Humphrey's Summer Sleep-Over

by Betty G. Birney

"I hope it doesn't rain!" Lower-Your-Voice-A.J. said loudly.
Wait-For-The-Bell-Garth and I were sitting right next to him, so A.J. didn't have to shout. He didn't mean to, though. He just had a big, booming voice.
"It better not rain," Garth agreed.
I didn't squeak up because I think a rainy day can be very pleasant. I watch the world outside my window get all blurry as I spin on my wheel in my comfy cage.
"We've waited so long for summer," said A.J.
"And our parents finally said it was okay," Garth added.
"Okay for what?" I squeaked. Sometimes humans forget to let hamsters like me and other pets know what's going on.
"Is Humphrey going to be out there with us?" Garth asked.
"Sure!" A.J. yelled. "Hamsters love to sleep outside."
"Eek!" I squeaked. I'd never slept outside in my whole life and I wasn't really interested in starting now.
"Dad's going to set up the tent when he comes home from work," A.J. explained. "You brought your sleeping bag, didn't you?"
"Yep," Garth answered.
"No!" I squeaked.
The boys ran off to A.J.'s room, leaving me all alone in the living room to wonder what they meant about sleeping outside in a bag.
Summer had arrived and I was spending the weekend at A.J.'s while Og stayed Speak-Up-Sayeh's house. I like Garth and A.J. a lot, but I was a little worried about their plans. I was pretty sure that Sayeh wouldn't be sleeping outside.
After a while, the boys came back down and A.J.'s dad came home from work.
"It's been a while since I pitched a tent," he said. "And it might rain tonight."
"Dad, we've been planning this for weeks," A.J. told him.
A.J.'s dad chuckled. "Okay, let's do it."
I knew what a tent was from stories and television shows I'd seen at my friends' houses. But I'd certainly never thought of sleeping in one.
While A.J. and his dad and Garth went outside, I took a spin on my wheel and thought about what it would be like to be outside at night, with all kinds of large, strange beasts roaming about. Mrs. Brisbane, our teacher in Room 26, talked a lot about wild animals and showed us pictures and films that were quite frightening to a small, furry creature to me.
I guess if there were large animals in the neighbourhood, like giraffes and elephants, I would have seen them. And if there were lions and tigers with sharp teeth, I might have heard them growling. But there were probably small but dangerous creatures like foxes and weasels roaming about ... or even snakes slithering in the grass! And I remember a cat named Sweetums lived in the neighbourhood.
But surely, A.J.'s dad wouldn't let his the boys sleep outside if it was dangerous.
Even so, it's always a good idea to be prepared. So while I was alone, I decided to find a way to protect myself. I jiggled my lock-that-doesn't-lock and slipped out of my cage to see what I could find.
As I slid down the table leg to the floor, I remembered that I'd once used a rubber band to protect myself from a dog named Clem, but there were no rubber bands in sight. However, way off in the corner I saw something round and pink. It was a hair holder belonging to A.J.'s little sister, DeLee.
That would help, but I was afraid one small pink hair holder might not stop a clever fox with sharp teeth so I kept looking. Eventually, I found a colorful round object. I think it's called a marble.
I recalled a story about a small boy who defeated a giant by shooting a rock at him and I thought perhaps I could use the hair holder to shoot the marble. If it worked for a giant, it would surely work for a fox. I held it very carefully in my cheek pouch, reminding myself NEVER-NEVER-NEVER to swallow it.
I heard footsteps, so I scurried up the sofa, then leaped onto the table and dashed back to my cage just as Garth and A.J. returned to the living room. I closed the door just in time. Whew!
"The tent's up, Humphrey," A.J. bellowed.
"And it's almost dark," Garth added.
I still wasn't happy about sleeping outside but at least I felt a little safer. While A.J. and Garth busily collected their pillows and sleeping bags (which were very large, soft bags, as it turned out), I carefully removed the marble from my cheek pouch and hid it under my bedding, along with the hair holder.
Soon, A.J. carried my cage across the moonlit yard. There, under a large tree, was a blue tent. BUMP-BUMP-BUMP! It was an unsqueakably rough ride because A.J. was so excited.
Inside, the tent was cozy, especially with the light of a big lantern. The boys laid out their sleeping bags and they had a large box with snacks and drinks inside.
"It's kind of quiet out here," A.J. said. I think it seemed quiet to him because there's always a lot of noise in his house.
"Yep." Garth opened the box and rummaged around for something to eat. "We're out in the woods, all alone."
I knew that wasn't completely true. We were only a short distance from A.J.'s house and the few trees in the yard would hardly be called a woods. On the other paw, we were a little farther from the house than I'd like to be.
While I spun on my wheel, the boys ate and told jokes. Then they ate and told ghost stories. They were so busy eating and talking, I don't think they heard the sounds I did. (Hamsters have an especially good sense of hearing.)
First I heard a GONG-GONG-GONG! It was a loud and alarming sound.
"What's that?" Garth asked.
"Just the church bells, chiming out the hour," A.J. answered.
Garth seemed okay with that answer. However, I scrambled down from my wheel and reached under my bedding to find the hair holder. Just in case.
Next I heard a crowd of people laughing loudly. Very loudly. They sounded as if they were right outside the tent.
"What's that?" Garth asked.
"Yes, what's that?" I squeaked.
"That's just my parents' television," A.J. said.
Garth seemed okay with that answer. But I poked around in my bedding until I found the marble. After all, you can't be too careful.
Things were quiet for quite awhile, until I heard a very strange voice call out, "WHO-WHO-WHO?"
"What's that?" Garth asked. He sounded worried. I was worried, too.
"That's nothing," A.J. said. "Just an owl."
Owls are nice enough creatures, I suppose, unless you're a small furry creature. Because owls are known to swoop down on small furry creatures and after that ... well, I don't want to think about it.
I quietly placed the marble in position in the hair holder, just in case.
The boys were still joking around when I heard a very disturbing CLOMP-CLOMP-CLOMP. It was a large thudding noise and it was definitely not made by a small creature. It was the sound of something walking and it was walking toward our tent.
CLOMP-CLOMP-CLOMP. The sound was getting closer.
Garth and A.J. stopped joking around and stared at the tent flap.
Using all my strength, I pulled back the hair holder, ready to fire when ready.
Suddenly, there was a blinding light coming through the tent flap. I couldn't see a thing, but I could tell that whatever creature was coming toward us was now right outside the tent.
"What's that?" Garth asked. His voice sounded a little shaky.
A.J. didn't answer.
Suddenly, the tent was filled with light. I only had one chance, so I pulled back the hair holder and let the marble fly!
"Ouch!" a familiar voice said. "What was that?"
"Dad!" A.J. sounded relieved. "What are you doing out here?"
"Just checking to see if you guys are okay out here," he answered. "Did you throw a rock at me?"
"No way," A.J. said. "It must have been a bug."
"Right," A.J.'s dad said. He put his huge torch down on the ground. "I just thought you might like a little company. I brought my sleeping bag."
Garth and A.J. looked at each other but they didn't speak.
"Of course, if you think it will be too crowded, I'll go back in," A.J.'s dad said.
Maybe Garth and A.J. didn't have anything to say, but I did.
"PLEASE-PLEASE-PLEASE!" I said, even though I knew that all the humans heard was "SQUEAK-SQUEAK-SQUEAK!"
Garth giggled first and then A.J. laughed, too.
"I think Humphrey wants you to stay," Garth said.
"So do I," A.J. agreed.
So A.J.'s dad spread out his sleeping bag and joined us in the tent.
First, he told an unsqueakably scary story. Then he opened the tent flap and showed us pictures in the stars. I'd never paid much attention to the stars before, but I could see a bear, a big dipper, a belt and all the things he talked about.
I could have listened all night (because hamsters like to stay up very late), but the boys got quiet and before I knew it they were asleep.
"Well, Humphrey, I could tell you a ghost story," A.J.'s dad said. "But maybe I'll just go to sleep, too."
Soon, all three of them were dozing happily under the summer stars.
I have to tell you, I didn't sleep a wink that night. I was too busy listening to the sounds of a summer night.
In the morning, the yard didn't seem as scary as it had the night before. I couldn't wait to see Og again and tell him about my adventure in the woods - I mean the back yard.
And I was REALLY-REALLY-REALLY glad it hadn't rained!