Return of the Hungry Hamster Read online

  “I’m really not sure…” Oliver’s mum said. It looked like a visit from a hamster expert was the last thing she wanted!

  “Please!” Oliver begged. “You know how worried I’ve been about Dumpling lately.”

  She sighed. “Oh, all right. But Joe will have to give his mum a call and check it’s OK.” She handed him her mobile phone.

  Yes! thought Joe. He’d done it! He’d got an invite to Oliver’s house. All he needed to do now was work out how to prove Oliver’s hamster was a replacement. That was going to be a bit more tricky…

  After calling his mum, Joe headed to Oliver’s house with Toby.

  “I can’t wait to show you Dumpling!” Oliver grinned.

  Dumpling, who was poking his nose out of Joe’s bag, groaned. “I wish he’d stop calling that imposter ‘Dumpling’! I’m Dumpling!”

  Joe ignored him. “So, Oliver, when did you first notice that your hamster had lost weight?”

  Oliver’s mum glanced at Joe.

  “About a week ago, I think,” said Oliver. “I was lying in bed watching Dumpling playing in his cage, when all of a sudden he ran through one of his tunnels. He hasn’t been able to do that for months!”

  The real Dumpling blew a raspberry. “That’s because it wasn’t me!”

  “Mmm,” said Joe thoughtfully. “So the weight loss was very sudden?”

  Oliver’s mum’s eyes narrowed.

  “Yeah,” said Oliver. “Really sudden.”

  “Did you notice anything else unusual about Dumpling?” asked Joe. “Like a slight change of colour, maybe?”

  Just then Oliver’s mum coughed loudly. “So, Joe, have you got any hobbies?” she asked.

  Joe tried not to smile. You mean, apart from being an annoying hamster expert! he thought to himself.

  After that, every time the conversation returned to hamsters, Oliver’s mum changed the subject. By the time they got home, she looked flustered and fed up.

  “This is my house!” said Oliver, as they arrived at a bungalow with a blue front door. They went inside and Oliver kicked off his shoes. “My room’s down here. Come and see Dumpling.”

  “Wouldn’t Joe and Toby like a snack first?” asked his mum.

  At the mention of food, Joe’s tummy rumbled.

  Oliver frowned. “Could we have it in my room? I really want them to see Dumpling!”

  Oliver’s mum hesitated. “All right then,” she said wearily. “Leave your shoes and bags in the hall, boys,” she said. “And mind out for the vacuum cleaner – I didn’t have time to put it away before I came to get you from school.”

  “No! Not the vacuum cleaner!” squeaked Dumpling.

  Joe scooped Dumpling out of his bag and stuffed him into his pocket, then followed Toby and Oliver to the bedroom.

  Sitting on a low table under the window in Oliver’s room was the hamster cage.

  Wow! thought Joe. It was three storeys tall, all of the levels connected by colourful plastic tubes. And on the ground floor, fast asleep in a nest of wood shavings, was Dumpling. The new Dumpling!

  Dumpling wriggled around in Joe’s pocket. “I can’t see! Put me down!”

  He picked the hamster out of his pocket and set him on the table without the others noticing.

  “He looks nothing like me!” said the real Dumpling. “Totally different!”

  It was true – they did look different. But that was mostly because the real Dumpling was now a zombie hamster, complete with a green tinge and big red staring eyes!

  Oliver crouched down and looked at his new hamster. “He’s great, isn’t he!”

  Toby grinned. “Yeah, he’s really cool!”

  “When are you going to tell him?” asked Dumpling.

  Joe shrugged. He wasn’t sure where to start.

  Oliver, meanwhile, was tapping gently on the cage. “I’ll wake him up, and then maybe you can have a look at his teeth.”

  Dumpling waddled off in a sulk. He’d spotted something familiar on top of Oliver’s chest of drawers. His old treat box! He started to scale the chest of drawers like a rock climber.

  Oliver reached into the cage and took out the sleepy hamster. “Want to hold him?”

  As Joe stroked the hamster’s fur, he decided that still-alive hamsters were definitely better than moaning undead ones! The little creature opened its eyes and snuffled Joe’s hand.

  “He’s probably looking for treats.” Oliver grinned.

  “Huh!” growled the real Dumpling, who was now halfway up the chest of drawers.

  “How do his teeth look?” asked Oliver.

  Joe wasn’t sure how to check. None of the books had told him how to make a hamster open its mouth. “I’ll just give him a minute to get used to me,” said Joe, “then I’ll try to take a look…”

  Oliver nodded. “OK, but do you think he looks healthy? I keep trying to make him eat more, to build him up again, but he’s just not as hungry as he used to be.”

  “His eyes are bright and his coat is shiny,” said Joe, repositioning his hands as the new Dumpling ran from palm to palm. “And he’s certainly full of energy!”

  It was true. He was a handsome hamster, exactly the right sort of weight – unlike other hamsters Joe could mention. Just then he heard a munching noise, and looked over to see the real Dumpling sitting on the top of the chest of drawers, stuffing his face with little green biscuity treats. And then something else caught Joe’s eye – a photo frame on the chest of drawers.

  Still holding the new hamster in his hands, Joe walked over to take a look. “Is that you and Dumpling?”

  Oliver nodded. “That was us last Christmas…”

  Joe peered at the picture, then looked at the new hamster. Even without the red eyes and green tinge, Joe could see that the Dumpling in the picture looked very different to the new hamster. “Wow, Dumpling does look different now, doesn’t he?” Joe held the new hamster next to the photo. “Look at the colour of his fur – it’s lighter, isn’t it? Even his nose is different.”

  Oliver’s eyes widened. “That’s weird.”

  Just then Oliver’s mum came into the room, carrying a tray laden with flapjacks and crisps. “Everything OK in here?” she asked nervously.

  As Joe turned to look at her, the new Dumpling wriggled through his fingers – and jumped! Joe made a grab for the hamster, but missed and bumped into the chest of drawers. As the chest of drawers wobbled, Dumpling lurched sideways, knocking over the photo frame, which crashed on to the floor, shattering the glass inside.

  For just one second everyone froze. Then there was pandemonium!

  “Watch out for the glass, boys!” said Oliver’s mum, putting the tray down on Oliver’s bed. “You’ve got nothing on your feet!”

  But Oliver wasn’t listening. “Where’s Dumpling? I can’t see him!”

  “Which one?” said Joe, without thinking.

  “Catch him!” cried Oliver, as the new Dumpling scuttled around their feet.

  “Mind the glass!” Oliver’s mum yelled.

  Then Joe had an idea. He raced out of the room and down the hall. He picked up the vacuum cleaner and dragged it back to the bedroom, where Oliver and Toby were chasing the hamster and Oliver’s mum stood by, with a look of terror on her face.

  “Keep still, Oliver!” shouted his mum again. “You’re standing right in the broken glass!”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll get it,” said Joe. He plugged in the vacuum cleaner and switched it on.

  And that’s when it happened. Oliver’s mum glanced from the vacuum cleaner to the hamster, scuttling wildly at their feet. She waved her hands at Joe. “No! Not the vacuum cleaner!”

  “You don’t want to suck Dumpling up!” she screamed. “Not like last time!”

  Oliver stopped in his tracks. “What?”

  Oliver’s mum clapped her hand over her mouth, as though she wished she could suck up the words she’d just said.

  Joe turned off the vacuum cleaner – much to the relief of the real Dumplin
g, who was still on top of the chest of drawers, frozen with fear! As soon as the noise stopped, the new hamster scuttled out from under Oliver’s bed and Joe pounced on it. “Gotcha!”

  “What do you mean, ‘Not like last time’, Mum?” Oliver asked.

  Oliver’s mum gave a huge sigh and suddenly looked almost relieved. “Oliver, I think I’ve got some explaining to do.”

  “So you see, by the time I realized what was happening, it was too late…” Oliver’s mum sniffed. “I’m so sorry, Oliver.”

  Joe and Toby were sitting with Oliver and his mum in the kitchen, sipping hot chocolate. Dumpling was there too, taking sneaky sips from Joe’s mug.

  Oliver frowned. “So my hamster hasn’t got bad teeth?”

  Oliver’s mum shook her head.

  “And he’s not sick?”

  “No.”

  “He’s actually a totally different hamster?”

  His mum looked at her hands. “I’m so sorry, Oliver. It was just a terrible accident. I must have left Dumpling’s cage open after I cleaned it out. And then when I was vacuuming, he suddenly appeared and got sucked up.”

  Oliver looked horrified.

  Dumpling nudged Joe. “Tell him it didn’t hurt!”

  “I don’t think he would’ve suffered,” said Joe. “I’m sure the end was very fast.”

  Oliver sighed and nodded.

  His mum bit her lip. She looked close to tears, and Joe felt a bit sorry for her. After all, it was an accident and she’d only got the replacement hamster because she hadn’t wanted Oliver to be sad.

  Then Oliver took a deep breath. “Don’t worry, Mum. I do feel sad about the old Dumpling, but I know he had a good life.”

  “I DID! I DID!” squeaked Dumpling.

  “Maybe I could clean out the cage myself from now on?” said Oliver.

  Mum pulled a tissue from her pocket and blew her nose. “That sounds like a good idea.”

  “And maybe you shouldn’t give the new hamster quite so many treats,” said Joe, glancing at Dumpling, who was perched on the handle of Joe’s mug, his head dipped down inside it to drink. “That way he’ll always be able to enjoy his tunnels.”

  “Hey, are you calling me tubby?” said Dumpling, his nose covered in hot chocolate.

  Oliver’s mum put her arms round her son and hugged him.

  Joe scuffed the floor with his foot. He always felt a bit silly watching people hug. “I’m just going to go to the loo,” he said.

  Dumpling jumped down from the table and scampered out into the hall. Joe noticed that the hamster was looking different somehow. Not quite so green round the edges…“Are you feeling OK, Dumpling?”

  The hamster grinned. “It’s time I was going, Joe. Now the truth is out I feel ready to cross over.”

  Dumpling seemed to shimmer slightly, growing more transparent.

  “Do you need anything for the journey?” Joe asked. “Sweets? Crisps, maybe?”

  Dumpling prodded his swollen cheek pouches. “I grabbed some of the treats from Oliver’s room. I’m saving them for later! Goodbye, Joe. Thanks for everything.”

  Joe took the hamster’s tiny paw in his hand and shook it gently. “Goodbye, Dumpling. Er … good luck.”

  Dumpling faded, until there was only the hint of a hamster outline… Then that disappeared, too. Joe heard a tiny BURP! and all that was left of Dumpling was the faint smell of onions.

  A little while later, Joe’s mum arrived to collect them. And after a bit more hamster chat with Oliver and a promise to visit again soon, Joe and Toby followed her out to the car.

  Joe was quiet on the way home. He was relieved that Dumpling had gone, but a bit sad, too. It was the closest he’d ever come to having a pet of his own – even if he was an annoying, overeating undead pet.

  When he got home, Joe went straight to the computer to send another email to Uncle Charlie.

  Dear Uncle Charlie,

  Don’t worry, everything’s sorted! Can’t wait to tell you about my adventure!

  Love, Joe

  Then he headed upstairs to his bedroom. As Joe kicked off his shoes and lay down on his bed, he smiled to himself. It had been a strange few days. He’d actually had a real adventure – one that Uncle Charlie would be proud of!

  It did feel good for everything to be back to normal, though. I might even get some sleep tonight, thought Joe, stretching out his legs and closing his eyes for a second.

  And that’s when he heard it. A very faint meowing sound, ghostly and strange. Joe sat up and listened. There it was again…It seemed to be coming from the garden. As though a cat was stalking around outside. But it didn’t quite sound like any other cat that he’d ever heard. He was about to take a look out of his window when he heard Dad calling from downstairs: “Teatime!”

  Joe grinned. Just the wind, he told himself firmly.

  As Joe closed his bedroom door, the Amulet of Anubis twinkled on his bedside table. Outside a black shadow lurked – a cat-shaped shadow. And two alarmingly yellow eyes blinked in the dark, watching and waiting…

  Joe is just an ordinary boy until he makes a wish on a spooky Egyptian amulet…

  Now he’s the Protector of UNDEAD PETS … and there’s a crazy cat on his tail!

  Poor Pickle met her end under the wheels of a car. Can Joe help Pickle protect her sister before there’s another cat-astrophe?

  Copyright

  STRIPES PUBLISHING

  An imprint of Little Tiger Press

  1 The Coda Centre, 189 Munster Road,

  London SW6 6AW

  Text copyright © Sam Hay, 2012

  Illustrations copyright © Simon Cooper, 2012

  First published as an ebook by Stripes Publishing in 2012.

  eISBN: 978–1–84715–413–2

  The right of Sam Hay and Simon Cooper to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  All rights reserved.

  Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any forms, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  www.stripespublishing.co.uk