Humphrey the hedgehog had a problem. A very BIG, very PRICKLY problem. He couldn't stop HICCUPING!

Every HIC! sent a shiver down his spines. Every CUP! made him jump with surprise. And every HIC-CUP! echoed through his tiny hedgehog house.

"Oh dear," he sighed. "These hiccups are simply unbearable! I won't be able to practice my piano piece!"

You see, Humphrey wasn't just ANY hedgehog. He was a musical hedgehog, a regular Mozart of the meadows!

He dreamed of playing his tickly tune at the annual Forest Talent Show. But how could he play with these HICCUPS?!

First, Humphrey tried holding his breath. He puffed himself up like a prickly balloon... but HIC-CUP! It didn't work!

Then, he tried drinking a glass of water upside down. He stood on his head, water tickling his nose... but HIC-CUP! Still hiccuping!

Poor Humphrey felt like his hiccups would never end. He curled into a ball of prickly sadness, his piano dreams fading away.

Suddenly, he heard a gentle knock at the door. "Humphrey, dear!" chirped a voice. It was Beatrice, the bakery-owning badger.

"Beatrice!" Humphrey exclaimed between hiccups. "What brings you here?" Beatrice chuckled, "I heard those hiccups clear from my bakery!"

"Try one of my blackberry blast cookies!" she chirped, offering him a plate. "They cure everything from sniffles to sorrows!"

Humphrey nibbled a cookie. It was sweet, tart, and oh-so-delicious! He took another bite, and then another. And guess what?

The hiccups were GONE! Humphrey raced to his piano, his heart filled with joy. He practiced his piece, his paws dancing over the keys.

At the Forest Talent Show, Humphrey tickled the ivories with a song as bright and cheery as Beatrice's cookies. The whole forest swayed to his music.

From that day on, Humphrey always kept a stash of Beatrice's blackberry blast cookies close at hand. Just in case of a hiccup emergency, of course!