Hello,
My name is Jacqueline and I'd like to thank you for choosing my story to listen to.
I hope you enjoy it.
Now if you're ready,
Settle back,
Relax,
Because the story is about to begin.
Cinnamon the Hamster Are you sure you want a hamster for a pet?
Kelty's mum asked her.
Yes,
Mum,
Replied Kelty,
Looking lovingly at the tiny hamster in her hands.
You know how much I adore hamsters,
And to have one of my own will be a dream come true.
Today is Kelty's birthday,
And her mum has taken her to the local pet shop to buy her present.
OK,
Sweetheart,
That's decided then,
Her mum declared.
Now do you want the hamster you're holding,
Or one of the other ones?
Kelty glanced up at her mum and smiled.
I want this hamster,
Please,
Mum.
He's so cute,
And I can tell he already loves me.
The salesman who was assisting them said,
He's a good choice,
And he does seem to like being held by you.
Have you thought of a name yet?
I'm going to call him Cinnamon,
Kelty replied,
As she stroked the tiny hamster gently with her finger.
That's a strange name,
The salesman remarked.
Why have you chosen that name?
When mum bakes cakes and I smell cinnamon,
It makes me feel warm and happy inside,
Explained Kelty.
When I look at this tiny hamster,
I feel warm and happy inside too.
In that case,
Cinnamon is the perfect name for him,
Replied the salesman.
Now let's find a little carry box for you to put him in,
And then we can look at cages and other things he needs to be comfortable.
Kelty and her mum chose all the necessary items for cinnamon,
And when they arrived home,
Kelty wasted no time in getting the cage ready for her new pet.
Duggee,
Her little dog,
Came over to see what was going on.
Kelty introduced him to the hamster and said softly,
Be kind and gentle,
Please.
The animals sniffed each other for a few seconds,
And then Duggee went to lie on his bed,
Not really that interested.
I'm going to keep cinnamon in my bedroom with me,
Kelty told her mum.
Do you think that's a good idea,
Her mum replied.
Hamsters tend to be awake more at night,
And the noise of him running in his wheel may stop you sleeping.
I'm sure it will be fine,
Mum,
Kelty reassured her.
He'll be lonely if he's not with me.
Well,
Let's hope so.
You can always move him into the lounge if necessary,
Her mum suggested,
Not wanting to upset her daughter on her birthday.
The cage was ready.
There was an exercise wheel cinnamon could run in and a little house filled with soft bedding for him to sleep in.
With food,
Water and lots of toys,
The cage was a cosy home for the tiny hamster.
Kelty lifted cinnamon out of the little carry box and cuddled him for a few minutes before placing him into his new home.
Kelty's mum smiled as she said,
You've done a nice job of getting his cage ready.
He looks very happy in there.
Give him a couple of the little treats we bought and then you should leave him for a while to get used to his new environment.
I'm going to start making dinner now,
So don't be too long.
Okay,
Mum,
I'll be right down,
Kelty said,
As she offered cinnamon a delicious treat.
That night,
Kelty lay in bed and watched cinnamon running in his wheel.
After a while,
The gentle sound it made soon sent her to sleep.
During the night,
Cinnamon sat in his cage and looked over at Kelty asleep in her bed.
He longed to be with her.
He was a tiny young hamster,
But already felt safe around his new mummy.
He walked around his cage trying to push himself through the bars until eventually he did.
He climbed out of his cage,
Walked to the edge of the cabinet and looked for a way to get over to Kelty.
On the cabinet,
A towel was hanging down towards the ground.
Cinnamon grabbed the towel with his claws and slowly crawled down it.
But the towel wasn't quite long enough and didn't quite reach the ground.
As he swung on the end of the towel,
He had to decide whether to jump off or crawl back up to his cage.
Taking a deep breath,
He let go of the towel and dropped the short distance,
Landing with a bump on the carpet.
Cinnamon looked up at Kelty in bed.
The bed seemed a lot higher from down here.
How was he going to climb up to be with her?
That moment Kelty turned over in her sleep and a blanket slipped slightly off her bed,
Nearly touching the carpet.
Cinnamon stood up on his hind legs and,
By stretching his front paws as far as he could,
He managed to grab hold of the blanket and pulled himself up.
Then he crawled all the way up the blanket until he was on the bed.
This was a lot of work for a tiny hamster and he felt quite exhausted.
He could see Kelty was fast asleep,
So he gently walked up to her,
Snuggled under her chin and fell asleep.
The next morning Kelty woke up wondering what was soft and warm around her neck.
A little nervously,
She grabbed it with her hand and realised it was Cinnamon.
What are you doing here?
She asked,
Smiling as she looked into his cute little face.
She wasn't at all cross.
In fact she was delighted that Cinnamon loved her so much he had managed to find a way to be with her.
From that moment on Kelty and Cinnamon were always together around the house.
He would either sit on her shoulder or curl up in her pocket.
He would even come to Kelty when she called him.
She wanted to take him with her when she went outside of the house too,
But her mum didn't agree with this idea.
What if you lose him?
Her mum asked.
But I won't because he comes when I call him,
Was Kelty's reply.
I think it would be safer if he stays at home sweetheart,
Her mum said.
You would be very upset if something happened to him wouldn't you?
Yes mum,
You're probably right.
Kelty sadly agreed.
One afternoon Kelty was sitting at the kitchen table drawing a picture of Duggee and Cinnamon.
She loved to draw and was becoming quite a good artist.
As she worked she thought how lucky she was to have two wonderful pets.
Her mum leaned over her shoulder and said,
Wow Kelty,
That's a great picture.
Your drawings get better every day.
Thanks mum,
Kelty said.
I really love to draw.
I can tell,
Her mum said.
She watched her daughter for a few moments and then asked,
Would it be okay if you leave that for a while?
I need to go to the supermarket to get a few things.
We won't be long.
Okay,
I could do with taking a break,
Kelty said as she went to put her shoes on.
Can I get some chocolate while we're there please?
I expect so,
Her mum said and they set off.
At the supermarket Kelty decided to wait at the end of one of the aisles for her mum.
She often done this as she found it boring walking around the shop.
She went to a quiet aisle and sat down on the tiled floor.
In front of her the shelves were filled with cans of soup and vegetables.
To pass the time she began counting them.
Thirty-three,
Thirty-four,
Thirty-five,
Thirty-six.
All of a sudden a lady started shrieking,
Oh there's a mouse,
Someone help,
There's a mouse.
Kelty looked around and could see an elderly lady waving a walking stick in the direction of a tiny mouse.
But it wasn't a mouse,
Kelty realised,
It was cinnamon.
As fast as she could Kelty went and picked her hamster up and ran down the aisle away from the lady,
Who by now had turned her back to cinnamon.
Kelty put him in her pocket just as she saw her mum approaching.
What was that noise all about,
Kelty's mum asked.
Kelty didn't like not telling the truth,
But she also didn't want to get into trouble for bringing cinnamon to the supermarket.
She had forgotten that she'd put him in her pocket when she had started to do her drawing,
Just to keep him out of the way as he liked to chew her pencils.
He must have climbed out when she sat on the floor.
Looking up at her mum she said,
A lady thought she had seen a mouse in one of the aisles.
Well,
I hope she didn't,
Said her mum,
They'll have to close the supermarket if there really was a mouse,
That's a serious problem.
Kelty hoped that it wouldn't come to that and couldn't wait to get out of the shop,
Worried that the elderly lady may report her.
She was relieved when her mum said,
Let's pay for these items and go home.
As they made their way to the tills,
Kelty could see the elderly lady being comforted by some of the shop assistants.
They were explaining to her that she had nothing to worry about,
As the shop was checked regularly and there were no mice anywhere.
Arriving home,
Kelty went straight up to her bedroom.
She took cinnamon out of her pocket and held him up to look at him.
Are you all right?
She asked him.
I guess this proves that mum is right and you shouldn't go out of the house.
I would have been so upset if you had got hurt today.
I must pay more attention to where you are so this never happens again.
She kissed cinnamon on the top of his head and then fed him one of his special treats.
As the weeks went by,
Kelty was very careful with cinnamon and always checked her pockets before she left the house.
Now that he was bigger,
He could no longer squeeze through the bars of his cage,
So once he was shut in there she knew he was safe.
One afternoon Kelty heard her mum in the kitchen and she went to see what she was doing.
Duggee was resting on his bed and Kelty bent down to stroke him.
Duggee liked to have his tummy rubbed and soon he was content and fell asleep.
Kelty's mum was busy at the kitchen counter.
What are you doing mum?
Kelty asked.
I'm making some chocolate chip cookies,
Her mum replied.
Would you like to help me?
Yes please,
Kelty answered,
Rolling up the sleeves on her cardigan.
Go and wash your hands first,
Said her mum,
And I'll place the mixing bowl on the table here so you can reach it when you stir the mixture.
Kelty washed her hands and then went over to the table.
Kelty's mum had her back to her as she weighed out the ingredients at the counter.
First she weighed the flour and passed it to Kelty to tip into the large mixing bowl.
Then she done the same thing with the sugar.
Next Kelty's mum started to weigh out the butter.
Oh dear,
She sighed,
I don't have enough here.
Kelty,
Can you get me the new packet of butter out of the fridge please?
Kelty opened the fridge door but couldn't see the butter.
I can't find it mum,
She said.
Her mum went over to the fridge and they looked together.
After moving some items around they found the butter tucked behind a large green cabbage.
I didn't put that away very tidily,
Said Kelty's mum as she went back to the counter to finish weighing the butter.
Kelty picked up the wooden spoon ready to stir the ingredients when all of a sudden the flour in the bowl started to move.
She leaned over the bowl to get a closer look and yes,
The flour was moving.
She poked the object under the flour with her finger and a little head popped out.
It was cinnamon,
Covered in flour.
He must have crawled out of her cardigan pocket and onto the table as she went over to the fridge.
Mum,
Kelty said,
Are you adding cinnamon to these cookies?
No,
Her mum replied as she finished weighing the butter,
Only chocolate chips,
Why?
Kelty started to giggle as she said,
Well there's cinnamon in them now.
Puzzled,
Kelty's mum turned around and saw the little white hamster as he peered out of the flour.
It was such an unexpected but comical sight that she burst out laughing.
Kelty started laughing too while cinnamon looked up at them both wondering what was so funny.
Kelty took her white hamster out of the flour and gave him a quick bath in a bowl of warm water,
As this was the best way to remove all the flour from his fur.
Her mum threw the ingredients away,
Washed the mixing bowl and started weighing everything again.
Later that afternoon Kelty and her mum enjoyed the warm cookies while their pets took a nap.
Kelty looked at her mum and said,
Cinnamon is the best birthday present I've ever had.
Her mum nodded in agreement and replied,
He's certainly one present we will never forget.
I hope you enjoyed listening to my story.
I have a question for you.
Cinnamon is an unusual name for a pet.
Have you ever given one of your pets an unusual name?
