The HamsterWhen the hamster had been young, he had explored his cage over and over, filled with a sense of wonder each time he saw his wheel, his water bottle, his food dish. He was happy with his life. He grew excited whenever his owner would pet him or hold him. Every day he ate the food, and it tasted better than the day before. Sometimes his owner would clean the cage, and the hamster was put in small bowl. The hamster would whine, and scratch at the sides of the bowl, trying desperately to get back to the safety and comfort of the cage.As time passed though, the hamster grew bored with the cage. The wheel no longer offered the enjoyment it once had. His food began to taste stale, just more of the same. He began to long for an excursion into the bowl. He began to wonder what lay outside his cage. He tried climbing on top of the wheel so he could get through the wire top. No matter how many times he tried, he always failed. He began to gnaw on the wire during his balancing act on the wheel. One day he broke through. Using his forepaws he scrambled out of the hole. At last the day had come when he could see the room firsthand, instead of through a pane of glass. He clambered over the side of the cage and onto a table top. The hamster felt the new texture, something he had only dreamed about from inside the cage. He raced along, looking at all the new things, things that he hadn’t known could exist. At last he felt the wonder, the feeling that had left him so long ago. He leapt from the table and onto the floor. He ran around for days, dodging the eyes of his worried owner. Everything was so different. So big. So amazing. The hamster ate the crackers his owner had forgotten under the bed. He raced around all day while his owner was away. He hid while his owner searched. Eventually though, even the room began to lose it’s grandeur. Living there was hard, and the hamster had to be careful. Seeing the same table legs, the same crackers, the same dresser. The hamster was, once again, bored. After three weeks, the hamster relinquished his freedom. He sat in the middle of the floor, and waited for his owner to come. When the owner opened the door to the room, the hamster stayed still and watched as the owner began to smile. The owner softly scooped up the hamster and put him back in the cage. He leaned in and whispered, “Not all of us get to go back.” |