The Innisfree no. 11: Hammy The Porcupine Saves The Day, A Fairy Tale

Illustration by Erin Rickelton, 2007

On the outskirts of The Innisfree, beyond the Pawpaw Patch in the Wide Wood, in a small hole in a beech tree, there lived a porcupine named Hammy. Hammy was lonely because there weren’t any other porcupines around. So, one day after he ate his breakfast, he decided to meet his neighbors to see if they wanted to be friends.

First, he went down to the Bubbly Pond to see if any of the animals who lived in the water wanted to be his friends. There he met Fergie the Frog sitting on a lily pad.

“Hello Fergie,” said Hammy. “What are you doing?”

“I’m eating flies,” replied Fergie the Frog.

“Would you like to be friends?” Asked Hammy. “I could sit on the lily pad and eat flies with you.”

“I don’t think so,” said Fergie the Frog. “Your prickly spines would poke holes in my lily pad and then I would have no where to sit and eat flies.”

Hammy felt bad that he couldn’t be friends with Fergie the Frog but decided to try the Golden Field to see if he could find a friend there. When he reached the Golden Field he met Bounder the Deer running in the grass.

“Hello Bounder,” said Hammy. “What are you doing?”

“Jumping and prancing about,” replied Bounder the Deer.

“Would you like to be friends?” Asked Hammy. “I could run and play with you in the Golden Field.”

“I don’t think so,” said Bounder the Deer. “You have very short legs and you can’t run as fast as me.”

Hammy was sad that he couldn’t be friends with Bounder the Deer but he decided to try the Running Stream to see if he could find a friend there. When he reached the Running Stream he met Moppy the Muskrat bathing in the water.

“Hello Moppy,” said Hammy. “What are you doing?”

“I’m swimming in the river and catching fish,” replied Moppy the Muskrat.

“Would you like to be friends?” Asked Hammy. “I could swim with you in the river and we could eat fish together.”

“I don’t think so,” said Moppy the Muskrat. “You can’t swim and your splashing about would scare all the fish away.”

Hammy was so sad that he hadn’t found any friends that he decided to go home and go to bed. On the way home Fergie the Frog, Bounder the Deer, and Moppy the Muskrat came running toward him.

“Run Hammy! There is a bear coming. All the animals are afraid,” cried Bounder the Deer.

“Yeah. He has big, scary teeth and he is hungry,” added Moppy the Muskrat.

They ran away as quickly as they could and left Hammy all alone. He was scared so he ran away too. He tried to keep up, but his legs were too short so he couldn’t run as fast as the other animals. Soon he heard the bear behind him.

“RAWR!!! I’m a bear and I’m hungry!” Yelled the bear.

Hammy could hear the bear right behind him so he did the only thing he could think to do—he curled into a little ball with his prickly spines out. The bear stopped and looked at the little ball in front of him.

“Mmm, I’ve caught you. Now I can eat you up,” said the bear.

He reached down to pick Hammy up but when he did one of Hammy’s spines got stuck in his paw. The bear let out a huge yell and ran away. Hammy lifted up his head and saw that the bear had left. He looked around and saw that the other animals were gathering around him. 

“You were very brave to stand up to the bear,” said Bounder the Deer.

“Thank you for saving us,” said Moppy the Muskrat.

“I guess your prickly spines are useful after all,” said Fergie the Frog.

Hammy was happy that the other animals liked him so he invited them over to his house for supper and the four of them became good friends. They found that they had lots in common even if they weren’t the same. They went on lots of adventures together through the forest, and they never forgot the time that Hammy the Porcupine saved the day.