A handful of happiness: how a prickly creature softened a prickly heart

You never know just what will change your life.

Massimo Vacchetta, an Italian veterinarian, provides expert care for large animals—cows, horses, sheep. One day, a friend asks him to help care for something much smaller: an orphaned baby hedgehog. Only a few days old and so very alone, Massimo is struck by her helplessness and connects with her in a way he’s never connected with any other animal. He names her Ninna.

Soon, another sick hedgehog lands in his lap. And then another. As Massimo finds these hedgehogs who need his help, he finds himself—and the true meaning of compassion.

While his other prickly patients are healed and released, Massimo continues to dote on Ninna like a child, constantly fretting about her health and happiness, not ready to say goodbye. But the cage that once kept her safe soon becomes a prison, and as much as it breaks Massimo's heart to let her go, he knows she longs to be free.

Through this life-affirming story of a man and his hedgehog, we learn that there’s no such thing as too small an act, if it’s done out of great compassion and love.