Prickly

The solution to a sticky problem comes out of nowhere...

The Hedgehog felt a little down.
Lonely, he felt quite sad.
Such a friendly and outgoing guy,
But hugs he never had.

Naturally he was warm-hearted,
And loved to talk and chat.
But his quills were sharp, so friends stayed far.
He couldn't blame them for that.

On a walk he saw the Rabbit,
Teary and wet-eyed.
Rabbit explained he stubbed his toe.
"It hurts so much!" he cried.

Hedgehog gave his sympathies,
And thought a hug would help.
But as his spikes stuck Rabbit,
He shouted, "Ouch!" and yelped.

Rabbit frowned and limped away.
Hedgehog then did lament, 
"My aim was to give comfort-
Pain was never my intent."

He could not play with his mates,
Not Touch Football nor Tag,
Red Rover, Leapfrog, or Hand Clap.
And not Capture the Flag.

They didn't want to leave him out.
They did like him so much.
But what else could they do
When his body hurt to touch?

So Hedgehog would walk by himself,
Although he was well liked.
He'd breathe fresh air, pick flowers,
And sing songs while he hiked.

One hike he sat upon a log
On a hill.  But then, Oh No!
The piece of wood came loose
And sent him tumbling down below!

He fell so fast!  So he rolled
In a ball for his protection.
Hedgehog was bouncing all around
In all different directions!

He picked up speed, rolling fast,
Just like a thorny wheel!
Until the hill then flattened out
Into a cotton field.

Though the field was more flat,
He had too much momentum!
He rolled over cotton plants-
He flattened and he bent them.

The cotton stuck on all his quills.
When he stopped, he had discovered
That in soft and fluffy cotton
He was completely covered.

From afar his friends had seen
Him fall from that great height.
They all ran down to make sure
He was unhurt and alright.

He turned and smiled, "I feel great!
Cause falling down this hill
Gave me a coat of cotton
That protects you from my quills!"

The Mouse slowly approached Hedgehog
And reached his paw out gently.
He stroked the cotton, said, "So Soft!"
As others watched intently.

Mouse, unhurt, waved the rest in
To feel the coat of cotton.
This was the closest to Hedgehog
Others had ever gotten!

Hedgehog played in all the games-
He was happy and content.
And who'd have thought it would be due
To this happy accident!

It just goes to show a problem,
Like the one for our Hedgehog,
Can be as easy to resolve
As falling off a log!