1-Mar-2019
The Downfall of the Big Bad Hamster
There were once three tiny mice. Brothers who wanted to leave their tiny closet in the castle and move into a coveted bedroom. Their other brothers scoffed and their sisters rolled their eyes, but these three had a dream.
The problem was that a mean, peg-legged hamster lived in the bedroom. He was bigger than the mice, and the humans much preferred the hamster to the mice.
“Probably because of his adorable little brown face,” the youngest brother lamented.
“But he has a peg leg! What’s cute about that?” the middle brother asked.
“I think the humans feel sorry for him,” the oldest said.
“What are we going to do about it?”
The oldest and wisest of the brothers spoke. “I have a plan.”
The other two listened and nodded their tiny heads and wiggled their pink noses.
“It might work,” the middle brother said.
“It’s going to work,” the oldest said. “Now let’s get to it.”
The mice spent the rest of the day gathering what they would need. The youngest made the harrowing journey to the kitchen. The middle brother managed to get into the library and the oldest spent the day watching the hamster and selecting the best places for their plan. When the others returned, triumphant from their journeys, the oldest pointed out their targets.
The youngest grinned. “Perfect.”
“This hamster is going down!”
“Remember,” the oldest said, “we have to act afraid.”
His brothers agreed, and that night they began their plan.
By the next morning, the brothers had each moved into a prime crack in the walls of the bedroom.
The youngest had selected a spot near the fireplace so he would always be warm. He had just snuggled down in his bed made out of shredded paper and scraps from the kitchen when he heard the sound.
Slap, slap, slap, thump.
Slap, slap, slap, thump.
A shiver ran down the mouse’s spine, and he began to shake. However, he was determined to stick to the plan, so he stuck his nose out of his hole.
Slap, slap, slap, thump.
The fuzzy brown hamster with his peg leg stood not far away. His big black eyes stared at the mouse, and his nose wiggled as he sniffed.
The mouse smiled. “Hello.”
The hamster frowned. “Tiny mouse, get out of my space.”
The mouse straightened. “This is my house, this is my place.”
“Then I’ll munch and I’ll crunch and I’ll eat it away.”
Before the mouse could talk back, the hamster began nibbling on the mouse’s house. He screeched and ran to his brother’s house.
“Did it work?” the middle brother said.
“Like a charm.”
It didn’t take long before they heard the herald.
Slap, slap, slap, thump.
Slap, slap, slap, thump.
The hamster, now a little more round than before, glared as the two mice cowered. “Tiny mouse, get out of my space.”
The brothers spoke together. “This is our house, this is our place.”
“Then I’ll munch and I’ll crunch and I’ll eat it away.”
The mice could hardly keep from laughing as the hamster ate their home. They scampered to the oldest brother’s abode and reported the events.
“Just as we planned,” the oldest brother said. “We will wait.”
This time took a bit longer.
Slap, slap, slap, thump.
Slap, slap, slap, thump.
“I warned you twice,” the hamster said. “This time I will not be nice.”
The middle brother laughed. “He can hardly walk.”
Which was true, the hamster had eaten so much that his once little belly now scraped along the floor.
“Why are you so mean?” the three mice cried. “Why can’t you share this place?”
“Because it is mine!” the hamster squeaked.
This time they got no warning, the hamster just started eating.
The mice ran back to the closet, and heard the hamster laughing.
“Do you think it will work?” the youngest asked.
The oldest cleaned his whiskers. “By the time he is finished eating all of that he will be so full he won’t be able to walk. Then he’ll lie down and by the time he realizes that we fed him poison it will be too late.”
“It serves him right,” the youngest said. “For being so greedy.”
“True,” the middle agreed. “No one made him eat it.”
