When Bret and Bart were about 7 and 11, they had a hamster. They named him Spike and he was the nicest little hamster in the world. He was kept up in Bart's room and was really easy to get along with.

Every so often he would get out of his cage. I would discover him missing and just get up early the next morning and go down stairs to the kitchen. He would invariably be skirting around the edge of the room, making his way to a little hole that went under the cupboard that I used as a pantry. I just had to lean down and pick him up and return him to his cage.

One day, I purchased a new box of hamster food and left it, as I usually did, next to his cage. He picked that night to escape. However - this time - I found him in the morning sound asleep in his turret. Every possible spot in the whole cage had a pile of food neatly stacked. He had spent the entire night filling his little cheeks with food and carrying it back to the cage to store for the "future". The poor little creature was totally exhausted.

I just thought that was a funny story. We had Spike for about three years. A very long life for a hamster. I found him one morning dead in his cage looking quite peaceful. He was the best hamster we ever had.

Have a nice weekend

Mary