You should have seen her!
She was …
prickly
(but not peevish),
spiky
(yet not exactly sharp),
and thorny
(without a trace of temper).
I’m quite sure she had four tiny paws and a little black nose,
but she was curled up into a bristled ball such that I couldn’t tell one end from the other.
She was positively erinaceous!
Can you guess what she was?
Lovingly dubbed Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle by the lovely, late Beatrix Potter,
the creature I’ve described was none other than a …
hedgehog.
Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and her iron, from The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle by Beatrix Potter, via Wikipedia
In case, like me, you’d never heard the term “erinaceous,”
you can now add it to your vocabulary.
er·i·na·ceous [er-uh-ney-shuhs]:
an adjective used to describe someone or something showing characteristics of the hedgehog kind or family.
Who knows when it might come in handy? (Ever had someone get a bit prickly erinaceous on you, for no apparent reason?)
Miss Tiggy Winkle was a favorite of my children growing up. But, somehow thinking of her as being erinaceous takes away her charm of bustling around in that adorable work hat. Do hedgehogs get cold heads?
I love Mrs. Tiggy Winkle! My first Potter book. If you get a chance to go to the farm in the Lake District where she wrote and painted, you will be totally enthralled. She was such a champion of preserving the countryside and an excellent sheep farmer. I love her story.
How lovely! I had forgotten Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, not having read Beatrix Potter books for a long time (my little great-grand daughter is not qute up to reading-to age by G-gramma at only 1 month old, although her parents do read to her already).
And, of course, I’ll share the photo – lovely lovely creaturs Hedgehogs!
Where is this farm in “The Lake District”? I would love to see it but don’t have any idea where “THIS” is.
You put your question under the post “Quickly, she acted prickly.” No mention of “The Lake District” anywhere in it, so not sure what you’re asking?
Miss Potter the movie was delightful indeed. I read several books about her and her art so I knew I would enjoy it. Her home in the Lake District of England looks quite cozy.
Thanks for the picture of the mother hedgehog and her babies. My yard does not have hedgehogs, but my friend in Oxford England has some and she shares their activities with me by e-mail.
No, I have never heard the term “erinaceous, but I will will e-mail it to my friend this afternoon. Thanks for this “new” word! Mary Beth