HEDGEMAN

There once was a man who lived in a hedge. Nobody knows how he came to live in a hedge but he liked his dwelling very much. He would eat wild berries in Summer which were ripe and big, and he would hunt animals in the Winter. The hedge sheltered him from harsh frost in the Winter and kept him shaded from the hot sun in the Summer months and when it rained, the leaves kept the water from coming in. It was an evergreen hedge too, so there was leaves and shelter all year round.
       One day Hedgeman was taking a nap, when he heard something outside of the hedge and woke. "What's out there?" he said to himself, rubbing his eyes. He went out for a look and couldn't see anything so went back inside to try get some more sleep. Again, he lay down but was disturbed by a noise outside. This time it was louder. Hedgeman was getting very cross with the noise and stumbled back out to see what was going on. "Who is making all that racket?" he shouted. He couldn't see anything but as he turned to go back inside he heard something ontop of the hedge. He peeped up and to his surprise, there was a Magpie's nest above with three little Magpie chicks in it. They seemed very hungry and Hedgeman waited awhile but there didn't seem to be any Magpie parents. He decided he could not let them starve, so he would have to take care of them.
        He had to feed the chicks scraps of meat he had left over and go out looking for worms and bugs and was very kind to them indeed. He climbed hills and dug holes and did whatever he could to get some food to feed them. As they grew, they began to fly down and go inside the hedge and keep him company.  They would follow him on walks and when he went looking for their food. They learned how to hunt on these walks and began to fend for themselves. This could not last forever though and when the time was right, they all flew away to start their own lives. Poor Hedgeman was very lonely after taking care of the baby Magpies for quite some time. He would long for them to come back and make the racket he had grown to love.
        The Magpies had not long gone, when one day a mouse scuttled into Hedgeman's hedge. "what are you doing in here?" he asked the mouse. He got no reply of course. The mouse cuddled into Hedgeman and fell fast asleep. This made him tired and he too lay down for a sleep. When he awoke, the mouse was ontop of him. He crawled up Hedgeman's arm and nibbled at his face which tickled him. He laughed so much the mouse fell off. With the Magpies gone, he was very glad of the company. Everyday, the little mouse would come in to see him and he was no longer lonely.
       Soon Spring turned to Summer which before long turned to Autumn and in no time, many years had passed. This particular year it was late October and the weather began to get very very cold. Frost was settling on the ground at nightime and Hedgeman kept warm with a small fire. Snow was coming which meant less food. Winter was fast approaching as the snow began to fall and heavily too. In fact so heavily, that food was scarce. The mouse now lived with him and he brought him everywhere on his shoulder but even the mouse wouldn't brave the cold outside with Hedgeman, who had never seen such a harsh, cold Winter.
      When he went hunting, he could not find anything to hunt. Everything was sheltering from the heavy snow. He was starving and had to go back to his hedge, hungry! "If i don't eat soon i wont survive this Winter" he thought to himself.  As he was sitting one evening trying to keep warm by the fire, he heard a noise outside as did the mouse, looking up from his cosy spot by the fire. He looked out and found three pieces of meat, which were left right outside the hedge. "Where on earth did this come from?" a shocked Hedgeman said to himself. Right away he brought it in and cooked it on the fire and ate it.
     The next day, Hedgeman went hunting again. He found no animals to hunt that day either, so he had to return to his hedge empty handed with an empty stomach. Later that night, he heard something again outside as he was warming by the fire and went outside for a look. It was three more pieces of meat! He could not understand where it was coming from. "Again? I cannot believe my eyes!" he said to himself.Every night this happened. So one night, Hedgeman wanted to figure out where it was coming from. So he sat outside the hedge and waited in the bitter cold night.
     Suddenly he heard lots of flapping and something touching down onto the snow, walking towards him. "Who's there?" he shouted. Just then out of the shadows stepped three Magpies. The very same three magpies he had taken care of many years ago when they were just chicks. They were coming with meat in their beaks. They looked at Hedgeman with kind faces and dropped the meat infront of him, before flying off again. "Thank you!, thank you so much my friends" shouted Hedgeman after them as they flew away. He could not believe they had returned after so many years with food for him. The next day, the snow began to thaw and Spring was returning. There were alot of animals to hunt for himself now. No Winter was ever so bad after that and Hedgeman never saw those Magpies again.