Nossy woke. A cold stiff morning full of beautiful snow; not that Nossy could see it. The hamster stretched, yawned and opened her eyes. It padded over to the water and took a few sips; probably to make the horrible aftertaste of sawdust vanish. Nossy was bored.

I peered in and fed her some hamster chocolate, she took it and stored it in her nest like bed. Then she came back for more. I had none to often since she was already the size of a small cat. Nossy scoffed and wandered around in her cage; clearly dismissing her slave.She wandered to her bath: it looked interesting but it was early; or late in the nocturnal hamster’s eyes. She scurried up to the top of her three floor cage where her food awaited. The place I had personally put in order to make the rodent exercise. By the size of her; it obviously wasn’t working.

I checked my watched, threw on my coat and made for the door; work awaited and Nossy needed her beauty sleep. Little did I know I had left my pyjamas by her cage. I can only imagine what went through her little hamster mind while everyone was away.

Nossy must have wandered back down to her bed with her cheeks bulging and her eyes once again sleepy. And then it must have happened, she must have seen my blue PJ pants, the thin cotton looking inviting warm not ‘cms’ from the cage entrance. She must have spat the food out, maybe into her stockpile; maybe right there and then: who knows!
She then must have wandered over to the bars and tried with all her might to reach them. Needless to say she succeeded.

I arrived home some hours later; the area around her cage was covered in blue fragments. It was like a grenade had gone off in a box of clothes. Little pieces of my beloved PJs were scattered around and in the cage. I found the remains. If blood had been on them I would have guessed a wild dog attack; or a bear.

Shaking my head in disbelief I looked for Nossy; she was asleep. She had turned her nest into a very stylist, very blue, hamster bed. Nossy was simply dead to the world; her eyes tightly shut, her face raised upwards in comfort and soft, but sincere, snoring came from her.

I laughed. But only to keep from crying.