Beefs Great Escape

          Missing: Muse....due to the recent loss of our beloved Bummy, our lhasa apso of 14 1/2 years, my muse has went into mourning for this week's Tuesday Twin Talk.  But since I didn't want to let my loyal readers down, I decided to share a short I wrote awhile back.  It's in the POV of Beef, our late hamster--- the last pet we lost before our Bummy.

As Beef hustled across his cage as quickly as his four stumpy legs would carry him, to cram his body into the tube, his only sanctuary, he heard the little Giant’s fingers fumbling with the door.  The door flopped open and he peered through the tinted plastic to see the Giant’s gigantic extension from her shoulder reach into the cage to probe for him.  He held his breath, which was almost necessary anyway in order to fit himself into the tube, he really needed to cut back a bit on the snacks he told himself.  But when you live at the mercy of little Giants, who from his past experience, could often forget to even feed you for days, you needed to stockpile all you can get to eat as often as possible.

He closed his eyes, feigning either death or sleep, whatever the Giant wanted to believe, waiting for her to leave.  He felt her finger poke into the bottom of the tube then quickly retreat. Victory! It couldn’t reach him. He permitted his beady eye to crack slightly and assess the room. Whew, it was gone.  Sucking in his breath, he squeezed himself through the rest of the tube and came out at the top, what he considered his penthouse.  He scrunched up his furry face into a grimace as he thought of the vast space the Giants had to trollop through as he was limited to this tiny cage.  He had spent many a night gnawing at the corner of the confinement, but he feared the meager progress he’d made would prove his life span not long enough to fulfill his escape plan.

With a sigh, he decided to make the best of it, for what other choice did he have.  Surveying his home, he began to determine his evening activities once the Giants began their slumber.  He noticed something from the corner of his beady eye. His neckless head snapped back and he peered over his pointy nose.  He wasn’t imagining it! Finally the day he had been waiting for had arrived. The little Giant had not latched the cage.  His lipless mouth pulled back into as close as a smile as a hamster could achieve. 

Darkness came and silence descended over the house.  Sitting at the door, waiting for his opportunity Beef quivered with excitement and nerves.  It was all he could do to contain himself from rushing toward freedom as soon as he’d discovered that it was within his grasp.  But no, he’d waited too long for this moment, he couldn’t screw it up with his impatience.

His tiny, practically non-existent ears were perked for any sound indicating any of the Giants or the Godzilla-fur-creature were still awake.  Nothing.  If it was to be done, he had to do it now, and quickly.  Beef rushed the door and pushed at it with his teeny forepaws and hurled his fluffy body onto it and it shot open, unceremoniously dumping him onto the table.  He was out! Panic overtook him as he waddled to the edge of the table to complete his escape.

Yes indeed, victory was his.