Chapter 1: A Hamster Is Born
The fresh litter of newly born hamsters opened their eyes. The runt of the litter slowly crawled over to her food bowl and nibbled on a carrot. Then, she scampered to her mother and gulped down some warm milk. She felt her eyelids closing, she moved over to snuggle with her siblings.
The next day when the family woke up, they were somewhere completely different. Instead of the fluffy, pine-smelling wooden crates of the hamster breeding facility, They were now in a plastic cage lit by fluorescent lights. Children walked by every now and then and stuck their faces up to the windows.
On this very same day, a young girl named Karli Fletcher visited Petco in search of a pet. She looked at cats, dogs, snakes and fish, but she still couldn’t find exactly what she was looking for. Then she saw the tiny hamster.
“Mommy, look!” Karli said, “It’s a hamper!”
“You mean ‘hamster’.’’ Her mother explained.
“Can I get it Mommy, please? Pretty pretty please with a cherry on top?” begged Karli.
“O.K.” Her mother agreed.
So they bought the runt, took her home, and named her Hannah. She was a little frightened at first, but Hannah soon became part of the family. And Karli loved Hannah. And Hannah loved Karli.
Chapter 2: Hannah in the Garage
One evening, a couple months after Karli took Hannah home, Hannah was rolling around in her new purple ball. After taking her usual stroll around the house, she saw that the door in between the garage and the laundry room was open. Hannah had seen the door before, but she had never been through it. Should she? Probably not, but it looked like so much fun! Hannah decided to investigate. She moved slowly across the laundry room floor, climbing over piles of smelly clothes, until she reached the door. Hannah rolled inside and took a look around.
Cans of food and paint, brooms, and ladders lined the walls of this dark paradise. Boring! She turned to leave, but at that very moment, the lights went out and the door closed. Hannah was very scared! In fact, she was so scared that she broke out of her ball and fell asleep inside an old tire.
The next morning, Hannah woke up and started to explore the garage. She looked left and right in search of a new hiding place. Finally, she took cover under a big bucket. But just as Hannah started to get comfortable, she saw a giant, hairy tarantula inside! She scampered quickly under another bucket and stayed there for the rest of the day.
Later that evening, Hannah heard voices talking, followed by a loud ‘CLUNK’ and the sound of a door closing. She poked her head out of the bucket. There, sitting right in front of her, was her cage! She crawled in. Oh, how nice it was to be back in her warm, safe bed! The next morning, when Hannah woke up, she was in Karli’s room. Karli was happy. And so was Hannah.
Chapter 3: The Killer Cat
One day, just a couple of minutes before dawn, a very sneaky cat was plotting. Plotting to get rid of that nasty little hamster once and for all...
At the same moment, on the other side of the house, Hannah was grooming herself, not bothering anyone when suddenly she heard something. “Some thing is not right!” She thought. Karli’s cat, Cheddar, turned the corner. He crept toward Hannah’s cage. AAAHHH! With a flying leap, Hannah jumped into the safety of her bed. But this didn’t stop Cheddar from getting to Hannah and catching her. Cheddar jumped at Hannah’s cage and carefully tipped the lid off.
Hannah was frightened. She jumped down from her tower and onto the table, with Cheddar right behind her. She saw Cheddar grin slyly as he chased her all over the house. Hannah was beginning to lose her breath, and her legs gave out from under her furry little body.
Just when Hannah thought she’d never survive, she saw Karli’s sister, Veronica, in her bed. Hannah yelped and saw Veronica’s eyes flutter open. Veronica sat up and screamed. “A mouse! It’s a mouse!” she yelled. Mouse! Where? The only things that scared Hannah more than cats were mice. She started scampering around in a circle. Then she heard footsteps and saw something dangling above her head.
The mouse! Hannah jumped up and bit it! But it was not a mouse, it was Karli’s mom. She put Hannah in her cage. And Hannah was safe. And Karli was happy.
Chapter 4: Hannah, Caught!
One day, Karli forgot to close the top of Hannah’s cage. Now, Hannah was an adventure-seeking hamster. She had always wanted to escape, and since the family was eating dinner, this seemed like the perfect chance. So Slowly, Hannah climbed up to her bed and crawled out the top of her barred prison. Hannah then jumped out off her cage and fell onto one of her multicolored tunnels.
Carefully, she scaled the outside of her cage. When she finally reached the bookshelf underneath her cage, the retracted her claws and let go. “Aaah, freedom!” Hannah thought. She tried to keep her balance, but when she wasn’t looking, her feet slipped out from underneath her!
Hannah fell from the bookshelf and into something hard and sticky! When she tried to get up, she couldn’t. Hannah had fallen into a mousetrap! She nibbled at the goop, but it wouldn’t release her from its clutches. She let out a terrified yelp, and the family heard her. Karli’s dad came to the rescue, lifted her out of the mousetrap, and put her back in her cage. And Hannah was O.K. And Karli was happy.
Epilogue
Hannah lived a long and happy hamster life of 2 years. She passed away in March 2004. Although she is no longer a part of our family, she is still a part of our thoughts and lives. We will never forget you, Hannah. You were one brave hamster.
