Happy Christmas Hammy the Wonder Hamster

by Poppy Harris

  ‘Come with us to hospital, sir,’ said the ambulance driver kindly, some minutes later. ‘We’ll get you checked over. Is there anyone we should phone for you?’

  By the time Tim arrived at hospital, Bethany, Sam and their mum and dad were sitting round the kitchen table, drinking hot chocolate and talking about the concert. Hamilton sat on Bethany’s lap, eating a piece of apple and looking as innocent as a hamster can.

  ‘Sam, your somersaults were brilliant,’ said Bethany.

  ‘Thank you. I can’t believe I didn’t have to wear that stupid costume in the end! How brilliant is that? I wonder how it happened…’ he said.

  Bethany glanced down at Hamilton with a smile.

  ‘Hamilton was so good!’ said Mum.

  ‘So was Bethany,’ said Dad.

  ‘Oh, yes, but I knew she’d be good,’ said Mum. ‘How did you teach him to do that?’

  ‘I didn’t,’ said Bethany, stroking Hamilton. ‘He just did it by himself.’

  ‘But he was in your pocket!’ said Dad. ‘You must have put him in there.’

  ‘I suppose so,’ said Bethany, looking wide-eyed and innocent as if she had no idea how he got there.

  ‘I’m amazed that he didn’t run away,’ said Dad.

  ‘But why would he?’ asked Bethany, with a daydreamy look. ‘He likes being with me.’

  ‘I’m going to build a snowman in the morning,’ said Sam.

  ‘It might be your last chance,’ said Dad. ‘The forecast says the snow won’t last much longer.’

  Later that night, when Bethany and Hamilton were still sitting at her bedroom window, wrapped in her duvet and looking at the last of the snow and the stars, Tim Taverner’s parents arrived at the hospital.

  ‘He’s a bit confused, but we haven’t found any serious damage,’ the doctor told them. ‘But he says he lives alone, so we can’t send him home yet. He needs to be with other people, just in case there are any after-effects from that head injury.’

  ‘He’s coming home with us,’ said Mrs Taverner firmly. ‘He was due to come home soon anyway for Christmas. It’s the best place for him to be.’

  ‘Absolutely,’ agreed the doctor. ‘If he falls asleep a lot, gets drowsy, vomits or behaves strangely, take him to the nearest hospital. Lucky you, Dr Taverner! A few extra days with your mum looking after you!’

  So Tim was taken to his parents’ house, where his mother regularly checked him to see if he was falling asleep and asked him if he was feeling all right. When old friends and relations called, Tim had to meet them and listen to their boring conversations about Brussels sprouts and what was on the telly this year. There was a computer at his parents’ house, but they wouldn’t let him use it while he was recovering and on holiday. So, unable to do any hamster tracking whatsoever, Tim played chess against his father and Scrabble against himself.

  He even helped his mum.

  On Christmas Eve, while Hamilton was asleep, Bethany finished the picture she was drawing as a present for him, and pegged it to his nest box. When that was in place, she made a tiny red stocking and stuffed it with pieces of apple, sultanas and all his favourite things. That was to hang on his wheel. Her own stocking – one of her welly boot socks – was already hanging on the door. And, as she was falling asleep, Hamilton was just waking up.

  He let himself out of his cage and sat up at the window, too excited to notice anything different about his cage. As the forecast had said, the snow had melted a few days before, and only a grubby white mound remained where Bethany and Sam had built a snowman.

  Hamilton didn’t mind. It made his surprise even better. First, he took out all the fluffy bits of stuffing, tissues and cotton wool he had been storing in his nest box, shook off the sawdust, then set to work digging out all the secret stores of Bethany’s snow.

  By the time he’d stored it all away he had several little snow mounds at various points in Bethany’s room. There were nibbled bits of fabric behind the radiator, glitter from the Christmas decorations under a corner of the carpet, a whole suitcase full of snow on top of the wardrobe and the shredded remains of Sam’s costume, which he had managed to hide in the box of toys that Bethany never played with any more. It came to thousands and thousands of snowflakes.

  He spread Bethany’s snow over the bookshelf, the desk and the windowsill. Feathers and scraps from the waste paper were scattered over her bed until the whole room looked like a perfect winter landscape. All he had to do now was assemble his snowstorm by rearranging his hoard on the wardrobe. Bethany had hung garlands and tinsel about the room, which were very useful for climbing, but all that running about left Hamilton very tired by the time he’d finished.

  He yawned, and looked at the clock. There was plenty of time for a chapter or two of story before bed. He hadn’t started A Christmas Carol yet, and he liked books by Charles Dickens.

  Bethany kept her phone and a small torch on the table beside her bed. He set the timer on the phone to give her a wake-up call, changed the ring tone to something more suitable for Christmas and texted a message for her for when she woke up. Then he heaved A Christmas Carol from the shelf (dislodging a few feather snowflakes as he did so), found his place and switched on the torch using both front paws and his teeth. He curled up beside Bethany and read until he fell asleep.

  Bethany was woken on Christmas morning by the sound of her mobile phone playing ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning as she picked up her phone, not noticing that beside her, Hamilton was yawning and rubbing his eyes, too. She picked up the phone and read the text – HPPY CHRMAS BETHANY LOVE FR HAMILTON.

  ‘Thank you, Hamilton!’ she said, and felt a tickle against her hand as he climbed into her palm. ‘Happy Christmas to you too!’ She switched on the light, and gasped.

  ‘Snow!’ she cried. ‘It’s snow!’

  She pushed her hands into the layer of white on her bed. Snow – or something very like it – covered every surface. As she sat up, a snowfall drifted on to the floor.

  ‘It’s magical!’ she exclaimed. ‘Hamilton, did you do… Hamilton, where have you gone?’

  The answer came in a cloud of snowflakes cascading from the wardrobe. Hamilton jumped down with them, scampered over the bed and threw pawfuls of snow at her before jumping on to the phone.

  WARM SNOW! he texted with pride.

  ‘It’s wonderful!’ she laughed, and threw a snow shower high into the air so it fell around her. ‘What a perfect present! And, Hamilton, the best thing is we won’t even have to tidy it up because nobody comes in here on Christmas Day. Everyone’s too busy, what with presents, and church, and Granny Elliott and dinner. They’ll just play with the presents or fall asleep, and we’ll come up here and play with the snow for as long as we want.’ She jumped out of bed and threw feathers over him. ‘You must have worked so hard! You really are amazing!’

  For a moment, she looked a little less happy. ‘All I’ve done for you is your stocking,’ she said sadly, ‘and a –’

  At the word ‘stocking’, Hamilton’s ears twitched. He hadn’t realized that hamsters had stockings! He looked round, saw the tiny red stocking hanging from his wheel, and dashed in delight to bite through the thread holding it up. Out fell a tiny paper aeroplane, followed by a banquet of fruit and seeds. Bethany scrambled to the end of her bed and lifted down her own stocking – a heavy, lumpy welly sock. ‘I’m going to Mum and Dad’s room to open this,’ she said. ‘Want to come with me?’

  Hamilton looked at Bethany’s stocking, blinked and looked again. Astonishing! He’d been busy all last night, and had slept on Bethany’s pillow. Surely he would have noticed somebody putting it there? He watched, fascinated, as she unloaded its contents on to Mum and Dad’s bed. There were sweets in there, satsumas, money, pens and pencils, a comb, a sugar mouse and a tiny cuddly dog. Christmas really was amazing!

  All afternoon, Bethany and Hamilton played with the pretend snow, and before Bethany went to bed they piled it up into a
snowman. He had to be packed into a pillowcase to keep him from falling apart, and Bethany tied a length of Christmas ribbon round where his neck should be to shape his head. She knew better than to offer Hamilton a ribbon. It would have been undignified.

  ‘And I’ve got one more present for you,’ she said. This was a very special surprise, and she had looked forward all afternoon to this moment, ever since they pulled crackers after lunch. ‘Look what I got in my cracker! It’s for you!’

  She opened her hand. There lay a packet of tiny – very tiny – hamster-sized screwdrivers. He gazed up at her with shining eyes, and there was no need to ask for the phone. His delighted look and the way he rubbed his face on her hand said all he needed to say.

  ‘That snow was my best ever Christmas present,’ she said, as she wriggled into bed that night and opened A Christmas Carol. Hamilton ran back into his cage, used one of his new screwdrivers to adjust the wheel, had a little run, then popped a few sultanas into his pouches, so he’d have something to eat during bedtime reading. Today had been a great success. Warm snow was a truly wonderful invention.

  With sultanas bulging in his cheeks, he turned to run back to Bethany when something caught his eye. There was another present in his cage! For the first time, he noticed the picture Bethany had fastened to the nest box, and turned to take a good look at it.

  It was a beautiful drawing of the Nativity scene. Tiny though it was, he could see Mary, Joseph and Jesus, with the animals and an angel. Perhaps there hadn’t been room for shepherds and kings, but that didn’t matter at all. On the edge of the manger, standing upright in the straw, was a small, fluffy, white and gold hamster.

  I knew it, thought Hamilton. There had to be a hamster!

  You wouldn’t believe how much food people have around the house at Christmas! You’ll find plenty of nuts, fruit and crumbs. Remember what your pouches are for!

  I love warm snow. Real snow could seriously damage your health, not to mention your whiskers.

  If your person forgets to clean your cage at Christmas, you’ll have to remind them. Stand on your hind legs, hold the bars with your front paws and do THE LOOK. You know the one I mean.

  Father Christmas doesn’t mind hamsters spotting him. If you’re having a night run on Christmas Eve, you may be surprised!

  If your person leaves a carrot lying around on Christmas Eve, it’s for the reindeer. Don’t eat it!

  If your person draws a picture of the nativity scene, make sure they add a hamster!

  Get dancing to all the Christmas tunes! It’s fun and works off all those Christmas nibbles.

  Paper decorations look fantastic, especially in your cage (or apartment, as I prefer to think of it.)

  Fluff up your fur so you look your best for Christmas. Your person will love it.

  There’s a funny Christmas song called The Twelve Days of Christmas. See if you and your person can change it so that you can get as many hamsters in as possible, like this:

  On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me,

  Three French hamsters,

  Two turtle hamsters,

  And a hamster in a pear tree!

  Have fun, and Happy Christmas!

  Hamilton

  AN AEROPLANE BOOK

  (Because one day, hamsters will take to the sky.)

  A MOBILE PHONE

  (For typing out all the very important things your person needs to know.)

  A NEW CROSSWORD/SUDOKU BOOK

  (Work your way through it. Or chew your way through it, if you don’t like puzzles.)

  CARDBOARD TYBES

  (Great for tunneling in and you can nibble them too. Kitchen rolls are best. The ones from Christmas crackers could make you ill, and as for loo rolls – don’t even think about it!)

  THE LATEST DESIGN OF HAMSTER WHEELS

  (For going round and round and round… as you do.)

  A SUPER - DELUXE APARTMENT

  (Your person may call it a cage.)

  A FLUFFY SLIPPER

  (Perfect for curling up in. If your person gets new ones for Christmas, you might get the old ones!)

  A NICE CHUNK OF WOOD TO GNAW ON

  (Your person has to make sure it’s a kind that’d safe to eat. Apple-wood is best. Anybody got an apple tree?)

  ENOUGH FRUIT TO FIT COMFORTABLY IN THE CHEEKS

  (No explanation needed!)

  SNOW! WARM SNOW!

  (It wouldn’t be Christmas without it, and it makes Bethany smile.)

  ACROSS DOWN

  4 Hamilton has these instead of feet. Much better for climbing up cupboards. 1 Bethany has to sing one of these in the Christmas play.

  6 Hamilton’s rabbit friend. 2 What Hamilton sends to get messages to Bethany.

  7 A long, sparkly Christmas decoration. 3 The best fluffy animal ever!

  8 Where the baby Jesus slept. 4 A delicious Christmas dessert that looks like a brown stone with white paint poured over it.

  9 A fun winter sport that even Hamilton can do on his stomach. 5 A big round person made of snow.

  10 This Christmas toy makes a big bang. 9 Hang this at the end of your bed on Christmas Eve and see how many gifts you get the next morning…

  12 Hamilton has made it his mission to collect as many of these as possible for Bethany. 11 Hamilton loves running round on this!

  13 Chloe’s favourite nickname for Hamilton. 12 This animal pulls Santas’s sleigh and is much bigger than a hamster.