Imagination According to Humphrey (3 page)

“Too bad you can't visit her,” he said.

Aldo's smart but he doesn't know everything. For one thing, he doesn't know about the lock-that-doesn't-lock on my cage—and I hope he never finds out!

He stood up and yawned again.

“Time to move on, fellows,” he said as he pushed his cleaning cart toward the door. “Good night!”

“Good night, Aldo!” I squeaked. “Get some sleep!”

“BOING-BOING!” Og chimed in.

Once he was gone and Room 26 was quiet, I took out my little notebook and tried again.

If my friends could come up with great ideas using their imaginations, so could I!

I tried to imagine myself flying.

I looked at myself in the little mirror and tried to picture myself with wings. I think I'd look pretty silly!

Then I stared hard at the blank page.

It was REALLY-REALLY-REALLY blank.

What was it Mrs. Brisbane said about a thunderstorm
?
No—wait! It was a brainstorm. What I needed to do was write down any ideas as fast as I could without erasing or stopping.

“Og, I'm going to have a brainstorm, but don't worry. I don't think there'll be lightning or thunder,” I squeaked to my neighbor. “At least I hope not.”

I took a deep breath and started writing.

If I had wings, I'd like to fly like a:

— 
Bird

— 
Kite

— 
Rocket

— 
Airplane

— 
Hawk (Eeek—no!!)

— 
Bumblebee (NO-NO-NO!)

— 
Squirrel

— 
Dragon

— 
Balloon

— 
Shooting Star

— 
Hamster

“Brainstorm is over,” I called to Og. “I'm still fine.”

“BOING-BOING!” Og said, splashing in the water side of his tank.

It was a pretty good list. It would be nice to fly like a kite, drifting along with the breeze . . . unless I got caught in a tree branch. That would be unsqueakably bad!

I like shooting stars, but it might be a little bit
too
exciting for a small creature like me!

I know there are flying squirrels. Squirrels are rodents like me. If some squirrels could fly, why not hamsters
?

I'm pretty sure I'd be the very first. I'd probably become famous for flying. Maybe I'd even be on TV!

I picked up my pencil and started to write. At last I had an idea and I wrote it down right away.

Hurray! The page wasn't blank anymore!

I glanced up at the clock.

I'd been so busy writing, I'd forgotten that Aldo said Gigi was lonely. Luckily, there was still time left before the morning sun peeked through the window.

I jiggled the lock on my cage and, as usual, the door swung open. I'm glad none of my human friends have discovered that it doesn't really lock.

“Og, I'm going to visit Gigi,” I said. “After all, she doesn't have a friend like you.”

He hopped up and down. “BOING!”

I could tell he thought it was a good idea.

I grabbed onto the table leg and slid down to the floor, then scrambled across the floor to the door.

“I'll be back soon!” I squeaked as I hunkered down and crawled under the door.

Room 12 is down the hall from Room 26, and Gigi's cage was on a table by the window, just like mine.

I scurried toward the table and looked up. The room was dark, but I could see a large furry brown shape in the cage.

I raised my nose and sniffed. Yep, that was a guinea pig, all right!

“Hi, Gigi,” I squeaked. “It's me—Humphrey.”

The furry shape didn't move.

I went closer to the table.

“Gigi
?
It's Humphrey. Remember me—the hamster from Room Twenty-six
?
” I asked.

Not a sound. Not a wiggle.

I was getting worried. Was Gigi mad at me
?
Was Gigi sick
?
Was Gigi . . . something even
worse
than being sick
?

“GIGI!” I squeaked at the top of my lungs. “ARE YOU OKAY
?
”

Still, she didn't budge.

I looked around. The cord from the blinds was hanging down near the floor, just like in Room 26.

I rushed over, grabbed the cord and began swinging. The harder I swung, the higher I went, until I was even with the top of the table.

Then, when the timing seemed right, I let go of the cord and leaped onto the table.

I did two somersaults and ended up near the cage.

Gigi didn't move.

I moved even closer to the cage and stared at the mound of brown fur. If Gigi was breathing, I sure couldn't tell.

I took a deep breath and shouted, “GIGI! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT
?
”

Suddenly, Gigi leaped up and gave a very unhamster-like squeal. “Wheeeeeee!”

It startled me so much, I did a backward somersault away from the cage and let out an enormous “SQUEEEEEEEAK!”

“WHEEEEEEE!” she squealed again.

My heart was pounding, but I managed to take a deep breath and say, “Gigi, it's just me. Humphrey, from Room Twenty-six.” After all, we had met once before.

“Humphrey
?
” she whispered. “You scared me. I thought you were a monster!”

“And I thought you were sick. Or worse!” I squeaked back.

Gigi yawned. “I was sleeping.”

She sure is a sound sleeper!

“Why aren't
you
sleeping
?
” she asked. “It's nighttime.”

“Because I'm not sleepy at night,” I told her.

“Well, guinea pigs sleep at night, like humans,” she explained.

“Oh.” I was disappointed. After all, I had lots of free time at night.

“It gets awfully lonely here after school.” Gigi shivered. “At the pet store, there were so many animals, I was never alone.”

“Pet store
?
” I asked. “
What
pet store
?
”

“Pet-O-Rama,” Gigi replied.

That word made my whiskers wiggle. “Pet-O-Rama
?
” I squeaked. “I came from Pet-O-Rama, too! Say, does Carl still work there
?
”

“He sure does,” Gigi said. “I kind of miss him.”

“Being a classroom pet is a lot more fun than living in a pet store,” I said. “You'll see.”

The room was getting light. It was time for me to leave.

“Next time, I won't come so late,” I told Gigi.

“Thanks,” she said. “Please come back again.”

“I will!” I said as I scurried away.

As I slid under the door, I heard Gigi say, “I'm sorry I thought you were a monster!”

“I'm sorry I scared you!” I squeaked.

Once I was back in Room 26, I raced for the cord of the blinds and swung up again.

“She thought I was a monster,” I told Og as I slid past his cage. “Imagine that!”

But by the time my friends started streaming into Room 26, I was sound asleep.

Because hamsters
often
enjoy sleeping during the day.

MY WRITER'S RAMBLINGS
I finally got an idea!
I really hoped I would.
But I still have a question:
Is it any good?

Ideas Fly

I
was wide-awake again by the time Mrs. Brisbane started to read the dragon book. The author, Cameron Cole, had invented the most clever dragon world. It was close to the human world, but we kept hearing about details that were lots more dragon-ish!

Think of this: they didn't need a grill to have a barbecue. Their tissues were made out of foil so they wouldn't catch fire when they sneezed. And since they could make it rain, they had a special group of fire-fighting dragons to put out accidental blazes.

Gil enjoyed his tour of their cloud. But one thing bothered him a lot: how could a young knight like him help his new dragon friends
?

Everybody groaned when she closed the book.

Helpful-Holly raised her hand. “Mrs. Brisbane, how do you think Cameron Cole got all those wonderful ideas
?
”

“He must have used his imagination a lot,” Mrs. Brisbane said. “How do
you
think the author came up with those ideas, class
?
”

“He had a gigantic brainstorm—like a hurricane!” Simon said. “Or a brain-icane!”

My friends giggled.

“Maybe he saw a real dragon,” Cassie said. I could tell she still wasn't sure whether dragons were real or not.

“Maybe he saw a bearded dragon like Pearl,” Nicole said.

“Maybe he dreamed he had birds' wings,” Rolling-Rosie said. “Like I do.”

“Perhaps he did.” Mrs. Brisbane glanced at the clock. “I think this is a good time to get out your writers' notebooks, class.”

I was unsqueakably curious to find out what my friends had written.

“Mrs. Brisbane, is it okay if I changed my mind
?
” Thomas said. “I was going to fly to Egypt to see the pyramids. But then I had a better idea!”

I wished I had as many ideas as Thomas did.

“We're not that far along,” Mrs. Brisbane said. “I suppose so. Would you share what you wrote with us
?
”

Thomas read from his notebook. “If I could fly like an eagle, I could go to any football game I wanted to see. I'd swoop over the stadium, following every play. I could watch one game and fly straight to another game and see it, too.”

Somebody said, “Cool!” I think it was Simon.

I have never been to a football game, but I have seen them on TV at my friends' houses.

It's such a confusing game! Maybe if I had wings, I could hover over the field and figure it out.

“What if it rains
?
” Tall-Paul asked.

Thomas thought for a second. Then he grinned. “I'd have waterproof feathers.”

“Thank you, Thomas,” Mrs. Brisbane said. “Why don't you add the part about the waterproof feathers
?
”

“Yes, ma'am,” Thomas answered.

I climbed up to the tippy top of my cage so I could see all my classmates as they read their paragraphs. It was FUN-FUN-FUN to hear about Rosie flying to the pyramids and seeing that big scary statue called the Sphinx!

I was HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY to hear about all the places Kelsey would go to watch the ballet.

And my heart did a little flip-flop when Holly read about how easy it would be to visit her friend Phoebe.

Mrs. Brisbane called on Joey.

“Mine's kind of short,” he said.

She told him to go ahead and read it.

“If I could fly, I'd go to Africa so I could see animals in the wild.” Joey looked up. “That's it.”

“It's a good beginning,” Mrs. Brisbane said. “Next, why don't you name some of the animals you'd most love to see and why you like them
?
”

Joey looked relieved. “Okay.”

My whiskers were wiggling when Mrs. Brisbane called on Do-It-Now-Daniel. For one thing, he doesn't always get his homework done on time. And for another thing, I'm not sure our teacher liked it when he said he wanted to fly back home and go to bed.

So I was HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY to learn that he
had
done his homework and he'd changed his topic.

“If I could fly like a helicopter, I'd go see my favorite author,” Daniel read. “His name is D. D. Denby and his books about a magic backpack are really great. I hope he keeps writing them, because I would never get tired of reading more.”

“That's a good start, Daniel,” Mrs. Brisbane said. “I'll bet you said you wanted to fly home and go back to bed because you wanted to finish a magic backpack book.”

Daniel grinned and nodded.

“Tomorrow, I want you to add a descriptive word in front of your noun,” Mrs. Brisbane said. “If you said ‘bird,' put in a word that describes a bird. Can anyone think of one
?
”

A few hands went up.

“Graceful bird,” Rosie said.

Felipe said, “Huge bird
?
”

Cassie said, “Beautiful bird.”

“Mean bird,” Simon suggested.

Mrs. Brisbane said they were all good. I liked them, too, except for the mean bird.

“Use your imaginations and be as descriptive as you can,” she added.

Mrs. Brisbane moved on to science and something called gravity. I didn't understand it all, but if we didn't have it, we'd all be floating in space. I guess that would be a little bit like flying.

I decided to take a spin on my hamster wheel. I was HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY that gravity kept me from floating away.

After lunch, Sophie came into the room first and headed straight for my cage.

“Humphrey, did you hear me reading about going to the Island of the Parrots and talking with them
?
Have you ever met a parrot
?
Do you like parrots
?
Oh . . . I wish you could talk about them with me!”

“Me too!” I squeaked, but I knew she didn't understand me.

I have to admit, I sometimes have a hard time keeping up with Sophie, because she talks so much and she talks so fast!

There's not a lot of time between the end of the school day and when Aldo comes to clean, but I really wanted to see Gigi before she went to sleep, so I took a chance.

When the school was empty, I jiggled my lock-that-doesn't-lock and it swung open as usual.

“Og, I'm going to visit Gigi,” I said. “But I promise I'll be back before Aldo comes in to clean.”

“BOING!” Og hopped up and down.

I know he worries about me when I'm out of the cage.

I'm
glad
he worries about me. To squeak the truth, I worry about him, too.

I scrunched under the door and hurried as fast as I could to Room 12.

“Hi, Gigi,” I said as I pushed under the door. “Are you awake
?
”

“Oh, yes, Humphrey,” Gigi said in her soft voice. “I don't think I'll sleep at all tonight.”

“Why not
?
” I asked. “Wait, I'm coming up there.”

I grabbed onto the blinds' cord and swung my way up to the table and made the big leap.

I slid right past Gigi's cage! “Whoa! Sorry,” I said as I scrambled back. “Don't worry—it happens sometimes. Now, what's this about not sleeping
?
”

Gigi shivered. “I'm scared, Humphrey.”

“What are you scared of
?
” I asked.

Gigi moved closer to where I was standing. “Ms. Mac said I have to go home with one of the students this weekend.” She stopped shivering and started shaking.

“That will be fun!” I squeaked. “I love going home with my classmates.”

Really, that's the best part about being a classroom pet.

“It sounds scary to me,” Gigi said. “Humans are so large and so loud and so
different.
And what am I supposed to
do
?
”

“Don't worry about a thing,” I told her. “The humans are nice and they'll love you. Of course, if you entertain them a little with squeaks and tricks, it makes them happy.”

“Oh.” Gigi sighed. “I don't know any tricks.”

“That's all right,” I assured her. “They'll think anything you do is a trick. Listen, don't be frightened. I've been to many human homes and I've always had a GREAT-GREAT-GREAT time.”

Gigi shivered again.

“If you feel scared, remember that your friend Humphrey says everything will be all right!” I tried to sound encouraging.

Suddenly I noticed the time.

“Uh-oh! I have to get back to my cage before Aldo comes in to clean,” I said as I slid down the table leg. “Remember what I said!”

“Thanks, Humphrey. I'll try!” Gigi squeaked back.

After Aldo had cleaned the room, Og and I were alone again.

“Gigi's worried about going home with a student,” I told him.

“BOING-BOING-BOING!” he twanged.

I was sorry I'd said it, because Og doesn't get to go home with classmates on the weekend the way I do. (Frogs can go without food longer than hamsters.)

But Og has gone with me to Mrs. Brisbane's house, which is something we both LOVE-LOVE-LOVE.

“I think she'll be all right,” I told Og.

He didn't answer back.

I opened my notebook and read what I'd written the night before.

“If I could fly, I'd fly like a flying squirrel all over the world,” I read.

“BOING!” Og said.

Eeek! I hadn't realized I was reading out loud.

“Do you like it
?
” I asked.

All I heard was Og splashing around in his tank.

“I don't think I like it, either,” I muttered.

Was it as interesting as Daniel's helicopter trip to see his favorite author
?

Or Rosie, flying like a bird to see the Sphinx
?

Or Simon, breathing fire on a pizza in Italy
?

Did my big brainstorm turn out to be drizzle
?

I sighed and read it again.

And after a while, I picked up my pencil and added one word. I put “speedy” in front of “flying squirrel.”

MY WRITER'S RAMBLINGS
I liked my idea last night.
I liked it quite a bit.
But when I read it back tonight,
I'm not so sure of it!