Letter #3

Dear Reader,

I have had a revelation. I am a Very Thoughtful Hamster, and I can sit on my haunches for long stretches of time, mulling over ideas - or planning how to escape. Last night, I realized that I had never really understood what a Pet Shop is. It came to me that it's a shop for Pets!...and the actual name for the BHOs is Pets!

Incidentally, although I have squealed my own real name often enough, my Pets have begun calling me Shirley. No doubt it means something like "Beautiful Hamster." They sometimes precede the name with the honorary title Squirrelly. Possibly means "great"?

I am settling in. I eat, I nap, I arrange my nest, and I stash away a few snacks. I had been running energetically in my wheel at night, when I had the place all to myself. Then I overheard Hun saying, "She ran 6 miles last night."

Well, I happen to be a Very Private Hamster, too, and what I do at night is my own business. After my irritation passed, I guessed that a wire leading to my wheel must somehow be providing that information. So I chewed through it. For two days, I hid in my hut during the daytime, chuckling when Hun said in a worried voice, "She must be sick. She isn't running at all." Two days it took them to find the chewed wire! Ah, well, we can't all be Hamsters.

Many naps later..

To get into the Pets' territory. I will to have to climb up the wall itself. I have discovered that I can brace my back against a big hut and pull myself up bit by bit with my paws. So far, I slip whenever I get past its curved ceiling, but I intend to keep trying.


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