Once upon a time in the forest, Bear met Hedgehog.
“Hello, prickly head,” said Bear, “shall we be friends?”
“Why not, Bear,” replied Hedgehog, “that’s a great idea! Let’s be friends!”
And so, they became friends.
“Tell me, Bear,” asked Hedgehog, “how exactly are we going to be friends?”
“Well, Hedgehog… don’t ask me such tough questions. I’m not one for thinking. You’ve got the prickly head, you do the thinking!”
“Alright,” agreed Hedgehog, “how about we visit someone?”
“You’re a genius, Hedgehog!” Bear exclaimed, “What a great idea! Whose place shall we visit?”
“Maybe the beaver’s?”
“No, not the beaver!”
“Why not?”
“He’s boring. And his jokes are lame.”
“Okay,” Hedgehog scratched his head, but quickly pulled back his paw, “maybe we visit the boar?”
“Boar, now that’s a different story,” agreed Bear, “his jokes are silly, but funny.”
So, the friends decided to visit the boar.
“Listen, prickly head,” Bear asked after a while as they walked, “you’re my friend, and I don’t want to criticize you, but why do you walk so slowly?”
“Are you kidding?” panted Hedgehog, “don’t you see how fast I’m moving my little paws?”
A story is quickly told, but Hedgehog had to take 75,328 more steps before they reached the boar’s dwelling.
“The boar’s not home,” his wife told them, “ran off about an hour ago.”
“Ran off! Where to?”
“To the forest.”
“That’s unlucky,” sighed Bear, “well, let’s go look for him. He must be somewhere in the forest.”
The friends continued their search in the forest.
“Ouch!” suddenly cried Bear, “I stepped on something on the trail. Be careful, Hedgehog!”
But Hedgehog didn’t respond, and Bear spent the next three weeks pulling splinters from his paw.
Since then, Bear has limped on one paw and has been known as ‘Limping Bear.’ And they say he roars every time he remembers Hedgehog!
