A Handful of Happiness

by Massimo Vacchetta

  I sit on that grass teeming with life, on the edge of the woods, and call out, “Ninna, Ninnaaa…” And on certain magical nights, the kind stolen from fairy tales, she is carried to me on a breeze. When the trees open up to the wind’s caress, somehow, she arrives. Soft, like the music of the angels, for my heart.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  To Mother and Father—yes, I first want to thank them both. For all the love and help they’ve always given me. I know they’re constantly worried about me, and I’m sorry about that. They’re concerned about my health, because I spend all my time and energy on my hedgehogs, neglecting sleep and food. Well, they’re not entirely wrong; I know I can be extreme, but this is the path I’ve chosen and that satisfies my spirit. If my body suffers a little, so be it. Franchina and Mario, I’m telling you here: Don’t get too worked up…

  A special thanks to my cousin Francesco, who constantly helps with my hedgehogs and who is a guardian angel to my Franchina.

  I want to thank Remigio Luciano, who helped me to start the La Ninna Hedgehog Rescue Center, a division of the Cuneo Wild Animal Rescue Center, which he founded. I also thank him for his help and ongoing support. For more information on his rescue center, go to: www.centrorecuperoselvatici.it.

  I thank Dorthe Madsen for her precious advice. She is my living encyclopedia on hedgehogs and their world! We have a strong friendship, bound by a great love for nature—hedgehogs included—and a deep mutual affection. Dorthe directs the Pindsvinenes Håb Recovery Center in Tranbjerg, Denmark.

  Thanks to Giulia Paracchini and Gérard Mangiagalli. Under Giulia’s precise guidance, I was able to get started. She was essential! And I have always turned to Gérard for the more complicated cases that come to the center. Gérard is a member of, and Giulia is vice president of, Milano Natura, an association that has been working to help hedgehogs and other animals for years. For more information on the association, see: www.milanonatura.it (the site includes rescue assistance for people who find hedgehogs).

  Thanks to Susanna and all my dear friends, who all support me in different ways. And among them, particular thanks to Enrico for the captivating photo spread he did on my hedgehogs. And to photographer Bruno Murialdo, who captures emotion with his shots.

  Thanks to Andrea Brovida, without whom I’d never have met my Ninna!

  Another very special thanks to all the wonderful volunteers who take turns helping at the center—they’re beyond indispensable.

  And I want to thank Antonella Tomaselli. We met one day, on the same wavelength, and easily became friends. She listened to the story of me and my hedgehogs and, with her magical and subtle pen, turned it into this book.

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