Written and illustrated by Ana M Terrés

Milo’s favourite food was ice-

cream. He loved jumping into

puddles, playing football; and was

a genius with his videogames… but

he was not like the other boys.

When he was only a baby, an

extra-terrestrial laser beam came

throw the window and touched his

head while he was sleep; turning

him into a super-baby.

Adventure in the Hamster Cage

He never knew what happened to him, but as he grew up he

realised that he could do things that nobody else could. He was

able to fly, walk on the ceiling and see in the dark. He was so strong

that he could lift a car with just one finger. He discovered his

superpowers little by little, one at the time, but he never said

anything to anyone -not even mum- and he was very careful not to

show his super-powers in public.

During the day he seemed just like

anyone else. At night he was able

to stay awake after his family had

gone to bed in order to play with

his powers after midnight.

Sometimes he would fly around the

town changing the position of the

cars parked outside, giggling in the

morning watching people’s

confusion.

One night he waited as usual until they were all asleep. He stepped

outside his bedroom to make sure he could hear dad snoring.

Gently, he walked downstairs and into the living room – his pet

hamster was on the coffee table, inside its cage.

Bubba was a dwarf hamster with

tiny black eyes and small pointy

ears – he was always sleep

during the day and awake at

night!

Milo approached the cage in

silence and turned on his

superpowers to shrink himself to

the size of a finger. He wanted to

race with Bubba inside his

running wheel and play hide

and seek in the straw. Milo could

see in the dark so there was no

need to turn on the lights. He

opened the cage and went in.

The hamster was eating his favourite nuts. “Hi Bubba , look who is here!”-

said Milo at the top of his tiny voice. The poor hamster jumped up in the

air in surprise and kicked Milo into the food bowl by accident.

The frightened animal looked around a few times, but as he could

see nothing unusual he went about to continue his unfinished

dinner, eating the little boy in just one go.

Milo could not believe his bad luck. He was moving up and down

inside the hamster’s mouth, surrounded by seeds and nuts - he was

being eaten! He held onto Bubba’s tongue with all his strength

while he was wriggled about and tossed from side to side. He had

to act fast!

With a decisive move, he bit the hamster’s tongue as hard as he

could, pretending it was a big moving marshmallow. “ahhhhg!, this

is disgusting” – he thought. And then…. It happened. Bubba

opened his mouth to let out a scream, spitting Milo and the half

eaten nuts back into the food bowl.

Milo looked like a wet lollypop. He started to shout – “It’s me, Milo, It’s Milo!

Can’t you see?” But the hamster didn’t even react. The pea-size boy

realised that he had seconds to turn on his ability to speak hamster

language before being eaten again. And so he did: “It’s me, Milo, It’s me,

It’s me, can’t you see?” he cried.

This time the hamster stopped suddenly and looked inside the bowl in

disbelief. He squinted in order to see what kind of food was talking to him

from inside the bowl. And then Bubba saw him- A tiny Milo was standing

there and shouting at him!. His hair was wet and stuck to his head, and he

was screaming like a mad man.

-It’s me, Milo, can’t you see? Milo repeated over and over again.

-What are you doing here? Why are you so small? How are you talking to

me? Why are you all wet? The confused hamster blurted out question after

question without giving Milo time to answer.

Milo was so happy to be alive that,

laughing and crying at the same time,

he got out of the bowl and hug the

surprised pet with his little arms. Milo

explained what had happened, and all

about his super-powers. “I am delighted

to have you in my cage, Milo” Bubba

said. “But now that we can talk, I need

you to promise me a few things”.

-“A few things? What do you mean?–

Milo replied.

- “I want you to promise me that you’ll will never put me into a sock again.

Nor into the laundry basket, the doll’s house or the long plastic truck. I also

don’t want to ride Spiderman’s motorbike ever again. And finally, please

tell your friend Jonny that I don’t like being picked up by the tail! Bubba

said very seriously, looking at Milo to see if his request had being

understood.

- Ok, ok! Don’t get annoyed. I promise we’ll never do those things

again…no more socks, no more laundry basket, truck, doll’s house

or motorbike. I will also talk to Jonny about the tail issue. Now, can

we play? Milo asked with a big toothy smile.

- Excellent! Bubba was happy with Milo’s reply and he finally

relaxed. “Yes, we can play now!”

They decided to play at

cowboys and Indians, and

Milo climbed up the

hamster’s back. Once on

top, he crawled to the

hamster’s neck and

grabbed his fur. Bubba

galloped around the

cage and round around

in his running wheel with

Milo on his back.

Bubba was galloping at such a speed that his ears were pushed back and

Milo was giggling and laughing - this was the best game ever – until the

worst happened. Bubba skidded and crashed against the cage pushing it

onto the floor where it landed with a strident noise.

In the silence of the night the noise felt like a thunder, and Milo and

Bubba froze on the spot. A few seconds later the light came on in the

landing and steps sounded on the stairs.

There was no time to waste. Milo’s heart was pumping fast. “Bubba , stay

where you are” Milo said in a commanding whisper while, with a swift

movement, he rolled under the couch.

Milo’s sleepy mum opened the living room door and turned the light on.

She saw the cage in the floor, the door open, and the food and the straw

all over the floor. It took her a few seconds to notice Bubba staring at her,

immobile beside the leg of the coffee table.

“Oh, you poor thing! What happened to you, my little pet? Are you

ok?” She picked the hamster and looked at him carefully to ensure

he had suffered no damage. Then she sat in the armchair and

cuddled him up. With the corner of his eye Bubba saw Milo sneaking

outside the living room. Milo lifted his hand to say good bye and

winked to his hamster friend.

In a blink, he flew up to his

bed and cuddled under the

duvet, where he then

returned to his normal size.

After all that excitement, Milo

fell asleep in a split second.

He did not see his mum

coming to check up on him.

He did not see her putting a

tiny little shoe beside his bed

while she smiled.

The End

After all, mums know everything…