Happy Christmas Hammy the Wonder Hamster by Poppy Harris

Author:Poppy Harris
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141937984
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2009-10-07T16:00:00+00:00

Bethany kicked off her snowy boots at the door, ran upstairs and threw her school bag into a corner. In just over an hour, she had to be back at school and getting ready for the concert.

‘Hello, Hamilton –’ she began, and stopped. He wasn’t waiting to meet her, and the cage was unlocked –‘Hamilton?’

She checked the nest box, hoping to find him in there – but there was no warm, sleepy hamster. Her hand met nothing but a cold nest. A little shiver of fear ran through her.

‘Hamilton?’ Bethany called anxiously, and lifted the pillows from her bed to see if he was hiding under there. No good. She looked under Wimble, but he wasn’t there either. She opened cupboards, checked behind curtains and lay on the floor to look under the bed, calling his name all the time. There wasn’t a squeak or a twitch of a whisker. With every second, Bethany became more worried. How could she go to the concert, not knowing where Hamilton was?

She looked down from the window, and saw that it was growing dark. Soon, the snow would freeze over. A terrible thought came to her and she sat down on the bed, pressing her face into her hands.

Oh, why had she ever told him about snow? She had told him how beautiful it was. She had taught him all about snowmen and snowball fights. He must have gone out to explore! The thought of Hamilton slowly freezing in the garden was unbearable. He could be trapped in a snowdrift, alone and squeaking for help as the air grew colder and colder. She rushed downstairs, grabbed her coat and ran outside, desperately whispering his name into corners and under bushes as the sky grew darker, and slithering on patches of ice. ‘Hamilton! Please, please, Hamilton, where are you?’

Tears came to her eyes, and she brushed them away crossly. There was no time to cry. For such an intelligent animal, Hamilton didn’t seem to understand danger. But, when she had rubbed her eyes, she saw that a very clear furrow ran through the snow. It was exactly hamster-size.

Bethany felt a moment of joy – he’s been here, I just have to follow this trail! she thought. Then her heart sank again. The snow on either side of the furrow was already turning to glittering crystals of ice. Hamilton might have been out here hours ago. Was he still outside? Was he far away, lost and cold?

She walked along the furrow, then stopped, gasped and lost all hope.

Before her stood a frozen hamster.

‘Hamilton!’ she cried, and dropped to her knees to scoop him up. The snow hamster fell to pieces in her hands.

Something like a sob or a hiccup rose in Bethany’s throat, and she found herself laughing because Hamilton had made a snow hamster, and crying because he had been out in the cold and was still missing. Concentrate, she told herself. The furrow ends here. Hamilton must have built the snow hamster, and come back the same way.

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