Free Winter According to Humphrey (9781101591222) by Betty G. Birney Page B

song you played when you first started lessons ? ”
    Daniel nodded.
    â€œI’d like to hear one of your new songs. I think your mom said something about you playing ‘Jingle Bells,’” his grandfather said.
    â€œBut you said I just had to play one song,” Daniel told him. “You didn’t say which song to play. And I’m
so
hungry!”
    â€œPlay it one time through and we’ll eat,” Grandpa said.
    Daniel grumbled under his breath, but he found the music and set it on the piano, right by my cage.
    â€œIt’s pretty hard,” he complained.
    â€œPractice makes perfect,” Grandpa said. “Try it.”
    Daniel tried, I guess.
    He even hit
some
of the right notes.
    But he hit a lot of wrong notes, too.
    When Ms. Lark played “Jingle Bells,” I could almost see the prancing horses and a sleigh gliding through the snow.
    When Daniel played “Jingle Bells,” I could see horses tripping on the snow and a sleigh caught in a snowdrift!
    â€œSee ? I told you I can’t play it,” Daniel said when he was finished.
    â€œSure, you can play it,” his grandfather told him. “All you need is practice.”
    Daniel patted his tummy. “But I’m starving!”
    Grandpa chuckled. “Okay. Let’s eat.”
    He and Daniel went into the kitchen, leaving me in my cage on the piano.
    While good smells started coming out of the kitchen, I stared down at the keys. I wasn’t sure how they worked. There was a piece of paper propped up above the keys. But the paper didn’t have words on it—only lines and dots. Somehow, those showed people what keys to push. And when a person pushed the keys, sounds came out.
    When Ms. Lark pushed the keys, the music sounded good.
    When Daniel pushed the keys, the music sounded bad. At least when he played “Jingle Bells.”
    I thought of how the song goes. “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.”
    SQUEAK-SQUEAK SQUEAK. SQUEAK-SQUEAK SQUEAK.
    That part didn’t seem too difficult, if you could find the right key and hit it three times, then three times again.
    And what was the next part ? “Jingle all the way.”
    Or, as I imagined it in my head: SQUEAK-SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK.
    That time, you played the same note as the first part once, then three other notes, then ended up on the note where you started!
    SQUEAK-SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK.The first note, then a note that was higher, two notes that were lower, then back to the first note.
    If only I had a way to get on that keyboard, I thought I could play those notes.
    Then I might be the only piano-playing hamster in the world!
    But I wouldn’t want to get caught out of my cage. For one thing, there was always the possibility that Lulu would get out of the den and come straight for me.
    And even if I survived Lulu, there was the possibility that Grandpa Popwell would change my lock-that-doesn’t-lock and I’d be stuck in my cage forever!
    So I stayed in my cage and thought and thought and thought some more, until I knew “Jingle Bells” so well, it was almost a part of me.
    After dinner, Daniel and his grandpa came back in the living room.
    â€œLet’s give Lulu a break and take her for a walk,” Grandpa said.
    That was fine with me, as long as she didn’t walk close to my cage!
    â€œNow ? ” Daniel asked. “It’s cold out.”
    â€œWe’ll bundle up,” Grandpa said. “Lulu needs the exercise. Come to think of it, so do we, after all that chili.”
    Soon, Daniel and Grandpa Popwell were wearing coats and hats, gloves and scarves. Then they went into the den and came out with Lulu. Luckily she was on a leash. And she was actually wearing a
sweater,
which seemed strange to me.
    She barked at me, of course, but Daniel took her outside while Grandpa locked the front door.
    â€œWe’ll see you later, Humphrey,” he said as they