Do you have people in your life who annoy the hell out of you? Sure you do, none of us are perfect – but if we learned to live with the imperfections of our fellow man, we could all benefit in some way or another.
This fable explains it perfectly.
Baby Hedgehog
The hedgehog is the ideal animal to demonstrate this fable; you will see why as you read on (isn’t he just the cutest little thing)?
It was the coldest winter ever and many animals died because of the cold.
The hedgehogs, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves, but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions. After a while, they decided to distance themselves from each other but they soon began to die – alone and frozen.
So they had to make a choice – either accept the quills of their companions, or disappear from the earth.
Wisely, they decided to go back to being together.
They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions in order to receive the warmth at came from the others. This way they were able to survive.
Moral of the story :
The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person’s good qualities.
The real moral to this story could be to learn to live with the pricks in your life – just sayin’.
Aww, that gives me a nice warm glow- lovely story Barb.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I have had a few pricks in my life.. but now i think I am immune… lol.. wonderful story Barb..
Haha – I know what you mean – I’ve had a few too!
Are these your hedgehog photos? Absolutely adorable.
No, we don’t have hedgehogs in Oz. The pics were in an email from a friend in the UK.
could eat him, so sweet!
Sweet enough you think?
That is so funny. I think this should be a required posting in each office break room. Businesses may just work a little more productively with this lessons!
Brilliant idea Tara!
OMG!!! How adorable is that?! I want a baby hedgehog!! He’s soooo cute!!!
They are very cute, even when they grow up into adults!
The last line is the best!
Love this!
The last line is my fav too – and oh, so true!!
Barb, absolutely loved the baby hedgehog!I have never seen one face to face and now I can’t wait to…
Sadly, we don’t have them here in Oz, and they are not likely to be imported here. When I lived in the UK I had one as a pet when I was a child – very cute, but full of fleas which seems to be quite common for them.
BRILLIANT!
Thanks Paul! x
LOVE the story, barb! What a dear, sweet baby too… We are all suckers for baby animals, aren’t we… Thank you SO much!
Can’t resist a baby animal myself!
Awwwwwwwwwww….I want one!
Love your last sentence.
There are so many of them around!
Very true granny!
a European hedgehog has smaller ears and a darker face:
http://www.rosenheim24.de/bilder/2009/09/14/467146/449924148-igelbaby-hand.9.jpg
He is quite small too.
I’ve sent the link to your hedgehog portraits to my son in law – in his childhood he supported little hedgehog babies …
No worries, enjoy!
Love, love, love that story and the pictures are precious… Do tell, how did you get that baby and the photos?
The photos were in an email I got from a friend Elizabeth. Too good not to share.
Love the fable. We can all learn from it. There is beauty in our imperfections and one of them is that it makes us reach out to one another, to share, to feel humbled.
That’s the most important thing – that we learn from it. Thanks for stopping by!
Great illustration of a truth here Barb – a lesson we should all note. Even in the best of relationships there will be differences, but they CAN be overcome.
I’ve already told you how lovely and refreshing this page is, but I’m telling you again. I think it is the best I’ve seen here.
PS I’ve just noticed Robyn’s avatar on your Facebook thingo. Please say Hi to her from me.
Thanks Angela – I love that little fable demonstrated very aptly by a hedgehog!
And thanks again for liking my new page so much – it means a lot to hear it from you.
Haven’t heard from Robyn in ages.
Like everyone else, I think the baby hedgehog is drop-dead adorable. The fable is cute too. Did you write it?
I love your new look. It feels complete now, with “Passionate About Pets AND PEOPLE” The cartooning is perfect. Did you draw them?
Anyhow, it looks great and hopefully worth all the work you put into it.
No, I didn’t write it, saw it somewhere and loved it.
Sandra, I really appreciate your comments about the new look, thanks and yes, the result was worth all the time I put into it.
I didn’t draw the cartoons, and wish I could draw like that (both my sons are good cartoonists – I should persuade them to do some originals for me lol)!
Great post! He is soooo cute! Like the new look blog too
Thanks Vix; and glad you like the new look!
How cute is he?! I love the moral of the story… especially the real moral of the story! Love the new look of your site.
Thanks – I really appreciate your comment!
Oh my gosh, he’s just THE CUTEST little thing EVER!!!! I love the story, it’s a good one to reinforce during especially difficult times. I should keep it posted at my desk.
Love your new blog look! Very clean and contemporary.
Glad you enjoyed the story RD, it’s a good one to remember.
The new look to my blog took me ages to do, but definitely worth it – thanks for saying.
Cute little critter! Wonderful fable!
He’s very cute isn’t he?
Glad you enjoyed the fable!
Well done, Barb. In every way.
And the hedgehog is adorable —
I have a thing about hedgehogs anyway. They’re very big in Germany.
And now in France — have you read Muriel Barbery’s The Elegance of the Hedgehog?
About a two-legged sort of hedgehog person –
I loved it. It took time to get into, but was wonderful.
Thank you so much, glad you like the new look!
That book sounds quite interesting, I’ll have to look out for it, thanks for the info.
What an adorable little critter that baby hedgehog is. Loved this post. I also love your header…nice! Hugs
He’s very cute isn’t he?
Glad you enjoyed the fable, and thanks for letting me know you like my new page look.
i absolutely LOVE this post. Wow.
And that hedgehog is SO SO adorable.
Glad to hear you loved the post about the hedgehog – he is very cute! Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you here again.
Does that baby hedgehog live with you? He’s darling.
I agree that we must strive to look for the “good” in people . . . while overlooking their less than stellar qualities.
But . . . if someone is sucking the life out of you, I advocate pressing the “eject” button.
Unfortunately the hedgehog doesn’t live with me – we don’t even have them in Australia.
Oh yes, if someone is sucking the life out of you I would also press the “eject” button – there is only so much one can take.
Barb, love the new site! Woot! And love the little hedgehog. What a cutie!
Thanks Bren – the new look is fresh and clean and that’s what I wanted to achieve – took me ages to do it though!
Yes.this new look is great..it really suits you! It somehow ‘looks’ like you….
AND I think that your hedgehog baby is adorable. We have a grown up one that comes into our garden,
But mostly is is the moral of your little tale which stands out. Together we win-Divided we fall
but:….
Just how many ‘little pricks can you take in your life?
Glad you like the new look, thanks Patrecia for your kind words!
The hedgehog isn’t mine – in fact, we have no hedgehogs in Australia but I remember them when we lived in the UK – cute little things full of fleas!
The moral of this story is good – but then there are only so many little pricks one can put up with in life!
oh my God, so sweet!
once I saw an adult walking through our garden:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frizztext/3731069061/
I’ve set a link there to your sweet hedgehog baby!
He is quite a big hedgehog!
heh heh. yep, gotta accept some pricking from friends at times but it’s worth it.
love this new look.
True Joss, and mostly it’s worth it!
Glad you like the new look, thanks.
Wonderful!!! Loved it! So true … learn to live with the pricks in our lives ..that’s for sure
That was the cutest li’l hedgehog I’ve ever seen..
This new theme looks really good!
Unless they are sucking the life out of you – and then I would have to get rid of them! There is only so much one can take.
Glad you like the new look – it’s fresh and clean and that’s what I was aiming for; took me ages to get it right though. I did it all with Publisher.
Nice story with a good moral.
That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
Loving your new look!
I like the moral, and the hedgehog was perfect for the story.
Glad you like the new look!