Rusty's Great Adventure, Part One

My children are animal lovers.  We have a golden retriever (my choice), several fish (oldest ds' favorite,), and for a time, we had a string of teddy-bear hamsters.  In the annals of our family history, one story stands apart.  It's the true tale of a brave hamster named Rusty.

Rusty spent most of his life happily residing in his glass aquarium.  He ran in his hamster wheel, ate hamster food, and snacked on hamster snacks.  But sometimes, especially when the lights went out, Rusty longed for more.  You'd see his little nose pressed against the glass, plotting his escape.  He'd sometimes gnaw on the silicone edges holding his prison together.  And eventually, he found a way to make a run for it.  The first time it happened, we were shocked.  He was not in his cage!  In fact, he'd stacked his hamster wheel on top of his food bowl (brilliant!) so he could reach the top, and presumably tumble out of the cage.  (And they claim hamsters don't use tools!)

Frantically, we scoured the house searching for our little friend, until we found him hiding in a corner with a pile of Cheerios our toddler had left behind.  After that, the gig was up.  Rusty had figured it out.  He was sometimes "lost" for days at a time.  Once it was weeks, and when I finally (accidentally) found him in the corner of the coat closet, I found he had an entire stash there.  He'd made a little nest of wrapping paper and shredded fabrics, and filled it with stray cereal, bread crumbs, and bits of raisin.  (This will tell you something I don't really want you to know about my housekeeping abilities . . .but I digress.  )  I half-expected to see a tiny stereo blasting music in the corner, and a tiny pizza delivery hamster knocking at his "door."   

Well, we started to get used to Rusty's tendency to escape.  We'd say, "Oh, Rusty's off on one of his adventures."  But the biggest adventure for Rusty was yet to come . . .

3:55 PM - Oct. 12, 2005 - post comment

Hilarious!

You really have a talent for engaging writing. Looking forward to reading the rest of the adventure.

lisalouhoo - 1:53 PM - Oct. 12, 2005

---

That is one resourceful hamster

I hope someday to have a hamster as smart as Rusty. :)

Although I doubt even he could fend off our Siamese cat. She made short work of our Russian dwarves not so long ago.

SusannahCox - 9:14 PM - Oct. 13, 2005

---