Albert loves animals and he would really like to have his own zoo. One day he meets Herold the hedgehog and discovers a new language. Animalish!

1. Part 1
Herold the mysterious Hedgehog and the discovery of a new language

2. Albert loves animals and he would really like
to have his own zoo. A zoo just for himself, at
home!
A year ago Albert wanted to have a dinosaur
jungle park. Grandma gave him plastic dino-
saurs and Auntie Elsie gave him a little plastic
fern and palm trees.
That was not what Albert had wished for! This
year he was going to make sure, that Mum and
Dad understood that he wanted real animals.
They asked where he would put all the animals.
Albert was sure that the garden was a good
place. Maybe too small for all the animals he
wanted but perhaps big enough for a handful
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of orangutans and a rhino.
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3. “But Albert”, said Dad, “how are you going to
feed the animals and how are you going to pay
for it”?
Albert had a plan, he would make
his friends pay to come and visit the
animals. Surely he would be able to
feed the animals with the money from
that!
“And where will you get the animals from“
asked Suzy, Albert’s little sister.
“Easy peasy” said Albert, “I am go-
ing to the jungle and I’ll convince the
orangutans and the rhino to come home with
me”.
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4. “Do you speak junglish?” Asked Susi,
“No, but I am fluent in tigrish, orangutanish,
rhinoish and a lot of other animal languages”,
replied Albert confidently.
Albert’s mother wasn’t convinced and told Albert
that she was sure that keeping his favorite ani-
mals in captivity was not a great idea.
Albert was really sad. He understood what his
mum meant but he knew as well that some
animals needed protection and this would cer-
tainly be easier in his own zoo where he could
watch over them and make sure that every-
thing was fine.
He decided to go for a walk in the garden.
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Deep in thought, he skipped and shuffled
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5. through some piles of leaves until he heard an
alarming: “OI, YOU! WATCH OUT, DON’T STEP
ON ME!!!” Albert was terrified, he was sure that
he was alone, so who was that talking to him?
He stood absolutely still and held his breath.
What was going on? “Hello, anybody there?”
He mumbled quietly and promptly heard: “Of
course, what do you think? Do you believe that
the wind is whispering words into your ears?”
“But who are you and where are you?” asked
Albert.
“Well, I would have thought that when I shouted
“watch out, don’t step on me” you might have
figured out that I was on the same level as your
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feet!”
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6. “Oh, well of course, but I can only see a hedge-
hog and nobody else,” replied Albert.
“Excuse me, but what is wrong with you? It’s me,
Herold, Herold the hedgehog! Aren’t you the
boy from the house over there called Albert?”
“Whoa this is spooky, who is playing tricks on
me?” asked Albert.
“No trick! Actually, I was hoping that we would
meet,” said Herold.
He explained that Albert was able to speak
animalish, as in hedgehogish with hedgehogs
and any other tongue he would need to be
able to speak with other species. Albert was
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amazed. Was that really true? He had said it to
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7. Suzy because he was feeling grumpy. Could he
really speak with animals?
”There is a lot I have to explain to you” Herold
said, “but let me just say this much, only very
special people can speak hedgehogish and
other animal tongues. It means that you really
care about animals. You’re the best person to
help me on my quest.
“How so? What quest?” Albert asked.
“Come back tomorrow after school. You will
find me near the big tree next to the one where
you built your tree house.”
Albert said goodbye to Herold and walked back
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to the house. He had to admit that he was very
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8. intrigued and a little confused. What was it all
about? He wished he could fast forward to to-
morrow after school when he knew that some-
thing extremely exciting was going to happen.
What fantastic adventure lay ahead of him? His
mind was buzzing like a bee’s nest and soon
his thoughts and dreams became all tangled
up like the plate of spaghetti he had at dinner.
In bed that night he finally fell into a very rest-
less sleep.
… more soon –
will Herold reveal what quest he is on?
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