sides and a glass top. A narrow sliding wire door was placed in one of the glass walls.
The case was taller than me. It had to be at least six feet tall. And it was nearly as wide as the store.
From inside the walls of glass, eyes stared out at me. Dozens of tiny black eyes. The case was actually a cage! It had
hundreds
of hamsters packed inside.
Hamsters poked their noses against the glass, gazing out at Lexi and me. Behind them, hamsters scampered through the wood shavings that covered the cage floor.
What was that strange squeaking sound? Hamster wheels. I counted eight or ten of them, with hamsters running hard, making them spin and squeal.
Hamsters were chomping away in the long row of food dishes on the sides. Others ran through long, twisting plastic tubes. One big guy was trying to climb a side of the glass cage. Two hamsters were wrestling in a food dish.
“Lexi — it’s like a big hamster circus!” I said.
She pressed her hands against the glass and peered in. “You mean like a hamster
city!”
she said. “The cage is bigger than my bedroom!”
“They are totally cute,” I said. “Look how they wrinkle their noses.”
She poked me. “Hey — check out the funny front teeth. That one looks just like you, Sam!”
“Ha-ha,” I said, poking her back. “What a weird store. No dogs or birds or anything. Just hamsters. Hundreds of hamsters.”
“Look. That one found a piece of carrot,” Lexi said, pointing. “And the big brown one is waiting for him to drop it. Ready to pounce. This is a total riot!”
I watched a cute little gray hamster running on a wheel. The squeaking wheels were the only sounds in the shop, except for the hum of the ceiling fan.
“My parents won’t let me get a dog,” I told Lexi. “They say I have to prove I’m responsible first.”
“Like I don’t know that,” Lexi said, staring into the cage. “Sam, you’ve told me that a thousand times!”
“But maybe they’ll let me get a hamster,” I said. “You don’t have to walk a hamster or anything. It doesn’t take much work.”
Lexi started to answer. But her mouth dropped open and no sound came out. Her eyes bulged.
I turned and followed her gaze. And then I gasped as I squinted into the dim light and saw what she was staring at.
An
enormous
hamster — gigantic! — taller than Lexi and me — crept out from behind the cage. It walked on
two legs,
in a strange, shuffling motion.
Its glassy eyes — as big as tennis balls! — gazed straight ahead. Its huge front paws swung low at its bulging sides. Its fur ruffled by the wind from the ceiling fan.
It turned. It SAW us!
And its big paws thudded softly on the floor as it headed right for us!
7
“No!” A sharp cry escaped my throat.
The creature’s huge eyes didn’t blink. They stared hard at Lexi and me, glowing darkly.
The giant hamster moved in and out of the shadows cast down from the spinning ceiling fan. Lexi and I backed up against the glass cage. And watched it slowly advance, step by step.
And then it reached up with its big white front paws and lifted off its head.
Lexi and I burst out laughing.
A man in a hamster costume! He held the head in front of him. His face was red, and his forehead was dripping with sweat.
“Hot in this thing,” he said.
His curly black-and-gray hair was drenched. He had dark eyes, a big round nose, and a bushy black mustache that looked like a paintbrush.
He set the hamster head down on the front counter. “Like my new store?” he asked. He pulled his arms free and climbed out of the costume.
“I’m Mr. Fitz.” He was short and thin, but he had a deep voice. He put a white apron on and struggled to tie the straps. “Your names?”
We told him.
“Do you wear that costume all day long?” Lexi asked.
He picked up a towel and mopped his face and hair. “No,” he said. “Just sometimes. It’s an attention getter.”
“Sure is,” I said. “You really got
our
attention!” I decided not to
The case was taller than me. It had to be at least six feet tall. And it was nearly as wide as the store.
From inside the walls of glass, eyes stared out at me. Dozens of tiny black eyes. The case was actually a cage! It had
hundreds
of hamsters packed inside.
Hamsters poked their noses against the glass, gazing out at Lexi and me. Behind them, hamsters scampered through the wood shavings that covered the cage floor.
What was that strange squeaking sound? Hamster wheels. I counted eight or ten of them, with hamsters running hard, making them spin and squeal.
Hamsters were chomping away in the long row of food dishes on the sides. Others ran through long, twisting plastic tubes. One big guy was trying to climb a side of the glass cage. Two hamsters were wrestling in a food dish.
“Lexi — it’s like a big hamster circus!” I said.
She pressed her hands against the glass and peered in. “You mean like a hamster
city!”
she said. “The cage is bigger than my bedroom!”
“They are totally cute,” I said. “Look how they wrinkle their noses.”
She poked me. “Hey — check out the funny front teeth. That one looks just like you, Sam!”
“Ha-ha,” I said, poking her back. “What a weird store. No dogs or birds or anything. Just hamsters. Hundreds of hamsters.”
“Look. That one found a piece of carrot,” Lexi said, pointing. “And the big brown one is waiting for him to drop it. Ready to pounce. This is a total riot!”
I watched a cute little gray hamster running on a wheel. The squeaking wheels were the only sounds in the shop, except for the hum of the ceiling fan.
“My parents won’t let me get a dog,” I told Lexi. “They say I have to prove I’m responsible first.”
“Like I don’t know that,” Lexi said, staring into the cage. “Sam, you’ve told me that a thousand times!”
“But maybe they’ll let me get a hamster,” I said. “You don’t have to walk a hamster or anything. It doesn’t take much work.”
Lexi started to answer. But her mouth dropped open and no sound came out. Her eyes bulged.
I turned and followed her gaze. And then I gasped as I squinted into the dim light and saw what she was staring at.
An
enormous
hamster — gigantic! — taller than Lexi and me — crept out from behind the cage. It walked on
two legs,
in a strange, shuffling motion.
Its glassy eyes — as big as tennis balls! — gazed straight ahead. Its huge front paws swung low at its bulging sides. Its fur ruffled by the wind from the ceiling fan.
It turned. It SAW us!
And its big paws thudded softly on the floor as it headed right for us!
7
“No!” A sharp cry escaped my throat.
The creature’s huge eyes didn’t blink. They stared hard at Lexi and me, glowing darkly.
The giant hamster moved in and out of the shadows cast down from the spinning ceiling fan. Lexi and I backed up against the glass cage. And watched it slowly advance, step by step.
And then it reached up with its big white front paws and lifted off its head.
Lexi and I burst out laughing.
A man in a hamster costume! He held the head in front of him. His face was red, and his forehead was dripping with sweat.
“Hot in this thing,” he said.
His curly black-and-gray hair was drenched. He had dark eyes, a big round nose, and a bushy black mustache that looked like a paintbrush.
He set the hamster head down on the front counter. “Like my new store?” he asked. He pulled his arms free and climbed out of the costume.
“I’m Mr. Fitz.” He was short and thin, but he had a deep voice. He put a white apron on and struggled to tie the straps. “Your names?”
We told him.
“Do you wear that costume all day long?” Lexi asked.
He picked up a towel and mopped his face and hair. “No,” he said. “Just sometimes. It’s an attention getter.”
“Sure is,” I said. “You really got
our
attention!” I decided not to
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