------------------------------------------------
One day several weeks later, Walter packed up his dorm room at the University of Nairobi and left for his second semester abroad. This semester, he would be studying at Oxford in Oxford, England. He was sad to leave Scooter and all of his friends in Africa behind, but felt a little less nervous about making friends this time around.
Just like the first day of school last semester, on the first day of school at Oxford Walter went to the OU Cousins Ice Cream Social to try and meet some new friends. Upon entering the room in the Bodleian, where the party was being held, he saw two female hedgehogs sitting together at a table. Putting on his bravest face, Walter walked over and introduced himself. The ladies were named Elizabeth and Alice, and were quite friendly.
Thinking back to what worked last semester, after some small talk Walter asked the pair, "Tell me, what's it like being a hedgehog living in England?"
Alice, the more talkative of the pair, answered quickly, "I'm sure it's similar to your experience in the States. But we don't have coyotes and mountain lions here. Most of our natural predators don't live anywhere nearby. In England hedgeghogs have been able to coexist happily with our urban and suburban surroundings for centuries."
Elizabeth added, "Of course, there are always certain animals you have to watch out for. Hares around here are notorious for trying to irritate and one-up hedgehogs."
"That's right," said Alice. "In fact, my dad had a run-in with a hare not too long ago."
"Oh, really?" said Walter. "I'd be interested in hearing about that, I've never met any hares in Oklahoma."
"Sure, cool," said Alice. "It happened like this."
------------------------------------------------------
My parents are really proud of their garden. We have tomatoes, peas, strawberries, and usually summer corn. My dad, Will, always goes out to inspect the garden every Saturday morning to see what needs to be done for the next week. It's a bit far away from the house, so he makes a nice jog or run of it.
One Saturday, he was running over to the garden. In his path was our neighbor, the hare. Harry the hare, actually. His parents must have hated him. Anyways, my dad called out "Good morning!" to Harry as he slowed down.
"Why is it such a good morning?" Harry sneered. "And what are you doing running so quickly?"
A bit put off, Dad answered, "Just having a run to my garden."
"Run!" scoffed Harry. "Your legs are so short that you would be better off driving over than running."
Now he'd really irritated my dad. "Oh, really? Is that so? I think that I could outrace you any day."
"That's the stupidest thing I've heard all week," replied Harry. "But I don't have anything to do today, so let's test it out. What shall we bet that I can beat you?"
"If you beat me, I'll give you our strawberry crop and twenty quid. If I win, you have to work in my garden all summer," replied my dad.
"Oh, I'll take that bet! Your strawberries will taste good this summer," replied the confident Harry.
"Fine then, meet me in the neighborhood park in twenty minutes and we'll see," said my dad.
My dad ran back home and flung himself into the kitchen. "Wanda, go put on some of my clothes and come to the park with me," he said.
"William, what on earth is going on?" asked my mum.
"I bet Harry our strawberries and £20 that I could outrace him."
"Have you gone mad? You can't possibly outrace a hare!" scolded my mum. "And if we lose our strawberries the kids will whine about no jam all summer!"
"I've got a plan. Go put on my clothes and let's get down to the park," said my dad.
When my parents got to the park, my dad told mum to wait in a bush near the finish line he would set out for the race. "I'll start racing, and let Harry think he's ahead of me, and then when you see him, hop out and say 'I'm here!'"
Mum rolled her eyes. "Will, this is so childish. I don't support your stupid little bets. The only reason I'm doing this is to keep our strawberries."
"Fine, fine," said my dad. "We'll discuss it later. But if we win, Harry has to work our garden for us this summer."
"Oh, well then, that's a different matter," said Mum. "I'll be watching!"
My dad met Harry at the park entrance. "Okay," said Dad, "we'll start here and run to that big rock over there by the bushes in the distance. Ready?"
"Of course," said Harry. "I'll count us off. On your mark, get ready. . . go!"
The two took off, and Harry quickly outpaced Dad. When Harry was too far ahead to notice, my dad rolled into the bushes near the path. As soon as Mum saw the hare coming, she popped out and cried, "I'm here!"
"WHAT!" said Harry. "That's impossible! How can you be that fast? You're just a dumpy little hedgehog!" To Harry, all hedgehogs looked alike, and since my mum and my dad looked so similar anyways, he couldn't tell the difference.
"Fair is fair," said Mum in her deepest voice. "See you next Saturday. Bring your work gloves!"
-------------------------------------------------
"I can't believe that hare would be so rude to a hedgehog! Even though our legs may be short that's no reason to make fun of us," said Walter.
"Absolutely. Most Brits are quite polite and would never think of insulting someone like that, but the hares in the area are just too cranky," said Alice.
"We've another good hedgehog story we could tell you," said Elizabeth. "It's about the most famous hedgehog in England, a real classic."
"I'd love to hear it!" said Walter.
Will and Harry. Websource.
--------------------------------------------------