The Hedgehog's Shiny Stone

Hedda the hedgehog found the stone on a Tuesday morning, right at the edge of the stream where the water caught the light.

It was perfectly round. It was smooth and cool when she held it in her paw, and when she turned it in the sun it changed from silver to soft pink to a warm golden colour, all on its own.

"Oh," said Hedda quietly. She tucked it into the small front pocket of her apron and carried it home very carefully.

At home she put it on the windowsill and looked at it. It threw little dancing shapes across the wall. She looked at it all morning.

After lunch, Hedda went to visit her neighbour, Morris the mole. Morris was sitting outside his door with a cup of tea, blinking in the friendly, slow way he always did — he couldn't see very well, even on bright sunny days.

"Good afternoon," said Hedda.

"Hello," said Morris, smiling his wide smile. "Is it nice out? I can never quite tell."

Hedda looked at her friend's kind, blinking face. Then she reached into her pocket.

"Hold out your paw," she said.

She placed the stone in Morris's palm. He turned it over slowly, feeling its smoothness and its roundness and its cool, satisfying weight.

"What is it?" he asked.

"A stone from the stream," said Hedda. "It's very beautiful. It goes pink and gold in the sun. You can't see that, so I'm just telling you."

Morris closed his paw around the stone gently. "Then I'll know that whenever I hold it," he said. "That's even better than seeing it."

Hedda walked home along the sunny path. Her pocket was empty and light, and she felt warm all the way through.

Some things are most beautiful when you give them away.