He threw his hands in the air and mumbled an apology. It seemed that Henry’s wish had gone horribly wrong. All he wanted to do was to save the hedgehogs from extinction, but now the world was over-run with them.
“My dear fellow,” Thrumps addressed him. “Pray tell what year is held just now.”
“!906.” The boy said, clearly puzzled by the question.
Thrumps gestured to the floor space, which was now awash with spines and snuffly snouts.
“And …” he began hopefully.
Henry shook his head and reiterated just how sorry he was. Thrumps had no idea what he was sorry for but he did know he needed to find out as more and more hedgepigs streamed through the door.
“Now then,” Thrumps said gently. “Why don’t you take a seat and tell me what all this is about.”
Henry carefully picked his way through the mass of little bodies and flopped into the chair that had appeared in front of the desk.
“It’s all Potters fault really,” he began,
“Potter?” Thrumps asked.
“Yeah, her that wrote about the hedgehogs.”
Thrumps thought about it for a moment. “Beatrix Potter?” He asked.
“Yeap, that’s ‘er.” Henry said enthusiastically.
“It’s her new book see.” Thrumps didn’t, but he nodded knowingly as if he did.
The lad took a deep breath and plunged into his story.
“I was nosing in the store window at the new display only last week. Hundreds of her new books were there, a brand-new type of story coming on sale in October.”
“What year?” Thrumps interrupted.
“This year was that.” Henry retorted. Thrumps raised his eyebrows.
“Last year.” Henry said sarcastically, wondering if he was indeed in the right place.
Thrumps wracked his brains.
“About hedgehogs?” He asked cautiously. Henry nodded.
“The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle,” he said proudly. “I learnt the whole name, just so I could show-off and make me self-seem brighter than I look.” He laughed.
Thrumps was beginning to see the issue, although just why or how Henry was to come by so many of them was still a mystery, and more importantly he had no idea what he thought The Emporium could do about it.
“The story goes like this mate,” Henry began. “Some girl goes and loses some stuff, goes in a little door on a hillside and finds a washerwoman that had her stuff all packed up nice and clean.” He took a noisy breath. “Well, after they’d delivered other stuff to the birds and the animals and the kid climbs over the style for home, the washerwoman turns into a hedgehog.”
“It’s a lovely story.” Thrumps offers, unsure what else he could say.
Henry shakes his head sadly. “It is right enough but that storyteller that goes around reading it to the likes of them that can’t afford to buy it, well he says right at the end to look out for them as they are sure to be witches in disguise and that the English parliament back in 1566 had decreed that it would pay a 3p bounty for them, dead or alive.”
He began to cry.
“So,” Thrumps said carefully. “As the law has never been revoked, people have once again been rounding-up the hedgehogs?” Henry nodded.
“And now there aren’t many left. Stupid little creatures don’t even realise that they should run away. They just amble along and get scooped up.” He shuddered.
Thrumps nodded, this time totally understanding the problem.
“And you wished for them to be saved?”
“Worse,” Henry confessed. “I found one and wished for there to be so many that it was as if the creatures had got their own back. How was I to know that it was an actual real witch and …”
He stopped and looked around in dismay.
“And just what has this to do with The Emporium?” Thrumps asked.
Henry shrugged.
“They all just kind of came this way as if they knew you were going to be here.”
The floor was now covered, three or four deep. Thrumps absently tapped his pen on the desktop. Instantly The Book of Un-Reality flew open and a blank page fluttered expectantly.
Thrumps smiled. He knew he only had one chance at this and he had to get it right.
I, Professor Edward Urvaine Thrumpus he wrote, summon the witch responsible for this … he crossed the word disaster out … for this misadventure to revoke the spell and allow Mother Nature to set this right forth-hence.
It was as if each hedgehog exploded in a puff of colour until only one remained.
“Show yourself.” Thrumps commanded.
With a shudder the hedgehog transformed into a wizened old lady with the twinkle of mischievous youth in her eyes.
“Greetings,” she said sweetly.
Thumps stared at her.
“Okay, I’m sorry,” she said giggling. “I would have changed things sooner but it was hilarious watching those mortal creatures so baffled by what was happening that, well I admit it, I let the game run a bit too long.”
“And are things fixed now?” Thrumps asked.
She nodded and as the boy, once again cuddling his pet hedgehog walked out The Emporium door closed firmly behind them.