Pip pulled his blanket over his head and stayed perfectly still. The house was quiet except for the clock ticking on the wall.
Pip peeked out his bedroom window and saw other hedgehogs playing hide-and-seek on the playground. One hedgehog giggled and counted out loud.
Pip tiptoed to the playground door and pressed his nose against the glass. His little quills trembled. He heard laughter and the sound of feet pat-pat-patting across the grass.
Pip slipped through the playground door and crouched behind a big oak tree. A friend's voice called out, 'Ready or not, here I come!' Pip held his breath and tried to stay perfectly still.
The little hedgehog in red glasses turned slowly, scanning the trees. 'I can feel you hiding,' he called.
Pip squeezed his eyes shut and held so still that a leaf drifted down and landed right on his back.
The seeker hedgehog waddled closer, his red glasses catching the light. 'I know you're there,' he said, stepping nearer.
The seeker peeked around the oak tree and gasped. 'Found you!' Pip popped up with a giggle.
'You're it next!' the seeker laughed, spinning in a happy circle. Pip laughed out loud and ran to hide again.
Pip tucked himself behind a bush and waited, listening to the happy sounds of the game around him.
His quills weren't trembling anymore. They felt brave.
Pip wiggled his nose and decided to run back and play again — this time, right in the open.
