One day, Alfred Rabbit and Elizabeth Hedgehog were walking across Sunny Meadow. It was a quiet day, and soft - just perfect for walking and talking, and nibbling a little bit on the way.
Suddenly, Elizabeth remembered that she and Alfred were walking in Mirabel Fox's territory. Elizabeth got very frightened because she knew that the Fox was not a very friendly person, and usually did not wish to be disturbed.
Just then, Mirabel Fox stepped out from under a bush where she had been having a nice little mid-morning nap.
"Well, hello Leaf-eaters," Mirabel said pleasantly. "How strange to see you folks in this neighborhood. Not too many people in the Meadow spend much time over here."
"Oh, please don't hurt us, Miss Fox," said Elizabeth. "We were just out enjoying the beautiful day, and we didn't pay any attention to where we were going. We didn't mean to disturb your nap."
"That's right, Miss Fox," added Alfred Rabbit. "We were just eating some clover and thistles, and we'd be very happy to just run right along, back to our dens, and not bother you any more."
Mirabel looked askance at the two miserable creatures begging for their lives and found herself rather annoyed.
"Here's the deal, you walking lunches. I wasn't particularly hungry, and I wasn't planning on hunting either of you today, but, since you have woken me up, and disturbed this beautiful day with your pathetic whining, I'm going to teach you a lesson.
"I'm going to go behind that bush over there to relieve myself, and when I'm finished, I'm going to chase one of you, and catch you, and bring you home for supper. I don't much care which of you it is, but if you stay together, I'll catch you both," she said. "I'd recommend that you split up, but that's up to you. This won't take me long. I'll see you soon."
With that, Mirabel disappeared behind a nearby thicket. (Even foxes have some modesty.)
Terrified, Alfred and Elizabeth looked at each other for a moment, and then turned and started running back toward the safer part of Sunny Meadow. As they ran, Alfred spoke to Elizabeth, "You know, as a rabbit, I could probably run faster than a hedgehog, but I'm not going to do that. You just run as fast as you can, and I'll run along side of you."
Elizabeth felt grateful, although rather insulted, as well. She realized that he was right though, so she just said, "Okay," and put all of her effort into running as fast as she could.
As she ran, though, she was thinking. Mostly what she thought about was going as fast as she could, but she also thought about what a strange world it was, where a couple of peace-loving vegetarians couldn't go for a simple walk on a summer morning without becoming brunch for some rude carnivore.
She said to Alfred, "Alfred, I'm getting a stitch in my side. I'm not going to be able to keep going much longer. You're going to have to go on without me."
"Just keep breathing and keep running, Elizabeth. It's the only chance we've got," said Alfred.
Elizabeth wasn't so sure she agreed with that, but she didn't say anything more. She just kept running, and Alfred kept running at her side.
Meanwhile, Mirabel had long ago taken care of her personal business, and was leisurely following the trail of the two fugitives.
She was in no hurry, because she knew that she would be able to follow their scent all day, if she wanted. Besides, as she had told them, she wasn't particularly hungry at the moment, since her nap had come after a very large breakfast of fresh corn and tomatoes. (There was a local farmer who was going to be very annoyed as well as confused when he discovered nothing but fox prints all over his garden.)
"What a couple of silly furballs," Mirabel thought. If they knew that Foxes ate vegetables just like everybody else, maybe they wouldn't be so scared.
"Still, I promised them a lesson, and they shall have it." She took her time, but continued to follow the trail.
Elizabeth Hedgehog was panting for breath, and doubled over, holding her side. All the running was too much for her round little hedgehog body, and she just couldn't go any further. She was hurting so badly that she could barely stand up, much less run any further. She looked calmly at Alfred.
"Alfred," Elizabeth panted. "You must continue without me. You know what Mirabel Fox said. If she catches us both, we will both end up on her table. There's no point in her getting both of us. I can't run any further. Please, run, before she catches us both!"
Alfred looked at Elizabeth with tears in his eyes. "Elizabeth, you are my friend, and I can't just run away, knowing that Fox is going to be here any minute. I just can't do it. I'm staying here."
"Alfred Rabbit, you listen to me!" wheezed Elizabeth. "This is very brave, and I love you for it, but it is also very stupid. You know that if she catches us both, we don't have a chance. We don't have the strength or the teeth or the claws to fight her, and I can't run any more. What are you going to do - just stand here and die?!"
He stood quietly in thought for a few moments, and then Alfred Rabbit said, "No. I have an idea. I think that maybe neither one of us will be on Miss Fox's menu today!" Then he smiled and winked at Elizabeth and said "Follow me!"
Without another word, he turned and walked toward a nearby stream and told Elizabeth to get in the water.
"Alfred! This is no time for a bath!" she exclaimed.
"Just get in the water, and please hurry. We don't have much time."
Even though she was confused, she trusted her friend, so Elizabeth Hedgehog got into the stream and got herself thoroughly soaked.
After she had been in the water for a couple of minutes, Alfred said, "Okay. Now come over here."
Still confused, Elizabeth swam to the shore and walked a few meters down the bank to where Alfred was standing by a pit of what looked like wet brown mud.
"What is this?" she asked.
"This, my friend, is your new 'do.' Now, stand still, and let me do this." Elizabeth couldn't tell if Alfred was being mysterious or if he was just in a hurry. Still, he seemed to have an idea, so she did as she was told.
Working quickly, Alfred scooped up pawful after pawful of the brown mud, and smeared it all over Elizabeth, working it deep into her fur. He was careful to keep it off her eyes and face, and, when she started giggling and saying that it tickled, he didn't put much on her belly, either. Everywhere else, though, he piled layer upon layer all over her. He didn't put any time into trying to make it look good - he just covered her as quickly as he could, with as much as he could get to stay on her.
After he got her completely covered, he said, "Okay, now just sit down and let it dry. This isn't the usual mud from the streambank. This is some kind of sticky mud that will stay in your fur after it dries. I got some on me once when I was running through, and it took me days to lick it off my paws. With this stuff on your fur, the Fox probably won't even recognize you, and, even if she did, she wouldn't want to eat you, even if she could.
Now, since Mirabel Fox had been taking her time, while Elizabeth and Alfred had been running so hard, the two of them had gotten quite a head start. They ended up sitting still by the stream for a good long time, under the afternoon sun.
Finally, when the sun was starting to curve down the sky to go toward the Underworld, Mirabel caught up with them at the streambank.
She saw Alfred first and smiled. "Hello, Mr. Rabbit. I smelled both you and Miss Hedgehog all the way to the stream, but now I see only you - Aack! What is that?!"
Mirabel Fox was staring at the strangest creature she had ever seen. There, sitting next to Alfred Rabbit, was a brownish-grey lump, that looked more like a furry rock than like any kind of animal anyone had ever seen in Sunny Meadow. The sun had dried the mud into hundreds of tiny spikes of clay and fur, making Elizabeth into some kind of giant thistle or a huge, pointy pinecone. Except for her nose and her eyes, you really couldn't even recognize her anymore.
"Whatever that is," said Mirabel, "I'm not eating it. In fact, I've completely lost my appetite. I'm going home, and I'll thank you and your hedgehog friend to not bother my naps anymore. Oh, and don't ever bring that thing anywhere near me, either!"
Without another word, Fox left, and, after a few moments, Alfred Rabbit laughed with relief and joy.
"Can you believe it, Elizabeth!? That crazy fox didn't even recognize you! She thought you were some other animal entirely! We're safe!"
"Mm-hmm," said Elizabeth, because too much of the mud had gotten around her mouth, and it was hard to move her jaws to talk. Still, she was grateful that Alfred had saved their lives, and she gave him a little wink.
"Oh, Elizabeth. I'm so sorry! I didn't think about how hard this stuff would be to get off."
"'Sokay," she said, because she could still talk a little. "If it keeps Fox away, I think I'll stay like this."
And that's how Hedgehog got her spiky fur.
And Rabbit and Hedgehog hopped and waddled home in the twilight.