Alex & Friends Written by
Illustrated by
Ursula Drew
Marlene Wright
Ursula Drew Born in Mevagissey, Cornwall but spent most of my life in Devon. I have lived on the edge of Dartmoor for all of my married life and have two sons and two wonderful grandchildren. I woke up one morning with these two stories on my mind so decided to get them down on paper. I asked my dear friend Marlene to illustrate them for me, which I love . Peter has done most of the hard work in ge%ng them into print, for which I thank him for very much.
Marlene Wright Ever since I can remember I have always loved drawing for children. Well not just drawing but pain)ng as well. I love to see children's faces when I ask them if they would like me to draw for them. I love to see there reac)on when we complete the drawing and say to them look what we have created together, your own li+le story.
Also Peter, the Children’s Dragon 2017
Copyright © Ursula Drew, 2017 Ursula Drew has asserted her right under the copyright, designs ant patents act, 1988 to be iden)fied as the author of this work This book is sold subject to the condi)on that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent. First published in Great Britain in 2017 by Priory Publica)ons
To ALEXANDER & CHARLOTTE
eep in the wood, at the bottom of an old oak tree, Alex , the hedgehog was doing his chores, when there was a knock on his little wooden door.
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He opened the door and standing there was a family of hedgehogs. "What can I do for you ?" Said Alex "Our house was burnt down and we have nowhere to live and we are so tired. We were wondering if you would allow us to come inside and have some food and rest for the night" "Please come in " said Alex, "Of course you can have something to eat and a bed for the night, but what will you do then?" "We are not sure, we will have to find ourselves another home. We lived in the bottom of an oak tree but someone dropped a match and the leaves caught fire and so did our home. We have walked a long way, then we saw your house so we thought we would knock to see if anyone was at home"
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"What are your names?" Asked Alex. "Mine is Freddy, my wife's is Grace and our son is called Jack" "Mine is Alex, and I have lived here on my own for a long time, a similar thing happened to me but my family died in the fire". They looked at Alex and said they were very sorry to hear his sad news , they hadn't come across another hedgehog family since they had lived under their oak tree, but that they were very pleased to meet him. They all greeted on another and Alex explained that he was about to get his tea and would they like to join him. "I have berries and insects, there is enough for us all, but I will need to collect more tomorrow. You can stay as long as you like, I will be glad of the company and it is very safe here". "Shall we get tea?" Said Alex. "I would like to help you " said Grace, "What would you like me too do?"
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"Would you lay the table for me, please, we can use those dishes over there" said Alex, pointing to a pile of dishes in the far corner. So they set to and prepared tea. 4
They all sat around the table and enjoyed the food, by the time they had finished, they were all full and feeling very tired. "I think I will go to bed " said Jack, " It has been a very long day, where would you like me to Sleep ?". "Over in that corner if you like, there is plenty of dry warm grass for you to use, I hope you will be very comfortable and that you sleep well " replied Alex. Alex, Freddy and Grace sat down and Freddy explained about the fire in more detail and about the part of the wood where they had lived. It was getting late, so they decided to go to bed. They rolled up in the grass that Alex had got for them and snuggled down and they all went fast asleep.
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In the morning when they awoke, Alex was outside in the sun, they approached him very quietly so as not to frighten him. "Are we going to look for breakfast" asked Freddy "I think we should don't you or we are all going to get very hungry" replied Alex. So they set off in line behind Alex, as they were walking along, they found some juicy berries and worms, so they decided to stay out in the sun to have their breakfast. "Would you all like to go a little further into the wood or would you all prefer to go back to my house?, asked Alex. They decided to go just a little further, they were nervous of being in a part of the wood that they were not familiar with, but because they were with Alex, they moved deeper into the wood. "I think it is about time we returned to my house now" said Alex. So they all headed back. 7
It took them a while to reach his home, they hadn't realised how far they had gone and were really glad to be back. They all went inside and had a well earned drink. 8
"I would be very pleased to help you find another home, you are very welcome to stay here tonight, and then in the morning we will see what we can find " Alex suggested. They rested well that night and at sunrise they set off too see what they could find as a new home. Not that far away, there was a big oak tree and at the bottom was a small tunnel. Let's go and explore and see where it leads" asked Alex. They followed him as he disappeared down the tunnel, when they were way inside, they all stopped and looked around, it looked as if someone had been living there, but quite some time ago, as it was very dirty and full of cobwebs. They decided that it was the idea place for them, so they all set about and started to clean up. Very soon it was looking lovely, Grace was thrilled with it, Alex, Freddy and Jack went outside to collect berries to eat and dry grasses for their beds. 9
They were very tired when they got back, so Grace made tea for them all and they sat around an old table that they had found and looked around at their hard work and they were very satisfied. "As it is getting dark, I think I will make my way back now, I will see you in the morning" said Alex, then he made his way up the tunnel and out into the wood. 10
The next day as Alex came close to the oak tree, he saw that the tunnel had been disturbed, he went racing over to see what had happened, he was surprised to see that their place was looking very untidy. "What has happened ?" Asked Alex. A dog tried to dig up the tunnel but when we heard him getting near to us, we all rolled up in a ball and the dog pricked his nose on our bristles and ran away squealing, hopefully never to be seen again" said Freddy. Things settled down between the two homes and they became great friends, they would see each other most days and would often go picking berries together.
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No doubt they are still there now, all curled up in their dry warm grass beds, hibernating through the long cold winter. 12
Alex the hedgehog lived by himself, un)l one day there was a knock on his door and outside he saw a family of hedgehogs standing there. He invited them in and heard their story about how they had lost their home and is now looking for a new one. Alex oers to help and they become great friends.
Alex & Friends Priory Publica)ons Š2017