The Boy and the Hamster

Nathan shares his room with Pip, a small golden hamster with honey-gold fur, a creamy white belly, and bright black eyes. Each morning, Nathan sits by Pip's plain cage and watches him wake, twitch his pink nose, and stretch his tiny paws. What Nathan notices most is how much Pip loves to dig, burrow, and explore, pushing through the bedding until only his round bottom shows. Seeing this, Nathan decides that Pip deserves a home shaped around the things he naturally loves to do.

With empty cardboard tubes, small boxes, safe glue, and a pencil plan, Nathan rebuilds the cage. He adds a long tunnel, a cozy hideout filled with bedding and a piece of apple, a gentle ramp with craft-stick steps, a maze with three exits, and a shallow sandbox corner for digging. When a tunnel proves too narrow and the ramp too steep, Nathan widens the passage and softens the slope, because he wants Pip to explore safely. When his friend Mia visits, she sees the little playground and hears Nathan explain that pets need homes suited to their natural behavior. This tale by Jane MEADOW can be read on Kids Tale Book.