In Wonderland croquet, what animals are used as balls?

In Wonderland croquet, hedgehogs are used as balls. Alice encounters this bizarre version of the game on the Queen of Hearts’ croquet ground in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

The choice of hedgehogs makes the game unpredictable: unlike wooden balls, living animals can curl up, wander away, or refuse to cooperate. The flamingos used as mallets are equally unmanageable, and the soldiers who form the hoops move about as well. Carroll turns every piece of conventional sporting equipment into a living participant.

A common mix-up is to remember the flamingos but forget what they strike. In the original scene, flamingos are mallets and hedgehogs are balls; soldiers serve as hoops. The Queen’s constant shouting of “Off with their heads!” adds danger to what should be a leisurely lawn game and reinforces the book’s parody of ceremony, hierarchy, and orderly competition.