Secrets According to Humphrey (3 page)

And you know what
?
It
talked
to me!

“Tell me your secrets,” the Sphinx said in a ghostly voice. “And I'll tell you mine.”

“But I don't have any secrets,” I squeaked to him.

“Then you cannot pass,” the Sphinx said. “You will stay here in the desert . . . forever!”

And then
he
or
she
or
it
laughed.

It laughed so hard, I woke up—thank goodness.

It was almost time for school to start, so I decided it would be better to stay awake than to stay in ancient Egypt with the Sphinx forever.

I grabbed my notebook from behind the mirror and began to write down all the secrets I'd learned so far.

HUMPHREY'S TOP SECRET SCRIBBLES
Just thinking about meeting up with a mummy
Makes me feel funny in my tummy.

Secret Guest

E
ven if I'd wanted to forget about ancient Egypt for a while, I couldn't. Everything we did in Room 26 had something to do with that subject!

Mrs. Brisbane divided the class into four groups: the Scribes (those were people who wrote things down), the Builders, the Traders and the Artists. Each group was assigned to study one part of Egyptian life and do a project and a report on the subject.

“What group would you want to be in
?
” I squeaked to Og during recess.

He splished and splashed.

“You like water,” I said. “I guess you'd like to be a Trader so you could travel up and down the Nile.”

It wasn't easy for me to figure out what I'd like to be.

I like writing in my notebook, so it would be fun to be a Scribe.

Scribes wrote with a strange alphabet using little pictures instead of letters. They're called
hieroglyphics
, a word that is pronounced
hire-oh-GLIFF-ix
and doesn't rhyme with anything.

On the other paw, it would be fun to be a Builder and make a model pyramid.

The Traders were going to have a GREAT-GREAT-GREAT time building a model boat and learning how ancient Egyptians traded their goods for things they needed from other places.

Oh, but the Artists would get to make all kinds of beautiful pots, jars and statues.

Luckily, as classroom pets, Og and I got to see what all the groups were doing.

We watched them huddling together in their groups, traveling back and forth to the library, planning and laughing. Suddenly, I remembered that
one of my classmates would soon be leaving!

And when she'd heard about it, Mrs. Brisbane had said she couldn't be happier.

I'd be sad if any one of them left.

I'd miss watching Helpful-Holly pass out homework and the big smile on Forgetful-Phoebe's face when she remembered hers.

I'd miss Rolling-Rosie popping wheelies in her wheelchair and the way Just-Joey likes to talk with me alone.

Class would be duller without Calm-Down-Cassie and the way she blurts out, “Oh, no!” whenever something unexpected happens.

How could Small-Paul get along without his best friend, Tall-Paul
?
Or the other way around
?

I'd certainly miss Fix-It-Felipe, who always knows how to fix a torn page or prop up a wobbly chair leg. (Although I worry that someday he'll also fix my lock-that-doesn't-lock.)

Room 26 would be sad if anyone stopped coming every day. There wasn't one student in Room 26 that I wouldn't miss.

And I hoped that there wasn't one student in Room 26 who wouldn't miss me!

(Og, too, of course!)

So, as the week went on, I watched my friends working in their groups and wondered which one would be going—and how my life and the lives of all my friends would change.

On Friday, Mrs. Brisbane said, “I can't remember who's taking Humphrey home for the weekend.”

Phoebe's hand shot up so fast, it was a blur.

“I am!” she shouted. “It's my turn!”

She was happy and so was I!

Phoebe Pratt lived with her grandmother, Mrs. Lawson, while her parents were in a faraway country. I'd met her grandmother, who was an unsqueakably nice human. I was pretty sure I'd have a great weekend, unless Phoebe happened to have a large, fierce animal, such as a dog or a cat.

“Humphrey, I hope you know how special you are,” Mrs. Lawson said when she came to pick us up after school. “My boss actually let me leave work early to pick you up.”

“THANKS-THANKS-THANKS,” I squeaked.

“See, Gran, he talks,” Phoebe explained.

Gran laughed. “If you say so, Phoebe.”

“BOING!” Og chimed in.

“May we take Og home, too
?
” Phoebe asked.

“I'm afraid it's too cold to take him outside to the car,” Mrs. Brisbane said. “He doesn't have a fur coat like Humphrey.”

“BOING-BOING.” Og dived into the water side of his tank and began to swim.

“Sorry, Og,” I said.

Mrs. Lawson covered my cage with a small blanket and picked it up.

“Stay warm this weekend, Og!” I squeaked. “Bye!”

I'm not sure he heard me through the blanket.

Phoebe and her grandmother lived in an apartment, so we had to ride the elevator. We got to the fifth floor so fast, I felt like my tummy was left on the first floor!

“Where do you want him
?
” Gran asked.

“My room, of course!” Phoebe said. “Right on my desk.”

I was happy to find out that Phoebe and her grandmother did not have any large animals roaming around the house.

And I was so pleased to see a huge smile on Phoebe's face. In fact, I'd never seen her so happy.

“Wait until I tell my mom and dad I have you home for the weekend,” she said. “I wish they could meet you.”

Suddenly, Phoebe didn't look so happy.

I knew how much she missed her parents, and how FAR-FAR-FAR away they were. So I did everything I could think of to cheer her up.

First, I climbed up the side of my cage and leaped to my tree branch.

Phoebe giggled. “Go, Humphrey,” she said.

Next, I swung from branch to branch to branch.

“Go, Humphrey, go!” Phoebe was grinning again.

Then, I dropped down into my bedding and did a triple somersault.

Phoebe laughed out loud.

Finally, I hopped on my wheel and spun it as fast as I could.

“Way to go, Humphrey!” She clapped her hands.

I kept on spinning, feeling unsqueakably happy to see Phoebe smiling again.

“Did I hear giggling
?
” Gran popped her head in the door.

“Humphrey's so funny,” Phoebe said. “Watch.”

Mrs. Lawson came in close to the cage.

I couldn't let Phoebe down, so this time, I scrambled up to the tippy top of my cage and made my way from one side to the other, paw over paw.

“He's very strong,” Gran said.

Then I let one paw go and held on with the other paw.

“Oh, my!” Gran said.

Next, I dropped down onto my tree branch and scrambled DOWN-DOWN-DOWN.

“Wow!” Gran exclaimed.

Again, I ended up on the wheel, spinning as fast as my small hamster legs could go.

“You're right, Phoebe,” Gran said. “He really knows how to put on a show.”

I was pleased that Phoebe and her grandmother were impressed, but I wasn't sure I had enough energy to keep them smiling all weekend!

“I was going to ask if you wanted to see a movie, but Humphrey's much more entertaining,” Gran said.

“Gran, could I invite someone over
?
” Phoebe asked.

“Sure. Who do you want to ask
?
” her grandmother replied.

Phoebe glanced at my cage and giggled.

“I'll tell you in the kitchen,” she said. “It's a secret.”

“Tell
me
!” I squeaked. “Please!”

But they'd already left the room.

There was nothing to do but wait, so I crawled into my sleeping hut and closed my eyes.

I didn't open them again until Phoebe raced back in.

“She's coming tomorrow, Humphrey! Surprise!” she said.

“WHO-WHO-WHO
?
” I asked.

“You'll see,” Phoebe answered. “Just wait.”

Surprises can be a lot of fun.

But what if the surprise was something like a dog or a cat
?

I didn't have much choice, so I waited.

The surprise was Kelsey Kirkpatrick.

I call her Be-Careful-Kelsey because she doesn't always think before she does something.

“Look before you leap,” Mrs. Brisbane sometimes says.

Kelsey tends to leap and not look at all, but she's been working on being a lot more careful.

Kelsey has long legs and bright red hair, and when she raced into Phoebe's room, she said, “Hi, Humphrey! Surprised to see me
?
”

“Yes,” I said. “And it's a good surprise.”

“I was hoping we could go to the zoo,” Gran told the girls. “But it's pouring rain out there. I'm sure you'll think up something to do.”

I've heard about the zoo. There are animals even larger and more ferocious than dogs and cats.

I shivered just thinking about that place! I was GLAD-GLAD-GLAD that we weren't going there!