Hymie the hamster was having a terrible seventh day. His usual Saturday routine – spinning furiously on his wheel, stuffing his cheeks with sunflower seeds, and napping in his tiny, fluffy bed – had been completely disrupted. It all started with the new water bottle. It was purple, glittery, and inexplicably shaped like a miniature Eiffel Tower.
“This is ridiculous!” Hymie squeaked, his tiny paws flailing. “I can’t even reach the spout! It’s too… *chic*!”
His owner, ten-year-old Lily, peered into the cage. “Oh, Hymie, you’re complaining again? I thought you’d love it! It’s *Parisian*!”
Hymie grumbled. Then, disaster struck. Lily, attempting to be helpful, decided to ‘improve’ Hymie’s habitat. She replaced his simple, sawdust-filled floor with bright pink, fluffy carpet.
“It’s so much softer, Hymie!” Lily chirped, beaming.
Hymie, however, found the carpet incredibly difficult to navigate. Every step was a struggle. He tried running on his wheel, but the fluffy pink monstrosity tangled around his feet.
“It’s… it’s like running through a marshmallow cloud!” he complained, utterly exasperated. “And I’m stuck!”
Lily chuckled. “Oh, Hymie, you’re so dramatic!”
Finally, exhausted and covered in pink fluff, Hymie found himself wedged between the Eiffel Tower water bottle and a miniature plastic castle.
Lily peered into the cage. “Hymie? Are you alright?”
Hymie, barely able to squeak, replied, “Yes, perfectly… Parisian!” He then promptly fell asleep, buried in a pile of pink fluff. Lily just laughed. It was definitely Hymie’s weirdest seventh day yet, and possibly his softest.