THE LEGEND OF HEDGEHOG AND THE COLDEST WINTER

This is the Legend of How Hedgehog Survived the Coldest Winter. It is a legend that has been passed down by the Native Americans for eons of time. It makes sense when you think about it. We all have our prickly nature from time to time and get our quills up. It is a good lesson on the importance of working together for the good of the whole. The legend goes like this, or this is how it was told to me…

There was a time, many, many moons ago when the Earth grew very cold. It was the longest, coldest winter the Earth had ever known. Many of the animals were dying off because of this sever coldness that had settled upon the earth. The waters froze up solid and there was little or no food to eat. Everything was freezing all around them and there was little warmth to be found. Soon, it seemed, everything would die.

The hedgehogs saw what was happening and realizing the danger of the situation decided that they should all group together and keep each other warm with their own body heat. This worked all right at first but it quickly became a very prickly situation as their quills pricked and wounded each other, quarreling and bitterness ensued and they all fought among themselves for a better position. No one liked being that close to a prickly hedgehog and no one wanted to compromise their own position or move over for the benefit of the other. Arguments and fights broke out among them.

After a short time they decided the only solution to all this fighting was to separate themselves from each other and that would solve their prickly situation; but as the cold deepened around them more and more hedgehogs began to die, frozen to death by the cold for lack of the warmth found in togetherness, unity. It wouldn’t be very long and they all would surely die.

The hedgehogs held a meeting to decide what they should do. It was quite a debate but they finally concluded that if they were going to survive this deadly cold they would have to come together and learn to get along despite their various quirks and prickly ways from time to time that always come about in close situations. They needed the warmth from each other to be able to survive. They needed to care for each other. There will always be differences when they can get a little prickly about one thing or another but they could all compromise a little space for the benefits that come from a close relationship. They did this and this is why we still have hedgehogs today.

Other animals soon saw what the hedgehogs we doing and began doing the same thing despite their differences and many were able to survive the devastating and deadly cold that had come upon them. Instead of fighting and arguing over their differences, those prickly personalities and imperfections, consider the good qualities and build on those things.

People could learn a lot from the hedgehog. The best relationships are not those that only bring perfect people together because we all have our prickly moments even among the best of us. The best relationships are made when we learn to compromise and we each learn to live with the imperfections of others and admire the person’s good qualities instead of looking for those that irk us and get our own quills up. We need to learn to live with prickly people and give each other a little ground, the space to be themselves and yet stay close enough to appreciate and benefit from the goodness we can all find in each other if we try.