well because she wasn’t too sure about having a classroom hamster back then.
Gail and her friends settled in on the bed and chairs and talked about me.
‘My whole family loves Humphrey,’ Sayeh said. ‘He’s so funny!’
‘Mine, too,’ A. J. said. ‘We wanted to keep him.’
They all agreed that they’d like to have me as a family pet.
‘But Humphrey belongs to us all,’ Heidi said. ‘And the kids in Room Twenty-six now.’
‘Yeah! He has a really big family,’ Gail said. ‘All of us!’
Later in the afternoon, the parents took a break and came in to say hi to me.
Heidi’s mum, Mrs Hopper, said, ‘I understand our favourite hamster is here! Hi, Humphrey!’
‘Thanks,’ I said. I didn’t tell her she had purple paint on her cheek.
‘You’re going to love your booth,’ she added.
Sophie’s dad gave me a huge smile. ‘Poor Humphrey didn’t get much sleep at our house because baby Timothy was teething. He’ll have to come again.’
‘Anytime!’ I squeaked.
Garth rushed in to check on me. ‘What’s going on?’ he asked when he saw all the people gathered around.
‘We’re just visiting Humphrey Dumpty,’ A. J. said.
‘He has a new nickname now,’ Simon told A. J. ‘We call him the Humster!’
‘The Humster?’ A. J. thought for a few seconds. ‘I like it!’
I liked all of my nicknames and all the students and all the parents.
It’s nice to be in such a great, big family!
Late in the afternoon, everybody gathered in the kitchen. Luckily for me, Gail brought me along! Mrs Morgenstern announced, ‘We all did such a fabulous job today, we’re going to get cleaned up and go out for pizza. On Thursday morning, Daniel’s dad will bring a truck to pick up everything and take it to school so we can set up.’
‘Yay!’ Gail said. ‘Can Humphrey come for pizza, too?’
‘Very funny,’ her mum said.
I didn’t think it was funny at all. I would LOVE-LOVE-LOVE to go out for pizza – even pizza with mushrooms on it.
Once I was alone in the house, I started thinking about all the work they’d done on the booth. ‘ Your booth,’ Heidi’s mum had said.
My curiosity grew and grew and grew some more.
I wasn’t sure what the back veranda looked like or where it was, but I decided to take a chance and find it.
I jiggled the lock-that-doesn’t-lock and scampered through the doorway. This room had a couch and TV and bookshelves.
It also had a big glass door. I was unsqueakably disappointed that it was the kind of door that slides, because it was impossible for me to crawl under it. But if I stood very tall on my tippy toes, I could see the back veranda.
And what I saw made my whiskers wiggle with excitement!
There were stacks of tall boxes painted bright colours and a very tall board painted with red and white stripes to look like a circus tent. A doorway was cut in the middle of the board, and over the opening, painted in big red letters was:
Alongside the doorway was a sign that said:
The Humster? That’s me! And what do you know – my picture was on the sign. I sure wanted to try that maze, but I knew I’d probably never get the chance.
On the other side, a sign with Og’s picture read:
And there were lots of large horse heads on the floor.
The veranda had windows on three sides, and I could see that the rain had stopped and the sun was low in the sky.
Everything looked fresh and green and brand-new.
I was about to return to the kitchen when I saw something in the sky that I’d never seen before.
‘A rainbow!’ I squeaked out loud.
It was just like I’d seen in pictures: a magical arc of many colours across the sky.
‘WOW-WOW-WOW,’ I said.
When the rainbow started to fade, it was getting dark, and I realized that the Morgensterns would be home soon.
I raced back to the kitchen and pulled myself up to the counter, using the handles on the cabinet drawers.
It was unsqueakably hard, but I’m one strong hamster. Kind of like the strong man
Gail and her friends settled in on the bed and chairs and talked about me.
‘My whole family loves Humphrey,’ Sayeh said. ‘He’s so funny!’
‘Mine, too,’ A. J. said. ‘We wanted to keep him.’
They all agreed that they’d like to have me as a family pet.
‘But Humphrey belongs to us all,’ Heidi said. ‘And the kids in Room Twenty-six now.’
‘Yeah! He has a really big family,’ Gail said. ‘All of us!’
Later in the afternoon, the parents took a break and came in to say hi to me.
Heidi’s mum, Mrs Hopper, said, ‘I understand our favourite hamster is here! Hi, Humphrey!’
‘Thanks,’ I said. I didn’t tell her she had purple paint on her cheek.
‘You’re going to love your booth,’ she added.
Sophie’s dad gave me a huge smile. ‘Poor Humphrey didn’t get much sleep at our house because baby Timothy was teething. He’ll have to come again.’
‘Anytime!’ I squeaked.
Garth rushed in to check on me. ‘What’s going on?’ he asked when he saw all the people gathered around.
‘We’re just visiting Humphrey Dumpty,’ A. J. said.
‘He has a new nickname now,’ Simon told A. J. ‘We call him the Humster!’
‘The Humster?’ A. J. thought for a few seconds. ‘I like it!’
I liked all of my nicknames and all the students and all the parents.
It’s nice to be in such a great, big family!
Late in the afternoon, everybody gathered in the kitchen. Luckily for me, Gail brought me along! Mrs Morgenstern announced, ‘We all did such a fabulous job today, we’re going to get cleaned up and go out for pizza. On Thursday morning, Daniel’s dad will bring a truck to pick up everything and take it to school so we can set up.’
‘Yay!’ Gail said. ‘Can Humphrey come for pizza, too?’
‘Very funny,’ her mum said.
I didn’t think it was funny at all. I would LOVE-LOVE-LOVE to go out for pizza – even pizza with mushrooms on it.
Once I was alone in the house, I started thinking about all the work they’d done on the booth. ‘ Your booth,’ Heidi’s mum had said.
My curiosity grew and grew and grew some more.
I wasn’t sure what the back veranda looked like or where it was, but I decided to take a chance and find it.
I jiggled the lock-that-doesn’t-lock and scampered through the doorway. This room had a couch and TV and bookshelves.
It also had a big glass door. I was unsqueakably disappointed that it was the kind of door that slides, because it was impossible for me to crawl under it. But if I stood very tall on my tippy toes, I could see the back veranda.
And what I saw made my whiskers wiggle with excitement!
There were stacks of tall boxes painted bright colours and a very tall board painted with red and white stripes to look like a circus tent. A doorway was cut in the middle of the board, and over the opening, painted in big red letters was:
Alongside the doorway was a sign that said:
The Humster? That’s me! And what do you know – my picture was on the sign. I sure wanted to try that maze, but I knew I’d probably never get the chance.
On the other side, a sign with Og’s picture read:
And there were lots of large horse heads on the floor.
The veranda had windows on three sides, and I could see that the rain had stopped and the sun was low in the sky.
Everything looked fresh and green and brand-new.
I was about to return to the kitchen when I saw something in the sky that I’d never seen before.
‘A rainbow!’ I squeaked out loud.
It was just like I’d seen in pictures: a magical arc of many colours across the sky.
‘WOW-WOW-WOW,’ I said.
When the rainbow started to fade, it was getting dark, and I realized that the Morgensterns would be home soon.
I raced back to the kitchen and pulled myself up to the counter, using the handles on the cabinet drawers.
It was unsqueakably hard, but I’m one strong hamster. Kind of like the strong man
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