At the edge of Bramblewood, under the roots of an old oak tree, lived a little hedgehog named Hazel.
It was autumn. The air smelled of apples and woodsmoke, and all around Bramblewood the leaves were turning red, and orange, and gold.
“Winter is coming,” said Hazel. “I need a bed. A soft, warm, crunchy bed, made of the prettiest leaves in the whole wood.”
So off she went, snuffle, snuffle, snuffle, through the grass.
She found a red leaf, bright as a berry. She found an orange leaf, round as the moon. She found a gold leaf that shone like butter in the sun.
Hazel carried them home, one by one, and piled them by the oak tree roots.
But then the wind came. Whoosh!
Up went the red leaf. Up went the orange leaf. Up went the gold leaf, spinning and twirling, far across the field.
Hazel sat down in the empty roots. Her little nose drooped. “I will never have a bed before the cold comes,” she said.
A squirrel peeked down from the branches. A mouse peeked out of the grass. A robin hopped along the fence.
“We saw the wind,” said the squirrel. “We can help.”
The squirrel brought a brown leaf, soft as a mitten. The mouse brought a yellow leaf, small and neat. The robin brought a leaf of every color, one after another, until there was a great big crunchy pile.
Together they tucked the leaves under the oak tree roots, where the wind couldn’t reach. Pat, pat, pat.
Hazel crawled inside. It was the softest, warmest, coziest bed in all of Bramblewood.
“Thank you,” she yawned. “It’s even better than the one I made alone.”
One by one, her friends went home to bed. The squirrel climbed up to her nest in the branches. The mouse tiptoed back to her hole in the grass. The robin tucked her head under her soft red wing.
Hazel curled into a little round ball. Outside, the wind whistled, and the stars came out, and the leaves kept her snug and warm.
And tonight, as you snuggle down in your own cozy bed, you can think of all the people who help keep you warm. Just like Hazel, you are never building your nest alone.
🌙 The End 🌙
Sweet dreams, little one.
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