Then I heard a distant ‘WOOF-WOOF!’
I had almost forgotten about Poppy, but she hadn’t forgotten about me.
I heard her scratching at the door and barking.
‘Go away, Poppy!’ Richie yelled.
I don’t think Poppy could hear him over all that barking.
She made me so jumpy, I spun the wheel faster and faster.
‘Look at
Humphrey go,’
Richie said.
‘I wish Poppy would go,’ I squeaked. ‘I wish she’d go far, far away!’
Aldo and Richie watched me spin on the wheel.
‘You need a way to mark each time the wheel goes around once,’ Aldo said.
I kept spinning and they kept thinking. I was hoping they had an idea soon, because to squeak the truth, I was getting tired.
‘I know,’ Aldo said. ‘We need something that makes a sound.’
Whew! I was GLAD-GLAD-GLAD that Aldo had come up with an idea.
I let my wheel slow down a bit while I tried to think of something that makes a sound.
Luckily, Poppy wasn’t making any sounds outside the door.
I looked over at the side of the cage where my water bottle and food dish are.
Sometimes my water bottle makes a GLUG-GLUG-GLUG sound.
But it’s not very loud.
I looked over at my poo corner – no sound there!
I looked down at my soft bedding. It was nice and quiet.
Then I looked up and saw a tiny little bell.
Not long ago, my friends gave it to me for a surprise.
I stopped spinning and hopped off my wheel.
Then I scampered up to the top of my cage and rang the little bell with my paw.
DING-DING-DING!
Aldo and Richie were so busy thinking, they didn’t hear it.
I tried again. DING-DING-DING-DING!
This time, Aldo looked up.
‘What’s that sound?’ he asked.
Richie looked up, too.
‘Oh, that’s Humphrey’s new bell,’ he said.
Aldo leaned in close to my cage. ‘A bell? That’s just what we need! Thanks, Humphrey!’
‘You’re unsqueakably welcome,’ I told him.
Aldo probably didn’t understand my squeaks, but I was happy he liked my idea.
Then Richie and Aldo went to work.
First, Richie took my wheel out of the cage and put it on the desk.
‘Don’t worry, Humphrey,’ he said. ‘You’ll get it back.’
Aldo made a stand out of a coat hanger.
He hung the bell on the coat hanger with a piece of string and set it near the wheel.
‘We need something that will ring the bell each time the wheel spins,’ Aldo said. ‘It must be strong enough to ring the bell but small enough to fit under the wheel.’
This time, Richie came up with a good idea.
Soon, they had attached a bent paper clip to the side of my wheel.
‘Humphrey, we need your help again,’ Richie said.
That was GOOD-GOOD-GOOD news, because classroom hamsters like me love to help!
Richie reached into my cage and gently placed me on my wheel again.
‘You know what to do, Humphrey,’ he said.
Yes, I did!
I began to spin my wheel, faster and faster.
DING-DING-DING-DING-DING!
Just then, Richie put his hand on my wheel.
I stopped so suddenly, I tumbled over.
‘Sorry, Humphrey,’ he said.
As he gently placed me back in my cage, Richie told me, ‘I need to finish the rest of the experiment.’
The rest of the experiment?
What was coming next?
Would I end up like the monster in the Frankenstein film?
Just then, I heard something whining and scratching at the door.
Poppy was back!
‘WOOF-WOOF!’ she barked.
I shivered a little.
I didn’t want to turn into a monster.
And I REALLY-REALLY-REALLY didn’t want to play with Poppy!
‘I know what puppies like,’ Aldo said. ‘I’ll take Poppy out in the garden and we’ll play with her ball.’
Aldo is an unsqueakably nice man!
Things were quiet while Aldo and Poppy were gone.
Richie quietly drew a chart and began decorating a big board describing his experiment.
‘Poppy loves fetching that ball,’ Aldo said when he came back. ‘I left her in the garden for a while.’
That was GOOD-GOOD-GOOD news!
Aldo gave Richie a stopwatch, so he could time my spinning.
‘Are you ready, Humphrey?’ Richie asked.
He gently took me out of my cage and set me on the wheel.
I started spinning, slowly at first.
Then I picked up speed.
‘Ready, set, go!’ Richie said as he started the stopwatch.
I spun faster and faster.
DING-DING!
Each time the bell rang, Richie made a mark on his chart.
DING-DING-DING!
I picked up speed.
‘Go, Humphrey!’ Aldo said.
DING-DING-DING-DING!
I spun so fast, Richie had trouble keeping up.
‘That’s one minute,’ Richie said. ‘Keep going, Humphrey.’
I can spin on my wheel for a long time.
And I liked the sound of the bell ringing.
Aldo took pictures of me.
‘Smile, Humphrey!’ he said as a bright light flashed.
‘Two minutes,’ Richie announced.
I kept on spinning and spinning.
After all, I wanted Richie to get good marks for his experiment.
I lost track of how many minutes I spun.
‘That’s it,’ Richie said after a while. ‘You can rest now, Humphrey.’
He slowed the wheel with his hand and then moved me back to my cage.
‘I think Humphrey needs a nap,’ Aldo said.
He was right about that!
‘And I have to get home,’ Aldo added. ‘I don’t think you need my help any more.’
As Richie said goodbye to Aldo, I burrowed under my soft bedding and fell asleep.
When I woke up, Richie was sitting at his desk, writing his report.
‘How’s it going?’ I squeaked.
‘Hi, Humphrey,’ he said. ‘You did a lot of spinning today.’
‘I’m always happy to help,’ I said.
And I REALLY-REALLY-REALLY meant it.
Later, when Richie went to bed, his mum and dad came in to say goodnight.
‘Will you be able to finish the project tomorrow?’ his dad asked.
‘Yes,’ Richie said with a smile. ‘I’m almost finished now.’
When they left the room, his parents turned out the lights and shut the door.
But it wasn’t long before I heard someone scratching and whining outside.
It was Poppy!
‘Sometimes she sleeps in my room, Humphrey,’ Richie said. ‘But I think I should keep her away from you.’
‘Far away!’ I agreed.
Luckily, I heard Richie’s mum say, ‘No, Poppy. You’ll sleep in our room tonight.’
And then, finally, it was quiet.
I slept well that night and so did Richie.
*
On Sunday, Richie did the last bits of his project.
By late afternoon, the report, the chart and the photos were up on the board.
Richie had used bright colours and it looked GREAT-GREAT-GREAT!
My wheel with the bell and the clip sat in front of the big board.
‘You did a hamster-iffic job!’ I squeaked to Richie.
‘It turned out pretty well,’ Richie said. ‘I just hope Mrs Brisbane likes it.’
‘She will!’ I told him and I meant it.
Once in a while, I’d hear Poppy scratching at the door.
Sometimes, she even
barked. ‘WOOF-WOOF!’
But Richie kept the door tightly closed, which made me unsqueakably happy!
When he was finished, Richie’s whole family came in to see the project.
Richie put me on the wheel and I start spinning as fast as I could while he explained how it worked.
His two sisters and his brother were so excited to see me spin, I went even faster.
‘Go, Humphrey, go!’ they shouted.
When Richie made me stop spinning, his mum said, ‘I’m proud of you, Richie.’
‘I’m proud of you and Humphrey,’ his dad said. ‘Let’s celebrate and go out for supper.’
‘Sounds like fun!’ I squeaked.
But it turns out that hamsters aren’t allowed in restaurants.
Not even neat and polite hamsters like me.
Soon, I was alone in Richie’s room.
The house was quiet and I dozed off.
I’m not sure how long I was asleep before I heard a whining sound.
Poppy was outside Richie’s bedroom door!
Luckily the door was closed.
I closed my eyes and tried to get back to sleep.
Then I heard a scratching sound.
‘WOOF-WOOF!’ Poppy barked.
The noise got louder and louder and the door began to shake.
I’m not sure what Poppy did, but suddenly, the door burst open and there she was!
She didn’t waste any time.
She ran straight towards the desk, jumped up on Richie’s chair and looked at me.
I had never been so happy to live in a cage!
But if Poppy could open the door to the room, could she also open the door to my cage?
She might figure out that my cage has a lock-that-doesn’t-lock.
My heart was pounding.
‘Stay away!’ I squeaked. ‘I don’t want to play.’
‘WOOF-WOOF!’ she answered, wagging her tail.
Poppy put her front legs up on the top of the desk to try to get closer.
Suddenly there was a loud crash as her big puppy paws sent the wheel sliding across the desk.
The big board collapsed.
The bell went DING-DING-DING.
Luckily, the noise scared Poppy.
She jumped off the chair and ran out of the room.
I was HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY that she was gone.
But I was SORRY-SORRY-SORRY when I looked at the desk.
The pieces of Richie’s project were scattered everywhere.
It was completely ruined!
And all because of that playful puppy.
*
‘Oh, no!’ Richie shouted when he returned.
His mum and dad ran into the room.
‘What could have happened?’ Mrs Rinaldi said.
Mr Rinaldi looked around the room.
‘Richie, was the door open when you got back?’ he asked. ‘Because I remember closing it before we left so Poppy couldn’t get in.’
‘Yes, it was,’ Richie said. ‘So I guess she must have done it.’
‘YES-YES-YES!’ I squeaked. ‘Poppy came in and wrecked the project!’
Just then, the puppy raced into the room.
‘Bad dog!’ Richie said.
Poppy just wagged her tail.
‘She’s just a puppy,’ Richie’s mum reminded him. ‘She didn’t know what she was doing.’
I wasn’t so sure.
Mrs Rinaldi took Poppy out of the room and closed the door.
Richie and Mr Rinaldi sat down and tried to put the project back together.
The board was torn, so Richie taped it back together.
He smoothed out his wrinkled report.
‘What happened to the bell?’ Richie asked.
His dad began to search for it.
‘And where’s the clip?’ Richie wondered.
He began to search for it.
They spent a LONG-LONG-LONG time looking for the missing pieces.
Richie looked on the floor.
Mr Rinaldi looked on the desk.
‘The clip slid under the lamp!’ I shouted. ‘And the bell is under the desk.’
‘It’s getting late,’ Mrs Rinaldi said when she came back into the room.
Luckily, Poppy wasn’t with her.
‘I’ve got to fix my project tonight,’ Richie said. ‘It’s due tomorrow!’
Mrs Rinaldi joined the search.
Finally, Richie crawled under the desk. ‘Here’s the bell!’
‘And here’s the clip,’ his mum said as she lifted up the lamp.
I felt a lot better and so did Richie.
But when he tried to put the project back together, it didn’t work.
He placed me on the wheel and I began to spin.
When the bell hit the clip, the bell fell off.
Instead of going ‘DING’, it went ‘CLUNK’.
He worked on it some more.
This time, when the bell hit the clip, the clip fell off.
‘Oh, I can’t do anything right,’ Richie said.
Richie’s dad tried to help.
When he finished, the bell didn’t fall off, but it didn’t ring at all.
‘Richie needs to get to bed,’ Mrs Rinaldi said. ‘Now.’
‘I’m sure you can fix it in the morning, son,’ Mr Rinaldi said. ‘We all need some sleep.’
I know Richie didn’t want to go to bed, but soon he was fast asleep.
I, however, was wide awake.
The moon glowed brightly that night and I could see the wheel from my cage.
I stared and stared at it all night long.
It was almost morning when I saw the problem.
Mr Rinaldi had fastened the bell too tightly.
Someone needed to loosen the string that held it onto the hanger.
And I was the only someone who knew what to do.
There was no time to waste!
I jiggled the lock-that-doesn’t-lock on my cage.
The door swung open.
I was about to scurry over to the wheel to repair the bell, when Richie’s mum knocked on the door.
‘Richie! Time to get up!’ she called out.
I hurried back to my cage as fast as my small legs would carry me.
After all, if I ever get caught outside my cage, someone might fix my lock-that-doesn’t-lock.
Then, I could never get out and help my friends again.
Just as I closed the door, Richie jumped out of bed.
He yawned and said, ‘Hi, Humphrey.’
I squeaked back politely as he came over to look at the wheel.
‘I wish I could get that bell to ring,’ he said.
His mum called from the hall. ‘Come and have your breakfast, Richie. You’re going to be late!’
‘But I want to fix my project,’ he replied.
‘You have to eat first,’ she said.
Richie sighed and left his room.
I knew if he was eating breakfast, he’d be gone for a while, so I opened the door to my cage again and hurried over to the wheel.
It wouldn’t take long for me to loosen the string so the bell would ring.
Suddenly, I heard the pitter-patter of paws on the floor.
I looked up and saw that Richie had left the door open.
Poppy was heading straight towards the desk!
She whined and wagged her tail as she looked up at me.
‘Go away, Poppy!’ I squeaked.
She hopped up on the chair and stared at me across the desk.
I could see her shiny teeth, and this time I didn’t have my cosy cage to protect me.
I glanced around and saw a pile of paper clips on the desk.
I threw them at her nose, hoping to chase her away.
Poppy growled, but she didn’t move.
Then I remembered that Aldo had said that she liked playing with a ball.
I’d seen a little bouncy ball on Richie’s desk.
I scurried to it and rolled it towards the edge.
The ball rolled off the desk and across the floor.
While the pup chased after it, I worked on loosening the string.
To my surprise, Poppy came right back with the ball in her mouth.
She hopped up on the chair and set the ball on the desk.
‘WOOF-WOOF!’ she barked.
Poppy still wanted to play.
I took a quick look around the desk and grabbed a small ruler.
Using the ruler like a bat, I swung it and hit the ball hard.
This time, the ball rolled much further away and Poppy chased after it.
I worked fast to loosen the string, but the pup came right back again and set the ball on the desk again.
‘WOOF-WOOF!’ she barked.
Her shiny white teeth looked SHARP-SHARP-SHARP.
I picked up the ruler again and aimed it in a different direction.
I gave it good hard whack and the ball flew off the desk and rolled under Richie’s bed!
I heard Poppy’s paws racing across the floor, but I didn’t stop to watch her.
Instead, I stood up on my back paws and gave the string a good tug with my front paws.
Then I gave the wheel a spin and when the bell hit the clip, it rang.
DING-DING-DING!
It worked!
I raced back to my cage and closed the door behind me, just as Poppy returned with the ball.
‘Sorry, Poppy. I don’t want to play catch any more,’ I squeaked.
It wasn’t long before Richie came back to his room and got dressed.
‘Richie! We’re about to leave for school!’ Richie’s dad called to him. ‘Get your project together.’
‘What’s the point?’ Richie said. ‘It doesn’t work. Mrs Brisbane will give me a bad mark.’
‘Try it!’ I squeaked.
Richie walked over to the desk and looked down at my wheel.
‘I don’t understand why it doesn’t ring,’ he said.
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