Spring According to Humphrey (8 page)

9 A Change of Plan

The Brisbanes’ house was calm and cosy. I slept a lot more there than I do in Room 26. I guess maybe I needed a holiday just like everybody else!

Early in the week, Mrs Brisbane got a call from Cassie’s mum.

I knew that because I could hear Mrs Brisbane say, ‘Thanks for calling me back. How is Cassie?’ And, ‘I’m glad the doctor said she’s fine.’

That was GOOD-GOOD-GOOD news.

Mrs Brisbane listened for a while. Then she said, ‘If you’re free, would you like to come over here so we could talk?’ She paused and then said, ‘Yes, of course, bring Cassie. I think Humphrey
and Og could do with some company.’

As much as I love the Brisbanes, it was true. I missed my classmates. After all, I am a classroom pet.

Later in the day, the doorbell rang. Mrs Brisbane led Cassie and her mum into the living room.

I leaped up and squeaked, ‘HI-HI-HI, Cassie!’

Even Og splashed around in the water side of his tank. ‘BOING-BOING-BOING!’ he shouted.

Cassie raced over to see us. She looked unsqueakably happy, as if her stomach didn’t hurt at all. She asked if she could put me in my hamster ball, and before I knew it, I was rolling around the room.

Mr Brisbane offered them lemonade, and they all gathered around the living room table to talk.

‘The doctor said that Cassie gets very anxious about tests and things like that,’ Cassie’s mum said. ‘Cassie told me you suggested deep breathing, which I think is great.’

‘Does it help, Cassie?’ Mrs Brisbane asked.

‘Yes,’ Cassie said. ‘But sometimes I forget.’

Mrs Brisbane nodded. ‘There are some other things you can try,’ she said. ‘For instance, getting plenty of exercise can help, like walking or running.’

A GREAT-GREAT-GREAT idea! I always exercise when I’m feeling out of control.

To encourage Cassie, I decided to see how hard I could get my hamster ball spinning. Instead of just running forward, which makes the ball roll, I began to spin in a circle.

‘Look!’ Cassie said as she pointed at me.

The ball was spinning round and round in a circle.

In fact, the world around me was spinning so fast, I was a little bit dizzy!

‘BOING-BOING!’ Og sounded worried.

My tummy felt funny, so I stopped my spinning.

When the ball was at a standstill, I looked up and saw Cassie spinning round and round in a circle, too.

‘Be careful, Cassie,’ her mum said.

‘It’s fun!’ Cassie said.

She spun a little while longer and finally stopped.

‘How do you feel?’ Mrs Brisbane asked.

Cassie caught her breath. ‘I feel good. More relaxed.’

‘That’s good,’ Mrs Brisbane said. ‘But maybe walking is a little better than spinning.’

My head was still spinning, so I squeaked, ‘I think so!’

Thank goodness Cassie put me back in my cage.

Mr Brisbane retuned to the living room with a plate of oatmeal cookies.

Cookies
always
make humans feel better.

While everyone munched away, I hopped on my wheel for a good, fast spin.

‘Look!’ Mrs Brisbane said. ‘I think Humphrey exercises to relax.’

Cassie giggled. ‘But he doesn’t take tests.’

‘If you only knew!’ I squeaked.

Mr Brisbane passed the cookies around again. ‘When I was in school, I always thought I had to get every single answer right. If I missed just one question, I thought I’d failed.’ He chuckled. ‘But now I know that you don’t have to be perfect all the time.’

‘I worry about missing an answer, too,’ Cassie said.

Mr Brisbane nodded. ‘But would the world come to an end if you got an answer wrong now and then?’

Cassie hesitated, then shook her head. ‘I guess not.’

‘Of course not, Cassie,’ her mum said. ‘You could never disappoint us. We know you try hard and we’re proud of what a good person you are.’

They hugged, which is something nice that humans do. But PLEASE-PLEASE-PLEASE don’t hug your hamsters. We could get hurt!

‘You don’t have to be perfect, Cassie. Relax,’ her mum said.

‘I know.’ Cassie sighed.

‘There’s something you can do about that,’ Mrs Brisbane said. ‘Whenever you have a negative thought – such as thinking you’re going to fail – replace it with a positive thought.’

Cassie looked confused.

‘When you hear that voice in your head saying that you’re going to fail, just say to yourself, “I know I’ll do well in the test”,’ Mrs Brisbane said. ‘Because you know you are prepared.’

‘That’s a good idea, isn’t it, Og?’ I squeaked to my neighbour.

‘BOING-BOING,’ he replied.

Suddenly, Cassie smiled. ‘I guess I could do that. Because I always study a lot.’

Her mum smiled, too. ‘Try following Mrs Brisbane’s suggestions. Maybe your stomach won’t hurt so much.’

‘I’m going to try those things, too!’ I squeaked. ‘I’m going to breathe deeply, get plenty of exercise and replace my negative thoughts with positive ones!’

I suddenly felt lighter than air. I scrambled up the tree branch, grabbed the top rungs of my cage and started swinging my way from one corner to the next.

‘Look at Humphrey!’ Cassie laughed.

‘He’s quite a show-off,’ Mrs Brisbane said.

A show-off? Not me! I was just following Mrs Brisbane’s suggestions.

Cassie came over to my cage to watch. ‘I love you, Humphrey,’ she said. ‘You’re so funny!’

‘Thanks!’ I squeaked as I dropped down to the bottom of my cage and did a triple somersault.

Cassie laughed out loud. ‘I hope you can come home with me sometime,’ she said.

As I hopped on to my wheel and began to spin, I heard Mrs Brisbane say something I didn’t expect.

‘Would you like to take him home now?’ she asked. ‘Over the Easter holiday?’

Cassie was speechless. I was squeakless.

‘What do you think?’ Cassie’s mum asked.

‘Oh, yes,’ Cassie said in a soft voice. ‘I would love that.’

‘I think Humphrey would love that, too,’ she said.

I was still squeakless. I’d planned on spending a nice, quiet week with the Brisbanes and Og. Suddenly, that wasn’t going to happen!

‘Do you know how to take care of him?’ Mrs Brisbane asked. ‘I have some instructions you can take with you.’

Cassie’s hands were shaking.

‘It’s a big responsibility,’ her mum said.

‘I want to,’ Cassie said. ‘More than anything! Can Og come with us?’

Og hopped up and down. ‘BOING-BOING!’ he said.

I think he wanted to go home with Cassie, too.

‘Well, Mr Brisbane and I would be very lonely without one of the classroom pets,’ Mrs Brisbane said. ‘Let’s share.’

Cassie nodded, and before I knew it, her mum carried my cage out to the car. I barely had time to squeak, ‘So long, Og!’ on my way out.

I did hear a distant ‘BOING!’

All of my friends are excited when I come visit their homes. So am I.

But I don’t think anyone was ever as excited to take me home as Cassie was.

She was so excited, she was swinging my cage a little too much for my wobbly tummy, but I understood.

‘Where should I put him?’ she asked as she carried my cage through the door.

‘In your room, I think,’ her mum said.

‘I hope I can take good care of him.’ Cassie set my cage on her desk.

‘You will,’ her mum said.

‘You’ll do a hamster-iffic job,’ I squeaked.

Cassie got right to work, filling my water bottle and smoothing out my bedding. She
straightened my wheel and gave me some vitamin drops, which are yummy!

Later that night, her older sister, Cammy, came in to watch me spin on my wheel.

‘I need to exercise, too,’ Cassie said as she ran on the spot.

Cammy joined her, and pretty soon, the whole room was shaking!

After dinner, Cassie got into her pyjamas and came back to her room.

‘Would you like me to read you a story?’ she asked. ‘I love reading stories.’

I didn’t know that, but I enjoyed listening to her read from her fairy-tale books. The first story was about a little girl who was so tiny, she was no bigger than a thumb.

As a tiny hamster, I could understand how unsqueakably scary it can be to be so small, but it had a happy ending.

Then she read a more disturbing story about a frog prince. A princess doesn’t realize that the frog is a real prince until she finally kisses him and he turns back into a prince.

‘Isn’t that a happy ending?’ Cassie asked as she closed the book.

I had nothing to say. The thought that Og could be a prince or that a princess would kiss him was – um – disturbing.

‘I love happy endings,’ Cassie said.

Just then, her mum popped her head in the door. ‘Time to go to sleep,’ she said. ‘Have you brushed your teeth?’

‘I have,’ Cassie said.

Cassie’s mum tucked her into bed and turned off the light.

‘I’m so happy to have Humphrey here, I’m not sure if I can sleep,’ she said.

Her mum suggested she try the breathing exercise Mrs Brisbane had taught her.

Once we were alone, I heard Cassie say, ‘Come on, Humphrey. Let’s breathe.’

Actually, I breathe all the time. But that night, we did it together.

‘Breathe in slowly,’ she said. ‘Hold … and slowly breathe out.’

We repeated that several times, but after a while, I didn’t hear Cassie any more.

I was sound asleep.

I think maybe she was, too.

10 Spectacular Signs of Spring

Spring
almost
ruined my week at Cassie’s house.

Don’t get me wrong; she took excellent care of me. She even took me out of my cage, which I enjoy, especially when my friends make mazes for me to run.

But Cassie was also WORRIED-WORRIED-WORRIED about finding signs of spring.

And as the week went on, she got more and more worried.

‘Do some deep breathing,’ her mum said when Cassie moaned that she couldn’t find one new thing to add to her list.

‘I’m busy,’ Cammy said when Cassie begged her to help.

Cassie’s dad took her to the park one day. They were gone for hours, but when she came back, she was almost in tears.

‘Sure, the grass is starting to turn green and the trees have buds on them. But
they’re already on the list
! Mrs Brisbane will be so upset if I can’t find something,’ she said.

‘I thought Mrs Brisbane was your favourite teacher ever,’ her dad said. ‘She’ll understand.’

But Cassie was still upset.

The next day, Cassie’s mum took her for a long walk around the neighbourhood. I crossed my toes and hoped that the exercise would calm her down.

I spent the day in my cage, napping, spinning on my wheel and staring out of the window. I missed Og. I missed my classmates. I even missed the specks!

That afternoon, while I was thinking about them and looking out of the window, I noticed something new.

A small brown bird alighted on a tree branch
and then hopped a few inches, just out of my view.

I climbed to the top of my cage. I could see it!

The bird hopped further until I couldn’t see it again. So I scurried over to the corner and stretched my neck. The bird was standing on the edge of a nest. A smaller brown bird was inside the nest.

My neck was getting tired, but I kept staring at the nest. It was woven out of twigs, bits of mud, fluff, paper, and straw.

It was a wonderful sight! And birds’ nests are definitely signs of spring.

I couldn’t wait for Cassie to come back from her walk so she could see it, too.

When she returned, she looked VERY-VERY-VERY discouraged as she slumped down on her bed.

‘Nothing new,’ she said. ‘The signs of spring have stopped.’

I raced to the front of my cage and squeaked, ‘NO-NO-NO! There is a birds’ nest right outside the window. Look!’

I tried to point, but since Cassie wasn’t looking at me, it didn’t matter.

She sighed. ‘I’ll be the only one in Room Twenty-six without a new sign of spring.’

‘Look outside! At the very edge of the window!’ I squeaked at the top of my lungs.

Cassie didn’t notice. As wonderful as they are, humans can be very frustrating at times.

In fact, I was so frustrated that I jumped up and down. ‘Please look!’

Cassie glanced over at me and smiled. ‘Oh, Humphrey, you’re so cute.’

Cute? I don’t care about being cute! (Okay, maybe a little bit.)

To squeak the truth, I was a little bit upset with Cassie until I realized that from where she was sitting, she couldn’t see the tree branch. The curtain was blocking her view.

‘Pull back the curtain!’ I squeaked. ‘It’s right outside the window.’

Cassie just sighed.

Of course, once it was dark outside, there was no chance of Cassie seeing the nest.

She left the room to have dinner and watch television with her family.

As she did, I began to think.

Squeaking at Cassie wasn’t helping at all, since she couldn’t understand me. I needed to show her the nest – but how?

Later, Cassie came back to her room for bedtime. She read for a while before her dad turned off the light.

‘I hope you’re not too disappointed in me, Humphrey,’ Cassie said.

Then her breathing changed and I could tell that she was asleep.

Her mum had closed the curtain completely when she said good night to Cassie, but there was a little opening that let some moonlight in.

I stared at the moonlight a long time before I came up with a Plan.

I waited until the house was completely quiet, and then I carefully jiggled the lock-that-doesn’t-lock on my cage and tiptoed out on to the table.

There was only about an inch of space between the table and the windowsill.

I held my breath and leaped.

Whew! I was pawsitively relieved to land safely.

I stopped to catch my breath, then I began to push the curtain away from the window.

I had no idea that a curtain could be so heavy. I pushed with all my might, and nothing happened.

Whoa! I took a deep breath, pushed again, and the curtain slowly began to move. The great thing about those curtains was that when I pushed the left curtain, the right curtain also moved.

With a few deep breaths, and a few rest stops, I managed to push the curtain as far as it would go.

Once I’d caught my breath, I stopped to look at the moon. And then I looked down. The silvery light was shining on the nest tucked in the branches of the tree. I was closer now and could see much better.

I stared for a while, because it was so round and cosy. Almost as cosy as my little sleeping hut.

I crossed my toes and HOPED-HOPED-HOPED that in the morning, Cassie would see the nest, too.

By the time I returned to my cage and closed
the door behind me, I was feeling unsqueakably tired.

I sank down into my bedding and stared up at the moon until, suddenly, it was morning.

I’d slept through most of the night – which is quite a feat for a hamster!

‘Good morning, Humphrey,’ Cassie said as she looked in my cage.

‘Don’t look at me – look out the window! There’s a spectacular sign of spring!’ I squeaked excitedly.

Cassie just yawned.

‘Ready for breakfast?’ her dad asked as he poked his head in the doorway. ‘I made pancakes and sausages and muffins, scrambled eggs and pizza!’

‘Really?’ Cassie f lapped her hands excitedly.

Her dad laughed. ‘April Fool!’ he said. ‘Didn’t you look at the calendar? It’s April the first – April Fool’s Day!’

Cassie laughed and then turned serious. ‘What are we really having for breakfast?’

‘The good news is we
are
having pancakes,’ he said with a smile.

‘Yay!’ Cassie raced out of the room.

Why would Cassie’s dad fib about all the things he made for breakfast? Because it was April Fool’s Day? Why is there a day to celebrate being foolish? I will never figure out humans!

I sighed. The cosy nest was now in plain view … only Cassie wasn’t there to see it.

I thought of making a sign saying
BIRDS
’
NEST
with a big arrow pointing at the window. But if I did that, Cassie would know that I can read and write and get out of my cage. Those are things I like to keep secret.

Cassie and her mum came back in a little while.

‘I’ll make the bed if you pick up your clothes,’ her mum said, and they got to work.

‘Please … look out the window!’ I squeaked.

‘Why is Humphrey squeaking like that?’ Cassie’s mum asked.

Cassie giggled. ‘He’s talking.’

‘Yes!’ I squeaked at the top of my small lungs. ‘I’m trying to tell you to LOOK OUT OF THE WINDOW!’

Cassie and her mum just laughed.

After they straightened up the room, Cassie’s mum said, ‘Wow, it’s really bright this morning.’

I crossed my toes and hoped.

Cassie’s mum walked across the room to the window. ‘I’ll just close these a little.’

‘NO-NO-NO!’ I screamed.

My heart sank as she started to pull the curtains together – after I’d worked so hard to open them.

And then she stopped!

‘Cassie, come here,’ she said. ‘Look at that branch!’

She pointed and Cassie looked.

‘I don’t see anything except leaves,’ she said.

I held my breath.

‘Look again,’ her mum said.

Cassie gasped and clapped her hands. ‘It’s a nest!’ she shouted as she danced around in a circle. ‘Oh, Mum – it’s a nest!’

‘Calm down, Cassie,’ her mum said. ‘You’ll scare the birds away.’

Cassie took a deep breath. I could tell she was trying to stay calm.

‘I can’t believe it,’ Cassie whispered. ‘We’re so close!’

‘I think you’ve found your sign of spring,’ her mum said as she hurried out of the room. ‘I’m going to get your dad and Cammy.’

I could breathe again. My Plan had worked.

For the rest of my time at Cassie’s house, the whole family came to watch the birds.

‘The female must be sitting on some eggs,’ Cassie’s dad said. ‘Watch how the male bird brings her food.’

Cammy gave Cassie tips on how to get the best photos.

Cassie’s dad printed the photos out for her.

And Cassie’s mum found a book in the library about how birds build nests.

‘Look! There’s my old pink shoelace.’ Cassie pointed to the nest and Cammy took a picture.

Cassie scribbled down notes, made drawings, and even made a video of the male bringing food for the female. Once in a while, she left the nest to get food and the male stayed behind.

‘They’re so wonderful. How can we help them?’ Cassie asked her mother.

Cassie’s mum had an idea. She took Cassie to the shop to buy birdseed and a feeder, so it would be easier for the birds to have food.

Cassie took more pictures of the birds taking turns going to the feeder.

The birds worked hard together and helped each other. Just like Cassie’s family.

I had a little pang as I thought about how wonderful families really were.

On Sunday – my last day at Cassie’s – some very surprising things happened.

First of all, Cassie and Cammy took baskets and ran around the garden, picking up brightly coloured eggs. They said the Easter Bunny had left them.

But why an Easter Bunny? Why not an Easter Hamster?

They also ate a good amount of chocolate, which they didn’t share with me. That was all right, because sweets aren’t healthy for hamsters to eat.

The other surprising thing that happened on Sunday was that the small brown bird flew off while the father bird stood guard on the edge of the nest.

That’s when we saw them: three small speckled eggs! Cassie managed to take a photo just before the mother bird returned to the nest.

I never thought the sight of three eggs could be so wonderful! Even more egg-citing than the eggs left by the Easter Bunny.

‘I can’t wait for school tomorrow,’ Cassie told me that night. ‘I’ll have the best signs of spring in Room Twenty-six.’

‘I think you’re right,’ I squeaked.