There are some things, like dental appointments, that you don't necessarily enjoy, you might even put off actually going, but when I saw I hadn't written a thing in over a month I was shocked. "This is unexceptable," said the little voice in my head, always writing that perfect short story. Like the dental appointment, my stories weren't actually making it to the page. This morning as I tried desperately for sleep I wrote in my head about Oscar the rat we had when the younger kids were still in elementary school.
Now that I'm writing this story down I can see I need to ask my daughter Megan, illustrator of other books, to illustrate this. She draws the cutest rats. Anyway, a Thursday story to either entertain or terrorize you, depending on your view of fancy rats (not the roof rats in our attic we called Terminex for.)
Oscar was a lucky rat and he knew it. The lady came into the store many times to say hello to him as he desperately tried to get comfy on top of his small igloo house in his small cage. One day the lady came into the store wearing a bright pink sweater. She brought with her the lady jingling her keys, the lady who one always slipped him a few extra carrots, because she knew the spunky, younger rats always got picked first, leaving him, all alone in his cage.
The lady in the pink sweater put him on her shoulder and they shopped for stuff. His heart beat a little bit faster as he smelled her vanilla smell. Was it her hair? He sniffed it and even nibbled a few strands. Luckily she did not notice. She put a new big water bottle with a little spigot on the end in the shopping cart . . . oh boy, for him? Oscar ran to her other shoulder and noticed her dangling ear ring. He playfully nibbled on her ear and she giggled. She tossed some chewie toys and a bag of gourmet rat food into the cart . . . oh boy, for him? He ran to her other shoulder and watched as she added a new food dish, not as exciting, but for sure for him. Finally she threw a bag of the softest litter into the cart, making everything all wobbly for a moment. He hung on with his cute little toes and thought . . . oh boy, all that was HIS?
Other rats went home in boxes with holes in the lid and sides, but not Oscar. Oscar the rat was a lucky rat, as he rode home on the lady's shoulder. He ran from side to side, looking out the window as the other cars zipped by. Some people laughed when they saw Oscar perched there. Some people were horrified.
When they got home he sat in the bathroom floor and waited for her. He nibbled on the door, but it seemed like a lot of work, so he curled up in the corner and took a little nap, head tucked under his belly, all toasty.
When the lady came to get him from the bathroom he saw just what kind of a lucky rat he REALLY was. His cage had THREE spacious levels. One, two, three. The lady had put his food dish on one level, an extra big igloo on the bottom . . . oh boy it was all for him, sleep on top of the green igloo, or sleep in the igloo, his nest was complete.
As he explored past his igloo, he found the little toys the lady had purchased. A chewy wooden carrot, a crinkly round ball, and yummiest of all, little pink strawberry yogurt drops.
He explored his new cage mansion, sniffing all the corners, he ate all the strawberry yogurt drops, and most of his food. He hunched over his bowl and looked around past his cage. He heard other stirrings and knew there were other critters to meet on his next adventure OUT of his cage. He liked IN his cage but his little ratty brain was curious about what the rest of the world held.
The night after eating, nibbling on toys, and running up and down the ladders, he stretched out, with his tail next to him and slept soundly, dreaming of other friends, more ladders to climb and stuff to chew on. Oscar's adventures in his new forever home was just beginning.
