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Jim Henson's the Storyteller Season 1 Episode 5

Hans My Hedgehog

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AIRED: 6/12/88

From an early German folk tale. A farmer's wife drives her husband mad with her desperate measures to have a baby. On the advice of the village Midwife, she tries sleeping upside down, bathing in nettles and so on. She wants a baby so badly that she doesn't care what she gets, even a hedgehog. That, of course, is she gets: a baby covered in quills, as soft as feathers. His mother calls him 'Hans My Hedgehog' and she is the only one to love him. The farmer grows to hate him, people laugh at him and children call him names, like 'Grovelhog'. Finally, Hans asks his father for a saddle for his rooster (which is the size of a small horse), so that Hans can leave for a place where he can't hurt anyone and where no one can hurt him. Twenty years later, a king gets lost in a dark forest. Coming to a strange palace he asks the owner, the now grown Grovelhog, for food and a place to sleep. The king wants to reward his host, and asks him to name the gift he desires. Hans tells the king to give him the first thing that greets him when he arrives at home. The Grovelhog will come to collect it in a year and a day. The king agrees, believing that his faithful dog will greet him. However, before the king's dog can reach him, his daughter, the Princess, welcomes the King home. A year and a day later the king keeps his promise. The Princess tells the Grovelhog that she will keep the promise her father has made. That night as she lays terrified in bed, Hans removes his quills in front of the fireplace and, in the form of a handsome man, goes to be with his animals. The princess goes over to the discarded skin and feels that the quills are as soft as down. The next morning the Grovelhog is back, but the next night, he discards the quills again. The Princess goes to them and lays her head on the soft quills and this time falls asleep. Hans the man comes back and tells her that he is enchanted but that the spell can be broken if she keeps their secret for a third night. But her mother sees how happy her daughter is and finds out her secret and convinces the princess that the only cure is to throw the quills into the fire that night. That third night, she does and the Grovelhog burns and leaves with his animals leaving the princess behind. The princess then leaves her home to find the Grovelhog, her husband.moreless

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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Brian Henson	Storyteller's Dog
John Hurt	The Storyteller

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Terence Harvey	Grovelhog's Voice	Guest Star
Stephen Garlick	Grovelhog's Voice	Guest Star
Robin Summers	Jailer	Guest Star

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NOTES (6)
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- This episode won the Parent's Choice Award for "Best in Broadcasting for young people" in 1987
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- This episode won the Golden Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival in 1987
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- This episode won The Gabriel Award (from the Catholic Association for Broadcasters and Communicators for "television programs which serve viewers and listeners through the positive and creative treatment of issues of concern to humankind") in 1987
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- This episode won the Emmy for "Outstanding Children's Program" in 1987
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- This episode won the Twelfth Resena Mundial de Acapulco Children's Programming Award in 1987.
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- The Storyteller's dog is questioning and correcting in this episode, even whilst scratching his fleas. He even takes over from the Storyteller to 'correctly' tell part of the story.
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