“Congratulations,” he told Ms. Lark. “You were right about the show. We’ll have to do this every year.”
“What about the part with the . . . hamster?” she asked.
Mr. Morales laughed so hard, his Santa hat shook. “Believe me, Mary, that was the best part of all!”
HUMPHREY’S WINTER WONDERINGS: I wonder how the show would have gone if Daniel hadn’t put me in his pocket? It would have been entertaining . . . but not nearly as exciting!
16
Decking the Halls
Og and I have stayed at the Brisbanes’ house many times.
But this time, it had changed completely. For one thing, there were tiny twinkling lights around the doors and windows. There was a wreath on the door and lights that looked like candles on the windowsills.
Inside, a gigantic tree took up a whole corner of the living room. It was covered with lights and little ornaments. I couldn’t see them all from my cage on the table, but I did see elves and reindeer and shiny round things. And there were long strings of things draped all around the tree.
One was a string of cranberries.
The other was a string of popcorn.
Yum! I love popcorn!
There were long stockings hanging from the fireplace mantel. So that’s the kind of stocking Holly was talking about!
There were decorations everywhere.
“Merry Christmas, Humphrey and Og,” Mrs. Brisbane said as we got settled in. “Tomorrow will be a big day!”
She certainly wasn’t exaggerating. The next morning, Mrs. Brisbane’s sister arrived with her husband. There was a lot of hugging and talking and more hugging.
Then the doorbell rang and Mrs. Brisbane’s niece and her husband arrived.
And with them were two children, a little younger than the students in Room 26. Once their coats were off and the suitcases carried inside, Mrs. Brisbane brought them over to meet us.
“Jenny and Todd, this is Humphrey. He’s our classroom hamster!” she said.
“Pleased to meet you!” I squeaked.
Jenny and Todd giggled.
“And this is our classroom frog, Og,” she continued.
“BOING-BOING!” Og said.
Jenny and Todd laughed out loud.
It was fun meeting new children. Jenny and Todd helped their Aunt Sue (that’s what they called our teacher) and Uncle Bert (that’s what they called our teacher’s husband) take care of us. They even helped clean out my poo—and they didn’t say “Ewww” once!
When Mrs. Brisbane took me out of the cage and put me in my hamster ball, Jenny and Todd loved following me all around the living room.
They also loved throwing Froggy Food Sticks into Og’s tank.
Late that night, when it was time for bed, Mrs. Brisbane brought Jenny and Todd into the living room. They were both in their pajamas, ready for bed.
“Tonight, Santa will come with presents,” she said. “And he’ll fill these stockings for you.”
“How will he know we’re here and not home?” Jenny asked.
“Because Santa knows everything,” Mrs. Brisbane said. “Don’t worry, he’ll be here. So we’d better leave out some cookies for him, and a glass of milk.”
“And some carrots for Santa’s reindeer?” Todd asked.
“Of course!” Mrs. Brisbane said. “They’re working hard tonight.”
“Did you hear that, Og?” I squeaked to my friend. “Yummy carrots?”
Og didn’t answer, but I don’t think frogs are very interested in carrots.
They put the food out right on the table next to us and headed for bed.
Right before she left the room, Mrs. Brisbane came over to my cage. “Remember the poem, Humphrey.”
“What poem?” I squeaked.
“‘ ’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a’ . . . hamster!” Then she laughed and turned out the lights.
“That’s a funny poem,” I said to Og when we were alone. “Hamster doesn’t even rhyme with house.”
Og didn’t seem to care about what rhymed and what didn’t.
So I sat and I sat, looking at the stockings, looking at the tree, looking at the popcorn.
After a while, that popcorn looked more and more interesting to me. I like crunchy things. And I’d eaten popcorn once and liked it.
“Og, I don’t think it would hurt if I went over and looked at the tree, do you?” I asked my neighbor.
Og splashed around a little. I wasn’t sure whether that meant “yes” or “no.”
A little while later, I said, “I won’t touch anything. I’ll just look at the ornaments.”
Og splashed a little more, but it was hard to figure out what he meant.
So I finally made a decision. I jiggled the lock-that-doesn’t-lock, threw open the door and scampered out of my cage.
“I’ll be right back,” I said.
The table we were on was low, so I easily slid down the leg and hurried over to the tree.
At first, I stood there and stared up at it. I’d never seen anything so glowing and glittery in my life!
Then I moved closer to look at the shiny, sparkly things.
The ornaments were fantastic! There was a tiny snowman. A jolly Santa. Lots of red and green and gold balls. There were apple ornaments and little houses.
And then there was the popcorn. Crispy, crunchy popcorn.
I scurried closer to the tree.
One of the popcorn strings almost touched the ground.
I thought it looked delicious. I thought it wouldn’t hurt if I nibbled one tiny popcorn kernel. Then I didn’t think any more.
I raced to the tree, stood on my tippy-toes and took a bite.
Oh, my! It was delicious! So I took another bite.
“BOING-BOING!” Og said. He has a way of warning me.
But I didn’t see any danger. The room was empty and there was so much popcorn, the Brisbanes wouldn’t miss a kernel or two.
CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH!
It was as yummy as I imagined!
MUNCH-MUNCH-MUNCH!
And there was so much of it!
“BOING-BOING-BOING!” Og twanged.
“Just a few more bites,” I squeaked back. I munched and crunched some more.
Then I heard a THUMP.
And I heard a BUMP!
I stopped munching and crunching and looked out at the room. There was a flash of red and a dash of white.
Somebody was there!
I froze mid-crunch. Who could it be?
The red moved. The white moved. I reached up to the branch above me and pulled my feet up.
If someone was nearby, that someone might think I was an ornament.
Thank goodness, Og was as quiet as a mouse.
The red-and-white figure stood in front of the fireplace and reached up to the stockings. Then the red-and-white thing moved to the table where my cage and Og’s tank sat.
Paper rattled. Something thumped and bumped. Something clinked. Something crunched.
I heard some footsteps, and then I didn’t see any red and white anymore.
I stayed frozen in place for a LONG-LONG-LONG time.
Even after I was sure the red-and-white figure had left, I waited and waited some more.
I have to admit, I did move when suddenly Og said, “BOING-BOING-BOING!”
What was Og trying to say?
“BOING-BOING!” he repeated.
I thought about it. Og was so quiet while the red-and-white thing was nearby. Maybe he was trying to tell me that we were alone again.
“Og, is the coast clear?” I squeaked.
“BOING!” he replied.
Og had never let me down before, so I took a chance. I dropped from the branch and scampered across the floor toward the table.
“BOING-BOING!” Og twanged in an encouraging way.
When I got to the table, I needed a way to get back up. I was surprised to see a big pile of packages nearby that wasn’t there before. I climbed them like steps up to the table and headed toward my cage.
As I hurried along, I passed by the plate of cookies, the glass of milk and the plate of carrots. And I noticed a strange thing.
The cookies were gone. The glass of milk was empty. And there were no carrots!
I knew Og hadn’t taken them, but who had?
I was happy to be back in the safety of my cage again. I closed the door behind me.
“What happened, Og?” I squeaked. “Did you see who it was?”
“BOING-BOING-BOING-BOING-BOING!” Og replied. He was hopping and jumping and leaping around.
“Do you mean . . .” I paused to think. “Do you mean it was Santa Claus? Here?”
Og hopped and leaped and BOING-ed some more.
“It could have been,” I said. “It might have been. It must have been Santa!”
I have to say, I was disappointed that I hadn’t gotten a better look at him.
But I was also happy that he hadn’t seen me.
“Santa came!” Todd and Jenny shouted the next morning. It was FUN-FUN-FUN to watch the family open presents and empty the stockings and laugh
a lot.
While Jenny and Todd played with their presents, Mrs. Brisbane came over to our table and leaned in.
“You didn’t think Santa would forget you, did you?” she asked.
Then she opened my cage and slipped in a wooden object. It looked like one of those dumbbells humans use to make themselves stronger.
“Merry Christmas, Humphrey,” she said. “Here’s something to chew on.”
Jenny and Todd ran over to watch me sniff the new object.
I carefully bit into it. It was firm to the bite and a very fine thing to chew on!
“THANKS-THANKS-THANKS,” I said.
Then she gently placed a very fine plant in Og’s tank and said, “Merry Christmas, Og. This will make your house a little nicer and give you some shade.”
Og dived into his water and said, “BOING-BOING-BOING!”
Jenny and Todd laughed every single time Og said something.
Then Mrs. Brisbane announced that she had another surprise for Og and me coming soon.
Later in the day, the doorbell rang, and when Mr. Brisbane opened the door—guess who was there?
It was Ms. Lark! And she was carrying her little keyboard with her.
“Thank you for inviting me,” she said.
“Glad to have you, Mary,” he said.
Before long, Mrs. Brisbane’s whole family and Ms. Lark were sitting at the big dining room table. I could see them from the living room.
They ate a delicious-smelling dinner and they talked and laughed a lot.
After dinner, they gathered in the living room. Ms. Lark played some songs called “carols” on her keyboard and everybody sang. I especially enjoyed Ms. Lark’s lovely voice.
Oh, they were wonderful songs. I especially liked one about decking the halls with boughs of holly.
“Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!” everyone sang.
I joined in. “Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!”
I even heard a “BOING-BOING!”
The humans stopped singing, but Og and I were still fa-la-la-ing.
Mrs. Brisbane heard us and laughed. “Mary, I think our friends Humphrey and Og like your songs,” she said.
Ms. Lark shivered. “They’re here?” she said. “You know I’m afraid of animals.”
“Things can change,” Mrs. Brisbane said. She motioned to a spot on the couch next to the table we were on. “Why don’t you come over here and watch them?”
“They’re quite entertaining,” Mr. Brisbane said. “Right, Humphrey?”
“Right!” I squeaked. If the Brisbanes wanted entertainment, I was the hamster to provide it.
First I climbed up to the tippy-top of my cage. “Watch carefully.” Then I grabbed on to my tree branch and leaped from limb to limb.
“Oh, my!” Ms. Lark said.
Og hopped up and down under his plant. “BOING-BOING-BOING!”
Jenny and Todd laughed and I think I heard Ms. Lark laugh, too.
Not to be outdone, I scurried to my ladder bridge and walked across it to the other side of the cage. I climbed UP-UP-UP. This time, I hung from the top of the cage and made my way to the other side paw over paw.
“Look!” Ms. Lark said. “That’s amazing!”
SPLASH! Og made a spectacular dive into the water side of his tank and began to swim.
“Oooh!” Ms. Lark exclaimed.
“Now, you don’t think those lovable little animals would hurt you, do you?” Mrs. Brisbane said.
“May I hold Humphrey?” Jenny asked.
“Yes, but you have to be gentle,” Mrs. Brisbane explained. “He’s never bitten anyone so far, but if you move too fast and frighten him, he might.”
Believe me, I wasn’t about to bite Jenny!
Mrs. Brisbane showed her how to hold me cupped in one hand and told her to hold her other hand a few inches above my head, like a little roof.
I felt warm and cozy.
“Can I pet him, Aunt Sue?” Todd asked.
“Yes, if you stroke his back lightly with your finger,” Mrs. Brisbane told him.
Oooh, that felt so good.
“He’s soft,” Todd whispered.
“How about you, Mary?” Mrs. Brisbane asked.
“Sure, go ahead!” I squeaked. I wiggled my whiskers to look extra-friendly.
She reached out slowly and rubbed her finger along my back. “Oh, yes, he is soft,” she said. “And he’s got such a cute face.”
YES-YES-YES! I had won her over!
Two days ago, she’d been screaming at the sight of me. Now she was my friend.
A new friend really is the best gift of all.
After dinner, as everyone ate pie and chatted, Mrs. Brisbane said, “This has been the most perfect Christmas, celebrating with family and good friends. That includes you, Humphrey and Og.”
“Gee whiz, come look out the window!” Mr. Brisbane called out. He’d been peeking through the curtains, but now he opened them wide.
Outside, snow was falling, covering the lawn, the sidewalk and the trees. The Christmas lights twinkled merrily against the falling snow.
“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Ms. Lark said.
“A white Christmas!” Jenny shouted. “We can build a snowman. And make snowflake ice cream!”
“Can you see it, Og?” I asked my neighbor.
“BOING-BOING!” Og replied.
“You know what it is? It’s a winter wonderland,” I told him.
I watched the snow and thought of what my friends were doing. Simon spinning his dreidel, Holly helping her grandparents, Sophie setting up the Nativity scene.
Harry was running all over the house with his cousins, while Paul F. ran his train around the tree.
Phoebe was talking on the phone to her parents—I was sure! And I imagined Kelsey was dreaming about dancing in The Nutcracker.
Thomas was singing carols, while Rosie and her family were eating yummy tamales.
Then there was Joey. He was with his dad. And he was happy.
I was happy, too. Happy to be a classroom pet and to be friends with so many GREAT-GREAT-GREAT humans and one funny frog. That’s something I can celebrate every day of the year.
“FA-LA-LA-LA-LA!” I squeaked loudly. “LA-LA-LA-LA!
”
HUMPHREY’S WINTER WONDERINGS: I wonder if I could EVER-EVER-EVER have a better holiday in my life!
Humphrey’s Tips for Giving Gifts
1. Give someone a gift that they would like, not just something you like. For instance, I would not like a present that smells like stinky fish at all, but Og certainly would!
2. A handmade gift is always the best . . . unless you lose too much sleep over it.
3. The best gifts are the kind that can’t be wrapped . . . like helping a friend.
4. Don’t tell someone what to give you. Let them surprise you. Surprises are always fun!
5. The best time to give friends gifts is when they don’t expect one.
6. It is far better to give that to receive. Giving Og a present gave me a HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY feeling!
7. Good things come in small packages . . . like hamsters, for instance.
8. A friend is a gift you give yourself. So I have lots of unsqueakably wonderful gifts!
9. A hug is a great gift. One size fits all and it can’t be exchanged. (Although we hamsters prefer a soft stroke on the fur.)
10. If someone gives you a gift, please don’t forget to squeak “Thank you!”
Click here for more books by this author
For more Humphrey adventures, look for
1
The World
According to Humphrey
2
Friendship
According to Humphrey
3
Trouble
According to Humphrey
4
Surprises
According to Humphrey
5
Adventure
According to Humphrey
6
Summer
According to Humphrey
7
School Days
According to Humphrey
8
Mysteries
According to Humphrey
Winter According to Humphrey (9781101591222) Page 11