The Hedgehogs (Farthing Wood)
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| Name: | Mr. Hedgehog / Mrs. Hedgehog |
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| Species: | Hedgehog |
| Seasons: | 1 |
| First Appearance: | Mr. Hedgehog: The Wood In Danger (1x01), Mrs. Hedgehog: The Journey Begins (1x02) |
| Last Appearance: | Between Two Evils (1x10) |
| Mate: | Mrs. Hedgehog / Mr. Hedgehog |
| Offspring: | None |
Mr. Hedgehog, and his wife Mrs. Hedgehog, are fictional characters from the animated children's television series The Animals of Farthing Wood based upon the books of the same name by author Colin Dann.
The pair are best remembered for their tragic deaths while attempting to cross a motorway in episode 10 of the first season. Their demise is an excellent example of the series' attempt to educate it's target audience, i.e. children, to the harsh realities of nature and the effect mankind has on animals survival. Among many people who watched the program as children, the death of Mr. and Mrs. Hedgehog is the most memorable and emotional moment of the entire series.
[edit] Mr. Hedgehog
Mr. Hedgehog is first seen in Farthing Wood observing the destruction of the animals' woodland home by mankind, and helps gather the other animals when the idea of an emergency assembly is proposed, although he is initially sceptical of what effect the meeting might have.
He is present at the meeting, although he does not speak, so it can be assumed he agreed with the decision to attempt the long journey to the safety of the nature reserve White Deer Park, despite the great challenge posed by its danger and distance.
During the journey he is portrayed as an intelligent creature who although seems to complain to Fox and the other animals on a couple of occasions generally has a good reason to do so, and unlike others such as Vole, does not deliberately cause trouble for the leaders.
He was aware of the difficultly faced by him and his wife due to their slow speed and spikey form, and was concerned about the problems it may cause; rightly so as it transpired.
[edit] Mrs. Hedgehog
Mrs. Hedgehog has a smaller role than her husband, and does not appear at all until the second episode of the series, when the animals prepare to leave Farthing Wood on their long journey.
She is shown to be more submissive than Mr. Hedgehog, portraying a stereotypical view of a wife's role, although not on as large a scale as that of Mr. and Mrs. Pheasant, two characters of a similar nature, who interestingly were also killed off early in the series.
Despite similarities to the Pheasants, Mr. and Mrs. Hedgehog are shown to genuinely love and care for each other, with Mrs. Hedgehog even refusing to leave her husband when he was too afraid to move, an action which lead to her death.
[edit] Demise
In the 10th episode of the series, Between Two Evils, the animals come across a motorway, which needs to be crossed in order to reach White Deer Park. Although Toad had traveled the journey once before, the road was merely under construction when he last crossed it, meaning he had not realised what it was the humans were building.
One carriageway was stuck in a traffic jam, so the animals were able to reach the central reservation with relative ease, although at one point both hedgehogs became frightened and curled up when they thought the humans in the cars had seen them. They managed to overcome their natural instinct though, and made it to the relative safety of the middle of the motorway.
The second carriageway was clear, though, and traffic was constantly rushing past at a very high speed. Rather than wait until dark, when it was thought that many of the animals may end up dazzled by the car headlights, the decision was made to attempt to cross the road there and then. The bigger animals managed to run quickly across safely, and whilst the smaller ones were carried over the road in Whistler's beak, the hedgehogs were unable to be transported in this manner due to their spikes.
They had no choice but to attempt to cross the road on foot, and after sharing an emotional moment in which the couple expressed their great wish to see what White Deer Park looked like, they began their attempt. Despite Mr. Hedgehog warning his wife not to get scared and curl up into a ball, he was the one who ultimately let his fear and instinct get the better of him, and froze in the middle of the motorway. His wife pleaded with him to continue, but he couldn't, and she refused to leave him behind. The pair both curled up into a tight ball, and were killed by a passing lorry moments later, to the dismay of the other onlooking animals.
The loyalty of Mrs. Hedgehog to her husband was noted by Vixen, who shed tears over her refusal to leave him, and Toad commented on the tragedy as proof of how instinct can often get the better of the animals, something which he knew well from experience. The death of the hedgehogs took its toll on Fox, who as leader felt responsible for their deaths, and later mentioned his regret upon reaching White Deer Park that not all of the animals had made it there.
