18 THE MAGIC OAK TREE

was thoroughly awakened from his afternoon
nap, and not at all pleased by this unexpected
disturbance of his rest. ‘What blundering
old porpoise is this?’ he exclaimed in a
voice hoarse from emotion. ‘Cannot you
keep clear of other people, old numskull ?’
and he growled fearfully. Now, the nurse,
never having heard a hedgehog speak or
growl, was much frightened, and puzzled
what to do.

Fortunately, however, little Hurly-Burly
had been born on Easter Sunday, and there-
fore could see and hear more than people
who had entered the world on any other
day. So he was not the least surprised and
alarmed, and, moreover, understood perfectly
well what the animal said. He remembered,
too, the words of the crow which had
directed him as to the source from which he
was to expect help in the task of restoring
his brothers and sisters to their former
shape. So the first thought that came into
his head was that there could be no doubt
of this being the hedgehog whose assistance
he was to seek. It was therefore somewhat
unfortunate that their acquaintance should
have begun by the circumstance of the