Winter According to Humphrey (9781101591222) (13 page)

I was resting comfortably in my cage when I heard Aldo approaching.

RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE! I think the wheels of his cart needed oiling.

The door opened and there he was!

“Hello, my friends!” Aldo shouted as he came into Room 26. “Season's greetings!”

“Hello, Aldo!” I squeaked.

Og splashed around in his tank.

“How do you like the snow
?
” Aldo said. “Hey, what do snowmen wear on their heads
?
”

I thought and thought, but I had no answer.

“Snow caps!” Aldo replied. And he laughed and laughed and laughed.

I laughed, too.

Aldo went right to work, cleaning our classroom.

“Say, fellows, I was happy to find out that they decided there would be no glitter at the show tomorrow,” he said. “You've got glitter once, you've got it forever. I've swept up pieces of glitter that have been hiding for years.”

“Then I'm glad, too, Aldo!” I said. When Mrs. Wright had first said our class couldn't use glitter, I was upset with her. But I decided that this time, Mrs. Wright was right.

“After all, I want to get home after the show and be with Mama Maria,” he said. “I've got to start thinking about being a dad.”

I was sure that Aldo will be a great dad.

He's already a great cleaner, a great student, and an unsqueakably great friend.

Aldo dusted and swept all the tables in the room until he finally came to our table.

“What's this
?
” he asked as he looked down at the Froggy Food Sticks tree. “It's a little Christmas tree!”

Then he laughed until his mustache wobbled. “And a little card. ‘Happy Merry Frog,'” he read. “I guess somebody in this class likes you, Og. What am I saying
?
Everybody
likes you and your friend Humphrey.”

“BOING-BOING!” Og agreed.

“But you haven't gotten to enjoy your present yet,” Aldo said. “Here . . . open wide.” He scooped up a handful of the Froggy Food Sticks and threw them into Og's tank.

“BOING-BOING-BOING-BOING-BOING!” Og said as he opened his huge mouth wide to catch them all.

Aldo laughed some more as he watched my friend. “I think somebody gave you the best present in the world,” he said. “Right, Og
?
”

Og splashed and splashed until drops of water spilled over the top of the tank.

Aldo was still laughing as he sat down to eat his dinner. “Tomorrow's the show,” he said. “So if I don't see you after that, I wish you both the happiest holidays ever. Whatever you celebrate, may you celebrate it well.”

“I wish that for you, too, Aldo!” I squeaked with great excitement. “And for Maria and the baby. And for everybody!”

Aldo chuckled. “Humphrey, there's nobody like you.”

I certainly hope not! Maybe there are two snowflakes alike somewhere, but there are no two humans who are alike.

And I'm pretty sure no two hamsters are alike, either!

Nights are long in the winter, and if you're a wide-awake hamster, they seem to go on forever. On Thursday night after Aldo left, I spun on my wheel, climbed my tree branch, made a trip to my poo corner, rummaged around for food . . . and it was still early.

I sat in my cage, looking out at the classroom lit by the streetlamp outside the window.

“Og,” I squeaked. “Isn't Holly's gingerbread house the most wonderful thing you've ever seen
?
”

Og splashed around, but he didn't seem too interested. I guess if the house had been made of crickets or something stinky, he would have liked it more.

“Have you noticed that it's just my size
?
” I asked.

Og was quiet, so I guess he hadn't noticed.

I continued. “Holly will probably take it home for the holidays. I was just thinking that I might go over and have a peek at it while I have a chance.”

“BOING-BOING-BOING!” Og sounded worried.

“Oh, I'll be careful,” I told him as I jiggled the lock-that-doesn't-lock and scurried out of my cage.

I slid down our table leg and hurried over to the bigger table where the gingerbread house sat. The table is next to a reading area where Mrs. Brisbane keeps a tall wire rack full of books. If my friends have free time, they can pick out a book to read or check it out and take it home.

The book rack reminded me of my climbing ladder, so I knew what to do. Very carefully, I pulled myself up from one wire to the next until I was on the same level as the gingerbread house.

As I climbed, I saw some unsqueakably interesting book covers. One showed a dinosaur with huge teeth. I hurried past that one. But there was another one with a mouse wearing knight's armor, standing in front of a castle. I hope Mrs. Brisbane will read that one to the class someday.

I hopped onto the table and there it was: the gingerbread house, covered in the most yummy-looking candy I'd ever seen!

“BOING-BOING!” Og warned.

I'm glad he did, because I was just thinking that no one would notice if I took a teeny bite of a candy cane or a nibble of a gumdrop.

“BOING-BOING-BOING-BOING!”

I almost thought Og could read my mind. But he was right. Holly had said that her mom had sprayed something on the house and no one should eat it.

“All right, Og! I won't take a bite,” I squeaked.

As I inched closer, I noticed that instead of smelling like sweet, delicious candy and cake, the gingerbread house smelled like something Aldo used to mop the floor. And it was a lot shinier than cookies usually looked.

The smell was strong, so I held my breath and gazed at the licorice stick fence and the candy cane chimney with the cotton candy smoke. I took another breath and held it just long enough to peek in the windows of the house and see the gingerbread man inside. He gave me a jolly smile.

I felt a little dizzy, so I gave the gingerbread house one more look, then scampered back to the book rack and made my way to the floor.

When I returned to our table, I grabbed on to the blinds cord, as usual, swung my way back up, then let go and leaped onto the tabletop.

(I have to be VERY-VERY-VERY careful with the timing of that move.)

As I passed by Og's cage, I said, “Thanks for reminding me that just because something looks tasty, it doesn't mean it's good to eat!”

“BOING-BOING-BOING!” he agreed.

Back in my cage, I wondered about what I'd said. If something
doesn't
look tasty—like an icky insect—is it possible that it still could be good to eat
?
Og certainly thought so. But I wasn't about to try a diet of flies and crickets and Froggy Food Sticks . . . ewww!

HUMPHREY'S WINTER WONDERINGS:
If I got a present and Og did not, would he be green with envy?

15

On with the Snow

T
he day of the show was also the last day of school. My friends were full of energy, but Mrs. Brisbane calmed them down and they finished up their schoolwork.

In the afternoon, Ms. Lark came to the classroom to wish us luck.

“I know you'll do a great job this evening,” she said. “Remember, keep calm and stay focused. Daniel, you'll practice again after school
?
”

He nodded.

“Sophie, you know what you're doing
?
” she asked.

Sophie nodded.

I was glad she knew what she was doing, because I certainly didn't.

Ms. Lark continued, “You'll meet here and get in your costumes. Then ten minutes before you go on, I'll stop by to help you line up and walk to the gymnasium.”

Mrs. Brisbane thanked her and we went on with the rest of the day.

When class was almost over, Mrs. Brisbane let my friends practice the songs while sitting in their seats.

It sounded so good, I was SURE-SURE-SURE it was going to be a great show!

Then Holly raised her hand and asked who would be taking Og and me for the holidays.

My ears perked up because it was something I'd wondered for a long time.

Mrs. Brisbane smiled and said, “I guess it's selfish of me, but I'm taking them both home. I want Todd and Jenny to get to know them. Besides, you'll all be busy building snowmen, because I heard on the radio that it's supposed to snow late tonight.”

My friends seemed pleased to hear about the snow, except for Joey.

He looked at the window and then he closed his eyes for a second.

I knew he was wishing that his dad could make it home before the snow arrived.

When the bell rang at the end of the day, everyone raced out of the room, except for Mrs. Brisbane.

“I think I'll leave you two here for now,” she said. “I'll pick you up after the show.”

“GOOD-GOOD-GOOD,” I said. “Because I want to be here to see my friends.”

Mrs. Brisbane chuckled. “I guess you're as excited as the rest of the class.”

She was right!

It was dark when everyone returned to Room 26.

“Aren't you excited, Og
?
” I squeaked.

“BOING-BOING!” He dived into the water side of his tank and splashed around.

Mrs. Brisbane arrived first with her husband, Bert.

He rolled his wheelchair over to our table. “So, I hear you guys are coming to visit,” he said. “That's enough of a present for me!”

“Me too!” I agreed.

The girls were all dressed in white shirts and black pants or skirts. Mrs. Brisbane helped them get their snowflakes on their backs and wrists.

They were shiny and shimmering and no two were alike.

The boys wore dark shirts and pants. Mr. Brisbane helped them with their tails and ears. Once they had their bells, the room was jingling and jangling like mad!

In fact, everybody was talking and laughing.

Rosie showed Mr. Brisbane how to twirl like a snowflake in his wheelchair.

I heard Phoebe tell Kelsey that she was so excited because her grandmother was recording the show so her parents could see it.

Sophie was talking and talking . . . to herself this time!

And Joey was practicing his whinny.
“
Wheee
h
n
g
eeeeh!
”

“Students, why don't we start to line up now
?
” Mrs. Brisbane said. “Ms. Lark will be here soon.”

While she helped them start a line, Daniel came over to my cage. “Okay, Humphrey. I need you to bring me good luck again.”

He picked up my cage and moved toward the line.

“What about Og
?
” I squeaked. But just then, Daniel tilted the cage and I slid all the way across. “Eeek!”

“Aren't we taking Og
?
” Phoebe asked Daniel.

He shrugged. “I don't know.”

The door opened and Ms. Lark came in. I couldn't get a good look at her from my cage, but I heard her tell everyone how great they looked.

The line started to move into the hallway. Suddenly, Ms. Lark said, “What are you doing with that cage
?
”

Daniel said, “I'm taking Humphrey. He's my good-luck charm.”

Then I could see her. Ms. Lark wasn't tall, but as I looked up at her from my cage, I saw a giant face. A giant, no-nonsense face.

“There is no way you're taking that creature into the gym,” she said.

“But I need him for luck,” Daniel said. “I can't play without him.”

“Put him back,” she demanded.

“But you let him come the other day . . . ,” he began.

“Against my better judgment,” Ms. Lark told him. “Put him back
now.
”

“Yes, Daniel. I know you'll be fine without him,” Mrs. Brisbane said.

Daniel carried my cage back and set it on the table by the window. “I can't play it without you,” he said.

“Yes, you can!” I squeaked, even though I was disappointed I'd miss the show.

Suddenly, Daniel opened the door to my cage and scooped me up. “Come on, Humphrey. No one will know.”

And he put me in his pocket, which was down near his knee.

A pocket isn't a good place to put a hamster.

The bad news was that it was dark and hot in there. The good news was that I was going to the show after all!

“Bye, Og!” I yelled, though I'm sure he couldn't hear me.

BUMP-BUMP-BUMP, BUMP-BUMP-BUMP. The class headed down the hall.

Once the bumping stopped, I knew we were somewhere near the gymnasium.

“Hey, we can see the stage from here,” I heard Daniel tell Thomas.

“Wow—it's all snowy,” Thomas replied.

I used my paws to climb up the inside of the pocket and poked my head out of the top.

We were standing in the hallway, but I could see the stage from an open door into the gym.

The students from Miss Loomis's class were onstage, wearing bright sweaters, scarves and earmuffs, and singing about a winter wonderland.

I recognized some of them from my class last year: Golden-Miranda and Speak-Up-Sayeh, Wait-for-the-Bell-Garth and Sit-Still-Seth. And they were all gathered around a great big snowman!

“Eeek!” I squeaked. “He'll melt!”

Daniel pushed me back down into the pocket and I couldn't see anything. I did sniff out two raisins stuck to the cloth. They were squashed but still tasty.

After a while, we started moving again. I could feel us moving up some steps and then up onto the stage.

THUMP! That was Daniel sitting down on the piano bench.

“Now Mrs. Brisbane's class will perform for you. But first, an introduction from Sophie Kaminski.”

I peeked out of the pocket again. Sophie walked to the center of the stage and faced the audience. She wasn't wearing her snowflake costume.

The audience! I turned and saw them: mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, grandmothers and grandfathers and lots of friends. The gymnasium was packed with people.

Sophie stared out at the crowd. Everyone waited for her to say something, but for the first time ever, Stop-Talking-Sophie didn't seem to feel like talking.

I wished I could tell her to squeak up!

Luckily, Mrs. Brisbane cleared her throat loudly.

Sophie suddenly opened her mouth and said, “Most people think that no two snowflakes are identical. However, scientists aren't sure. Just for tonight, we'll say that no two snowflakes are the same, because in our class, no two students are the same. And we're happy about that!”

Then she walked to the side of the stage and Mrs. Brisbane helped her put on her snowflakes.

“One, two, three, four . . . ,” Ms. Lark said.

The music began to play and the girls came twirling and whirling and sparkling onstage, singing their song.

No two snowflakes are the same . . .

People were ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the lovely sight.

When they finished, Ms. Lark pointed to Daniel, and he began to play as the boys came onstage, prancing and shaking bells and singing with all their hearts.

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh— ay!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh!

Just-Joey let out a fine “Whe
ee
h
n
g
e
e
e
eh
!” and the audience roared with laughter.

Every single time Joey whinnied, the crowd reacted happily.

Then the girls whirled in again and sang their snowflake song while the boys sang “Jingle Bells.”

It sounded so good, I had to have a better look, so I pulled myself UP-UP-UP—and then something terrible happened.

I started falling DOWN-DOWN-DOWN!

I had to stop myself, so I grabbed on to Daniel's pant leg. He kept playing, but some of the notes he hit weren't quite right.

I was barely listening, though, because I started sliding DOWN-DOWN-DOWN.

Whew! I made it safely to the floor. I was going to try to get safely behind the piano, but as soon as I turned, Be-Careful-Kelsey twirled right toward me.

I darted away, just as Rolling-Rosie whirled dangerously close to me.

I took a sharp right turn and here came the horses, jingling and jangling so close, one of them almost pranced on my tail.

“Humphrey!” I heard Harry exclaim.

“Humphrey!” other friends shouted.

There was a stir in the audience, but I wasn't bothered by that.

I was bothered by the fact that my friends were all whirling and prancing to avoid stepping on me, which meant they were crashing into one another.

Then I heard a sound unlike anything I've ever heard before.

“Eeeeeeeek!” someone was screaming. “Eeeeeek!”

I didn't know a human could make such a loud sound.

Everybody stopped to look in the direction of the “Eeeeeek!”

It was Ms. Lark. She was standing on a stool and screaming. “Get it out! Get it out!”

And then the thing I always dread happened. Mrs. Wright blew her whistle.

SCREEEECH!

I was jittery enough as it was, but that shrill blast almost made me jump out of my fur coat!

“Everyone stop where you are!” she shouted.

I stopped. The music stopped. The whirling and twirling and prancing stopped.

Even Ms. Lark stopped screaming.

Mrs. Brisbane ran onto the stage, gently picked me up and held me in the palm of her hand. I was trembling from all the excitement (
and
the whistle), but she stroked my back with her finger and that calmed me down.

She stepped to the front of the stage and spoke to the audience.

“Families and friends,” she said. “Some of you may not have met Humphrey the Hamster. He's the classroom pet in Room Twenty-six and we all love him. I don't know how he got in here . . .” She shot a knowing look in Daniel's direction. “But everyone seems to be safe and sound. So do you think we should try the number again
?
”

The audience cheered and clapped.

Someone yelled, “Encore,” which I think means “some more.”

Mrs. Brisbane carefully handed me to Joey. “Don't take your eyes off him,” she said.

“I won't,” Joey promised. He also gave my back a soft and reassuring rub.

Mrs. Brisbane helped Ms. Lark off her chair. She still looked a little shaky, but she went over to her keyboard.

Mrs. Brisbane got everyone back in place, took me back from Joey and moved to the far side of the stage.

“One, two, three . . . ,” Ms. Lark began again.

I carefully peeked over the edge of Mrs. Brisbane's hand and I was amazed at what I saw and heard!

Every note was perfect. Every prance and whinny, every jingle and jangle, every whirl and twirl was wonderful.