Sheila Connolly: Let's Play Dead

Arabella looked like a proud mother hen. “Toddlers, up to five. So they can look Harriet here in the eye, you know.”

I admired how whoever had crafted this statue had managed to reduce the hedgehog’s signature spines to something that wouldn’t impale a child climbing on her. The artist had succeeded, though the result was a wee bit lumpy. But safe. In a public institution that needed to be childproof, safety had to trump authenticity.

“Harriet is a delightful character. You’d think a hedgehog’s personality would be prickly, with all those spines, but Harriet is a sweetheart,” Arabella said. “That’s a real teaching opportunity, you know: don’t judge someone by her exterior, but take some time to get to know her. And she has such wonderful friends! Mallory Mouse, Barry Bunny. And of course there has to be a bully-there always is-and that’s Willy the Weasel. But Hadley has brought him around slowly, over the course of the series. Willy just wants to make friends, but he doesn’t know how to do it.”

I had to ask, “Are there any native hedgehogs in Pennsylvania?”

“Good question, dear. No, there aren’t, not in any part of America-but they’re found in Africa, Eurasia, Asia, Borneo, and parts of Europe,” she recited promptly. “Oh, and in New Zealand, but those were introduced there. But there is a very active group in this country promoting hedgehogs as pets. The little things are fairly low maintenance, and they’re rather endearing little creatures, aren’t they? Do you remember Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle?”

My mind was blank for a moment until a childhood memory surfaced. “Wasn’t that a Beatrix Potter character? Oh, right-she was a hedgehog, too.”

“Exactly. And a very sweet one. That’s the spirit I think the author has captured, although of course Harriet’s stories have a more modern feeling.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, how did you fund the exhibit?” I said.

“I’m sure you’re aware that there are grants available for educational purposes, and we tapped into those where we could. After all, this display encourages young readers. Of course, all that happened before so many foundations faced financial difficulties-thank goodness. I doubt we could do it under current conditions. Hadley Eastman’s publisher contributed as well-this is excellent publicity for her series. And our board was very supportive. Most of them have young children or grandchildren.”

“I wondered about that. Is it a requirement that they have children to join the board?” Not a problem we faced. In fact, children were rarely seen within the Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society, which was just as well, given the delicate nature of our collections. I shuddered at the thought of sticky little fingers on old documents, and games of tag among the shelving.

“We don’t require it exactly, but it’s strongly supported, and most board members are in complete agreement with the idea. In fact, when we are working on recruiting a new member, we typically ask them to come during the day or on a weekend along with their children, so they can get the full flavor of the place. Not many have been able to resist joining us after that experience.”

“Lucky you. I’m guessing the average age of your board members is about half that of ours.”

“Now, let me show you…”

As we strolled through the still-incomplete exhibit, Arabella identified the individual characters scattered around the room, each within its own little stage set. After a while I realized that the building had quieted. No more babbling of young voices or shrieks of glee from downstairs. I checked my watch: yes, it was close to six. I supposed you would get used to the noise if you worked in a place like this, but I had to admit I preferred the tranquility of our library. And our walls, while roughly the same age, were at least twice as thick, and muffled what little noise there was.

We’d completed the circuit of the room, which didn’t take long because the room was geared to children’s short legs, and Arabella asked, “Well, what do you think?”

She looked so eager that even if I’d had anything negative to say, which I didn’t, I wouldn’t have had the heart. “It’s marvelous. I can see why children will love it.”

Arabella gave a start. “Ooh, you haven’t even seen it in action! Have you got another minute?”

“Sure,” I said, mystified.

“Jason?” Arabella called out. “Can you switch on the circuit for the active displays?”

“No problem, Mrs. H.” One of the painters-the one who’d waved-made his way through the animals and opened a concealed wall panel I hadn’t even noticed. I could hear the click of a breaker.

After a few seconds, Arabella called out, “Jason, dear? Nothing is happening.” She turned to me. “Harriet’s eyes are supposed to light up when the power is on. And then when you pat her, her ears swivel forward, to show that she likes you.”

I stared at Harriet, who remained resolutely still. I wondered what hedgehogs really did to show any kind of emotion. The only thing I could recall about them was that they curled up in a ball when they were frightened, leaving their spines facing out to deter their enemies. I kind of envied them: there were days when I would like to do something like that.

Jason was still flipping switches, but nothing was happening. “Maybe the problem is on this end? Could you come take a look?” Arabella asked. “I really want Nell to see what Harriet does.”

“Sure thing.” Jason ambled toward us. Up close he turned out to be a nice-looking young man-well, young by my standards, which put him in his early twenties. He was wearing stained painter’s coveralls, clearly several sizes too big.

“Jason, this is Nell Pratt, from the Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society. Nell, Jason is my daughter Caitlin’s boyfriend. He’s helping us out here with some of the last-minute things.”

Jason nodded to me and said shyly, “Hi.” Then he turned his full attention to Harriet, sitting obstinately dark and mute.

Jason got down on his knees to see if the concealed wires were connected. Apparently they were, so he moved on up to Harriet’s head, which grinned silently, her ears unmoving. He reached out and patted Harriet’s shiny black nose. Nothing happened. Jason looked confused, and Arabella looked crestfallen. I felt sorry for her: she had been so excited about showing off her charming new toy to me, and it appeared to be a dud.

“Jason, dear, could you try Willy? Maybe then we’ll know if it’s just one of the figures or the whole group.”

“Sure, Arabella.” Jason straightened up and approached a second figure a few feet away. Taller than Harriet, this one sported a smarmy grin and sprouted a lot of whiskers. He was leaning over with an elbow on an old-fashioned metal gate, which put his head within easy reach of small children. The placement of his body also prevented anyone from climbing on the low gate, which was no doubt the intention of the designer.

“That’s Willy the Weasel,” Arabella explained. “He’s supposed to…”

When Jason reached out and tweaked Willy’s nose, there was a sharp snap or crackle or pop, and all the lights in the room went out.

“Oh my!” Arabella squeaked. “ That’s not supposed to happen.”

It wasn’t the only thing that wasn’t supposed to happen. Jason had dropped like a stone at Willy’s feet, and I crossed the space in a second, kneeling beside him. “Arabella, call 911!” I said. “Does anyone have a flashlight?”

Since I had been closest to Jason, I figured I’d better take charge. I didn’t know how Arabella would react in an emergency-for all I knew she might succumb to an attack of the vapors. I felt for Jason’s carotid artery. At least, I think I did-I was going solely by what I’d seen on a lot of TV shows. I groped around until I found what I thought-and hoped-was a pulse. I forced myself to take a deep breath and stop shaking. Yes, it was a pulse-faint and thready, but there. Jason wasn’t dead, thank God, but I had no idea how close to it he was.