于是艾蜜跑进花园，然后尽可能大地发出刺猬声。
他停下来然后去听，但是并没有刺猬回应啊。艾蜜再次尝试。但是只有一只猫来到了花园。

“我会继续尝试的，”艾蜜说，“我确信我可以做到”。最后，因为天气太冷，艾米就回屋里去了。

第二天晚上艾蜜又尝试了一次。就这样她坚持了一个星期。

“你在外面做什么呢？”Harris太太问女儿。

“等待和观察”，艾米说。

就在这时，门铃响了。来的是Peck先生。他穿着睡衣站在门口。艾蜜注意到Peck先生的头发湿了。

“Harris太太，”Peck先生说：“每天晚上当我洗澡的时候，我都会听到一个噪声。它好像来自于你的花园。”

艾蜜捂着嘴咯咯咯地笑了。

“噪声？”Harris疑问道。

“某类动物的”，Peck先生说：“我如果是你的话，就会撒点毒药。这是对付动物的唯一方法了。”

Peck先生一走，艾蜜就冲到了花园里。“Peck先生认为我是一只动物”，艾蜜自言自语：“我要再尝试一次！”

艾蜜跪下膝盖然后又开始发出刺猬声。

几乎一瞬间，出现了一个沙沙作响的声音，然后一只刺猬缓缓地在爬到了草坪上。艾蜜高兴极了，并和刺猬互相哼哼吱吱着。

突然，一束火炬光照到了他们的眼睛。

“都发生什么了？”一个声音说道。原来是Peck先生，仍然穿着他的睡衣。那只刺猬立刻转成了一个球。

“我在和一只刺猬谈话”艾蜜说。

“你这厚脸皮无耻的小东西！在和刺猬说话哈”。

“怎么了---？”艾蜜说。

没等艾蜜说完，Peck先生就插嘴说：“而且，刺猬是很脏的小怪兽，他吃掉了花园里的所有蔬菜！”

“废话！”艾蜜发怒似地说：“刺猬不脏，它们也不吃蔬菜。它们只吃蜗牛和鼻涕虫。现在，如果你不介意的话，我要和刺猬说话了！”

Peck先生听到这个回答震惊了。当艾蜜温和地冲着刺猬哼声的时候，Peck大张着嘴，然后慢慢地展开了(笑了）

一个狡猾的表情从Peck先生的脸上划过。

“亲爱的，你这样做多久了”Peck问道。

“从没有过”，艾米说：“但从现在开始，我每天都会在这里”。

“恩…”Peck说：“你会每天晚上在这里，这是你说的哦。”

了不起的刺猬女孩

当艾蜜第二天上学回家的时候，Peck正在他花园前面的路口。他正在给门道固定一个大板。当他看见艾蜜的时候，他把外套丢在了板上。

艾蜜向Peck保证过要和刺猬“说话”。天黑的时候，艾蜜走进花园区找她的刺猬朋友。

艾蜜再次跪下膝盖开始发出哼哼声。这次有两只刺猬出现了。

“你在说什么呢？”Harris问。

“slugs”。

隔壁门传出了一个声音。艾蜜把火炬光投到了篱笆上。很多人凝视着艾蜜的花园。他们都吃惊地张着嘴巴。

其中一个人站了出来。那是Peck先生。

“我叫来了一些朋友”，他平和地说：“我希望你不要介意”。

艾蜜很反感，但是这么多人来看她，又觉得很自豪。“你们可以看，但是别出声，也不许拍照”。

人们点头答应。

艾蜜再次蹲下膝盖发出哼哼声。

这次又有三只刺猬出现了。艾蜜告诉刺猬们不用害怕，人们只是想看看刺猬们到底有多聪明。艾蜜和刺猬又是说又是游戏。

当刺猬都走了的时候，篱笆后面的人群就鼓掌欢呼了。他们当然想知道刺猬和艾蜜都说了些什么。

“他们讲了他们的小孩，然后又说了他们为什么卷成一个球；又是在哪里找到最好吃的幼虫食物。它们还告诉我它们冬天要过冬的”

 Harris太太拥抱着女儿艾蜜。

“你真的令人不思议”Harris说：“进来，让我给你做一杯好吃的热饮料”。

“是的，进去吧”，Peck高兴地说：“我想你肯定很累了”。

Peck先生这时让人感觉很奇怪，他以前从来没有和艾蜜说过好话。

这时，艾蜜听到了一点零星的声音，那是硬币掉进盒子的声音

“大家每人才花一块钱，太值了。”，艾蜜听到某个人说。

“嘘…”Peck先生说。

这时艾蜜想起了Peck先生一直在修的门前的木板。为什么Peck先生试图隐藏它呢？艾蜜冲到了房前。在那块大板子上写着：“只要受取1法郎就可以看令人惊奇的刺猬女孩（还送饼干盒茶水哦）”

“神经病！”艾蜜说。然后一个笑她的脸色划过，“我知道怎么修理他了，Peck先生”。

她跑到了Peck先生的花园。一些人还在吃着他们的点心和茶水呢！

在Peck先生还没来得及阻止她之前，艾蜜就说:“女士们先生们，有些事我一定要告诉你们。你们今晚付出的所有钱将捐给刺猬医院，用来照顾生病的刺猬”。

大家都鼓掌并点头称道，除了Peck先生。

他的脸色变红了，然后发出了奇怪的声音。

“不止这些呢”，艾蜜接着说:“Peck先生还同意说，你们今晚给的每一个英镑，他都会用他自己的钱再给出一英镑。”

所有人再次鼓掌和欢呼。Peck的脸色变得苍白了。不过他还是勉强地给了一个笑脸。

在Peck能接上话之前，艾蜜又说：“而且我很高兴刺猬医院已经叫我替他们把钱先拿着。”

艾蜜伸出了她的手。Peck先生只好沮丧地把盒子递给了艾蜜。
当他伸进自己的口袋取出两张10英镑的纸钞时，Peck先生的表情更加沮丧了。

“Peck先生真是大方啊！”艾米说。

这还不是这个故事的结尾呢！艾蜜还是觉得很多不起Peck先生。
在艾蜜把钱送到刺猬医院后，她叫刺猬们在Peck先生的花园里巡逻。她告诉刺猬们保证再不会有鼻涕虫吃他的蔬菜。

一个礼拜过后，Peck先生因为他的西葫芦、红花菜豆和胡萝卜在地方展示会上得了三等奖。

那个晚上，Peck倚靠在篱笆上，向艾蜜展示了他的三等奖。

“这都要感谢这些刺猬啊”Peck说：“我多么希望我之前就知道它们这么有用啊！我给它们买了一个礼物。”

Peck给艾蜜递过去了一个狗食罐头。

“我刚在图书馆里得到了一些关于刺猬的新书，我读了以后知道它们喜欢狗食”他解释道。

一群刺猬马上就挤进来了，艾蜜在它们身后蹲下。

“它们在说什么呢？”Peck问。

“恩，当刺猬嘴里装满东西的时候说的话很难理解。但是我想它们是再说食物很好吃”。

“我也是这么想的”Peck说道：“我为那个罐头花了很多钱呢！你能叫它们满嘴食物的时候不要发声吗？那样太粗鲁了。”

“我会尝试的，”艾蜜说。

她看着刺猬们，笑了。

刺猬们好像也冲艾米笑了