Chapter One
Linda peered from
the window of her cottage. She hoped the
milkman would come soon. He had promised
to bring her a present. She could not
wait to find out what it was.
“Oh, these horrid
roaches!” her mother exclaimed.
Linda looked up
to see her mother sweep another roach out the door.
“I can hardly
stand them,” her mother continued. “I
hate the sight of the beetles, and I like crunching them underfoot even less.”
Linda nodded
sympathetically. Then she lifted the
yellow-flowered curtains to the side and peeked out of the window again.
“He’s here!”
Linda shouted. She watched the young
milkman slowly make his way up the path, pushing his cart.
The milkman’s
name was Howard. He was a very nice
young man, and he always walked with a limp.
He was usually very quiet, but all the children liked him.
Linda stood
behind her mother as she greeted Howard at the door. He handed them two jars of milk. Then he knelt down and reached in his baggy
coat pockets.
Linda held her
breath. She could not imagine what
Howard had brought her.
Slowly, Howard
pulled his hand out of his pocket and showed Linda what he had brought.
It was something small and alive. It peered up at Linda with two bright beady
eyes. It was so cute! Linda loved it already.
“It’s a hedgehog,
Miss Linda,” Howard said. “It will help
your mother with the roaches.”
“It will?” Linda
asked, breathless. She wanted to hold
the little creature.
“It will,”
Howard confirmed. “A hedgehog loves to
eat roaches. It’s a special treat for
them.”
Howard gently
handed the little hedgehog to Linda. “Be
careful,” he warned. “He’s soft now, but
they can be mighty prickly if they are frightened.”
Linda cupped the
baby hedgehog in her hands and looked into its bright beady eyes. “Don’t worry,” she promised the
creature. “I will take care of you.”
Linda thought it
was the best present ever.
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