EPISODE · Mar 20, 2026 · 4 MIN
Curiosity road number 7
from Fairytales with Abigail · host Dostai
Down at the end of Curiosity Road, in a little house with a very big doorstep, lived a hedgehog.His name was George.And George was very, very pleased with himself.“I am the king!” said George.The animals of Curiosity Road looked at one another. Nobody could remember making him king. But George had already climbed up onto the old wooden crate he used as a throne, and was sitting on it with his eyes closed and his nose in the air.So. King it was.“Bring me berries,” said King George. And the animals brought berries.“Wear only green tops,” said King George. And the animals wore only green tops.But most of all — most of all — King George loved his daily massage.Every single day, one of the animals had to come and scratch his back and pat his head and generally attend to his small, prickly person.Oh, he was a most particular king.Now, the animals of Curiosity Road were good-natured animals. They were patient animals. But even good-natured, patient animals have their limits.It was Lion who reached his limit first.One afternoon, while scratching the king’s back, Lion’s big paw slipped — just a little — and scratched rather harder than necessary.“Eish!” cried George. “That was sore!”The next day it was Mouse’s turn. Mouse gave a small, neat nip.“Eish!” cried George. “That was very sore!”Then came Giraffe, who delivered one long, slow, considered kick.“Eish!” cried George. “That was terrible!”And last of all came Elephant, who gave one great, calm push — and said nothing at all.“Oh no,” said George, picking himself up off the ground. “That was most undignified.”George puffed himself up. His quills stood on end. His eyes went very small.“I am the KING!” he shouted. “And the king has SPINES!”And from that day on, whenever any animal came near — to help him or to greet him or simply to pass by — George would give them one of his spines.He gave a spine to Lion.He gave a spine to Dog.He gave a spine to Giraffe.He gave a spine to Elephant.Spine after spine after spine, all up and down Curiosity Road.Until one morning, George woke up and looked at himself in the puddle by his doorstep.He was smooth.Not one single spine left.The animals looked at him from across the road.“He is not so prickly now,” said Giraffe softly.“He is actually quite small,” said Elephant, blinking.“Mmm,” said Lion.That same afternoon, at the big fig tree at the corner, the animals held a meeting. It did not take very long. Lion had teeth, and claws, and a voice that made the mango leaves tremble. And — most importantly — he did not want a massage from anybody.So Lion became king.George went home.He sat down on his big doorstep with his little crown on his lap. He polished it with the corner of his vest. He turned it over in his paws.After a while, he put it carefully into his small blue suitcase. He clicked the clasps shut.He sat for a long time in the afternoon sun, listening to the sounds of Curiosity Road — the laughing, the calling, the chickens and the children — and somewhere, Lion’s big voice rolling across the rooftops.“Long live the lion,” said George at last. Very quietly.He waited for his spines to grow back. They did — slowly, one by one.And perhaps, though he would not say so to anyone, George found that a quiet life on his big doorstep was not such a bad life after all.If you ever walk down Curiosity Road in the late afternoon, just as the sun turns everything gold — look carefully under the bougainvillea at number seven.You may see a small hedgehog, sitting in the warm dust.And if you stop and scratch him — gently, mind you, very gently — he will close his eyes.And smile.
What this episode covers
Down at the end of Curiosity Road, in a little house with a very big doorstep, lived a hedgehog.His name was George.And George was very, very pleased with himself.“I am the king!” said George.The animals of Curiosity Road looked at one another. Nobody could remember making him king. But George had already climbed up onto the old wooden crate he used as a throne, and was sitting on it with his eyes closed and his nose in the air.So. King it was.“Bring me berries,” said King George. And the animals brought berries.“Wear only green tops,” said King George. And the animals wore only green tops.But most of all — most of all — King George loved his daily massage.Every single day, one of the animals had to come and scratch his back and pat his head and generally attend to his small, prickly person.Oh, he was a most particular king.Now, the animals of Curiosity Road were good-natured animals. They were patient animals. But even good-natured, patient animals have their limits.It was Lion who reached his limit first.One afternoon, while scratching the king’s back, Lion’s big paw slipped — just a little — and scratched rather harder than necessary.“Eish!” cried George. “That was sore!”The next day it was Mouse’s turn. Mouse gave a small, neat nip.“Eish!” cried George. “That was very sore!”Then came Giraffe, who delivered one long, slow, considered kick.“Eish!” cried George. “That was terrible!”And last of all came Elephant, who gave one great, calm push — and said nothing at all.“Oh no,” said George, picking himself up off the ground. “That was most undignified.”George puffed himself up. His quills stood on end. His eyes went very small.“I am the KING!” he shouted. “And the king has SPINES!”And from that day on, whenever any animal came near — to help him or to greet him or simply to pass by — George would give them one of his spines.He gave a spine to Lion.He gave a spine to Dog.He gave a spine to Giraffe.He gave a spine to Elephant.Spine after spine after spine, all up and down Curiosity Road.Until one morning, George woke up and looked at himself in the puddle by his doorstep.He was smooth.Not one single spine left.The animals looked at him from across the road.“He is not so prickly now,” said Giraffe softly.“He is actually quite small,” said Elephant, blinking.“Mmm,” said Lion.That same afternoon, at the big fig tree at the corner, the animals held a meeting. It did not take very long. Lion had teeth, and claws, and a voice that made the mango leaves tremble. And — most importantly — he did not want a massage from anybody.So Lion became king.George went home.He sat down on his big doorstep with his little crown on his lap. He polished it with the corner of his vest. He turned it over in his paws.After a while, he put it carefully into his small blue suitcase. He clicked the clasps shut.He sat for a long time in the afternoon sun, listening to the sounds of Curiosity Road — the laughing, the calling, the chickens and the children — and somewhere, Lion’s big voice rolling across the rooftops.“Long live the lion,” said George at last. Very quietly.He waited for his spines to grow back. They did — slowly, one by one.And perhaps, though he would not say so to anyone, George found that a quiet life on his big doorstep was not such a bad life after all.If you ever walk down Curiosity Road in the late afternoon, just as the sun turns everything gold — look carefully under the bougainvillea at number seven.You may see a small hedgehog, sitting in the warm dust.And if you stop and scratch him — gently, mind you, very gently — he will close his eyes.And smile.
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Curiosity road number 7
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