Hamster Magic Read Free Page A

because—” began Celia.
    “It’s because they dig in the wild,” said Abner. He moved his finger along a line of text. “ ‘Hamsters create tunnel systems, with separate spaces for food, sleeping, baby hamsters—’ ”
    “Tunnels might be good,” said Derek.
    Celia was tired of being ignored just becauseshe was the smallest. And, looking at Hammy, she knew he felt the same way. “I know something a hamster wants,” she said suddenly. “Hammy’s tired of being little, and I am, too. I want to be big.”
    Derek eyed her with scorn. “That’s not a hamster wish. Why would a hamster want to be big?”
    “Some hamsters might,” said Celia stubbornly. “And I do want to be big! I wish I was bigger than
you!”
    Hammy blinked. “You
wish?
Okay, then,” he said. He blew out his cheeks and shut his eyes. His toes curled. His ears went flat.
    And Celia began to feel very strange indeed.

CHAPTER 3

What a Hamster Needs
    There was a
swoosh
in the room, and a swirling of grit like blowing desert sand, and the children shut their eyes. When they opened them again, Celia
had
become big.
    She had also become a hamster.
    She was a pretty big hamster—about the size of a large dog—and her fur was pale, with gray markings. She had a pink nose, small alert ears, and startled blue eyes.
    There was a moment of shocked silence.
    “My sister’s a hamster,” said Abner in a tone of disbelief.
    “Tunnels would have been better,” Derek said. “Why did you make such a dumb wish, Seal?”
    “I didn’t want to be a big hamster!” Celia wailed. “I wanted to be a big
girl!”
    “Yeah, well, no hamster would wish for
that,”
Derek pointed out.
    Tate tipped her head to one side. “She’s kind of cute. And she still looks like Celia, sort of.”
    Strangely enough, she did still look like Celia. Blue eyes, pale fur—and a paw in her mouth.
    “Honestly,” said Tate, “stop sucking your thumb, Celia—I mean, paw. I thought you broke that habit.”
    Celia hastily took her paw out of her mouth. “I just wanted to see if it tasted different.”
    “But what are we going to do now?” Abner turned to the others. “I mean—she’s a
hamster
. I don’t mind it myself,” he added hurriedly as the tears stood in Celia’s blue hamster eyes. “But the parents aren’t going to like it at all.”

    Tate leaned over the cage. “Hammy, why did you do that? You’re going to have to take itback. And you must have known it wasn’t our real wish.… Stop snuffling, Celia,” Tate added crossly. “You wanted to be big, so now you should act like it.”
    Hammy stood up on his hind legs and squeaked.
    Abner rolled his eyes. “Give it up, already. We know you can talk.”
    “No, I think he’s trying,” said Tate. “Look at him!”
    Hammy’s mouth was working, and his paws were waving, but nothing came out but squeaks.
    “You used up all his magic,” said Derek. “Nice going.”
    “Tunnels would have used just as much,” Celia answered hotly, her fur ruffling.
    “But what are we going to do?” Abner muttered, and then swung sharply on his heel. “What’s that?”
    Footsteps sounded in the hall. There was a knock on the door. “Suppertime!” called their father.
    The four children—rather, three children and a hamster—looked at one another in panic as the doorknob turned.
    Tate snatched the blanket and flung it over Celia. “Snuffle!” she hissed.
    “Now
you want me to snuffle?” Celia whispered.
    Father poked his head in. “Are you coming?” He paused. “What’s Celia doing under the blanket?”
    “She’s playing hamster,” said Tate, prodding Celia with her foot. “And we were wondering …”
    Celia began to make snuffling noises, and the blanket moved from side to side.
    Tate moved toward her father. “Would it beall right if we had supper up here in the playroom, on trays? We’d carry everything,” she added quickly.
    Celia’s snuffles and squeaks became louder. Tate shot a look at