rode right in and made his home deep in its
acres of tangled dark trees. During the day, he
would hunt for nuts and berries with his band
of animals. At night his rooster would fly him
up into the branches of an enormous oak tree,
and Hans would play the animals to sleep
with his bagpipe.
Life went on for years like this, until a
king came along.
This king ruled over a small kingdom—
which he knew was somewhere to the north,
but at the moment he was quite lost. Night
was coming on, and he was afraid, for
everyone knows the Great Forest is terribly
dangerous at night, when all the beasts come
out. He and his men wandered in circles, with
the dark getting darker and their eyes getting
wider with fear, until they heard the sound of... bagpipes? In the Great Forest?
They followed the sound and found,
much to their astonishment, a half man–half
hedgehog perched in the branches of an oak
tree, playing his bagpipe to the band of barn-
yard creatures that milled below.
“Er—hedge-beast?” the king called up. “I
don’t suppose you know the way out of this
dreadful forest?”
Hans laid his pipes aside and stared down
at the king. “I know every inch and acre of
this lovely forest,” he answered, “and you are
lost. I’ll show you the way out, if you promise
me one thing.”