Amy the Hedgehogs GirlMiserable Mr PeckHer 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. Thats good,said Mrs Harris. Youll need to go the library and see if you can find some books. Oh dear,Amy groaned. Ill have to see Mr Peck. Mr Peck was the childrens 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 dont you dare bring hedgehogs into your garden. Your garden is next to mine, dont forget. If I see a hedgehogs near my carrots, do you know what I am going to do? No,said Amy. Im 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 didnt say anything about vegetables. The next day she took the book back to the library. Whats this? said Mr Peck. This book is not due back for another twenty days. But Ive 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 rist 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 dont 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. Im talking hedgehog, thought Amy. I wish I knew what I was saying. I really need a hedgehog to help me. Im sure theres 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. Bnt only a cat came into the garden. Im going to keep trying,said Amy. Im sure Ican 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. Id 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. Im 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. Whats going on? said a voice. It was Mr Peck, still in his dressing gown. The hedgehog rolled into a ball. Im chatting to a hedgehog, said Amy. You cheeky young thing. Talking to hedgehogs indeed. Excuse me began Amy. And whats 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 dont eat vegetables. They eat slugs and snails. Now,if you dont 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 Pecks face.