The first in the internationally bestselling series of witty, moving and philosophical animal fables for adults.

'Only one question remains: is he a writer or a genius? I suspect the latter' De Morgen

'Toon Tellegen's stories provide endless pleasure' Die Ziet

'Moving and entertaining' De Volkskrant

The hedgehog is lonely.

So he writes a letter, inviting the animals of the forest to visit. But before he can post it, doubts start flooding his mind...

As winter draws in, can anything save the hedgehog from himself?



Toon Tellegen is one of the Netherlands' best-loved authors. A retired doctor, he initially found fame as a children's author, before beginning his hugely popular series of philosophical animal fables for adults, which examine deep questions about life and happiness through encounters between different animals. The series has sold more than a million copies in the Netherlands alone, and the books have also become international bestsellers, translated into 25 languages across the world.David Colmer has won many prizes for his translations, including the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (precursor to the International Booker Prize), both with novelist Gerbrand Bakker. He also translated Willem Frederik Hermans' An Untouched House and A Guardian Angel Recalls for Pushkin Press.Annemarie van Haeringen is an internationally renowned illustrator of picture books who lives in Amsterdam. Her books have been translated into many languages and won numerous awards.



The spiky little mammals can never get close to each other, but this novel urges us to put away our prickles



A woodland reflection on the perils of overthinking... all contained within a delightful little volume with line illustrations by Annemarie van Haeringen. Just as The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse threaded the line between adult and younger readers, so too has Tellegen written a tale that speaks equally eloquently to an audience of all ages... Those in search of a cosy, gently delivered philosophy will melt



Only one question remains: is he a writer or a genius? I suspect the latter



Toon Tellegen's short stories provide endless pleasure, because you can read them over and over, and then you have to read them out loud as well, again and again



Moving and entertaining... As much as he twists, exaggerates, shrinks and fools around, he never hides his subject matter: recognizable behaviour and human emotions