The Green Hedgehog

My teacher had a hedgehog.
It was green and looked quite ill.
Its spines were thin and pale
And it sat completely still.
Its eyes were closed so tightly,
I knew it couldn't see.
It seemed to have just lumps and bumps
Where its feet should be.
My teacher took it to the vets,
Afraid it might be dead;
The vets took just one look at it
And this is what they said:
"This sad and sorry article
Has nothing to attract us.
I'm sorry to inform you
That your hedgehog is ... a cactus!"

poem © Celia Warren
first published in Teachers' Pets - Paul Cookson, Macmillan, 1999

This hedgehog is actually clear crystal that PS magic has greenified. It was a prezzie from my husband, years and years ago, when I was collecting hedgehogs. I ended up with so many that I pared them down to a select few, of which this is my favourite and sits on our mantlepiece. (The cactus in the background is my mum's.)