Free Secrets According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney Page A

computer.
    â€œThere it is,” Tall-Paul said. “It’s called senet. They even found games in some pharaohs’ tombs.”
    â€œI bet I could make one of those,” Fix-It-Felipe said.
    There wasn’t much he couldn’t build. “Let
me
see!” I squeaked.
    The boys laughed but I was feeling very frustrated because I couldn’t see the computer screen from my cage.
    â€œWow, look at the one they found in King Tut’s tomb!” Tall-Paul exclaimed. “It’s beautiful.”
    Felipe began to sketch. “We’ll need a big cardboard box. And game pieces,” he said.
    Tall-Paul found a box while Small-Paul got out some other board games and borrowed the game pieces from them.
    â€œAnd little sticks to throw,” Small-Paul said.
    â€œHow about pencils ? Or big paper clips ? ” Tall-Paul suggested.
    â€œPaper clips would work for now,” Felipe agreed.
    The boys also gathered a ruler and markers as Felipe began to make the game board.
    â€œThe path around it looks something like a snake,” Small-Paul said.
    â€œEeek!” I squeaked. It slipped out when I heard the word “snake.”
    I relaxed when I realized he wasn’t talking about a real snake.
    The three friends spent the afternoon making the game and then playing it.
    I dozed off for a while, but woke up once when I heard Paul F. shout, “Take that, Tutankhamen!”
    I fell back to sleep until Paul G. shouted, “Bad move, Amenhotep!”
    I guessed that Amenhotep was another pharaoh.
    â€œHey, what about Humphrey ? ” Felipe asked. “I’ll bet he wants to play.”
    He gently took me out of my cage and set me on the game board. It looked a little bit like an obstacle course.
    I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do, but I saw the game pieces on different squares.
    Aha! The goal of the game must be to knock all of them over.
    So I scurried from square to square and knocked them down, one by one.
    Every time a game piece fell, the boys laughed.
    â€œYou win, Humphrey,” Tall-Paul said when all the pieces had fallen. “Even the pharaohs never played a game like that.”
    â€œGee, I’d love to show the game to Mrs. Brisbane,” Felipe said as he put me back in the cage. “Maybe we’d get extra credit.”
    Tall-Paul didn’t agree. “No! This is a Flying Pharaohs game. We have to keep it a secret.”
    â€œRight,” Small-Paul said. “Everything that happens in the Flying Pharaoh Club is a secret.”
    When Small-Paul’s mom came to pick the boys up, Tall-Paul put the board in a drawer.
    â€œDon’t you tell anyone our secret, Humphrey,” he told me. “Or the ghost of King Tut will come after you.”
    My whiskers wiggled and my tail twitched. “Eeek!” I squeaked.
    â€œOh, Humphrey, I was joking,” Tall-Paul said.
    It wasn’t a very funny joke—at least to a small creature like me.
    I scrambled under my bedding and I stayed there for a LONG-LONG-LONG time.

    The next day was more fun.
    Tall-Paul showed his parents how much he wanted a hamster by cleaning out my cage and giving me fresh food and water.
    He took very good care of me and Mrs. Green was impressed.
    Then Tall-Paul and his dad made an obstacle course on the living room floor, using blocks and books to create barriers.
    I ran that obstacle course over and over to show Paul’s dad how much fun a hamster can be.
    Even Paul’s big sister and his BIG-BIG-BIG brother came in to watch.
    Mr. Green was impressed, and he gave me a lovely slice of apple once I was back in my cage.
    â€œSo can I get a hamster ? ” Paul asked his mom and dad before bedtime.
    â€œMaybe,” they said.
    â€œMaybe” isn’t a very good answer. But they were smiling when they said it.

    After Tall-Paul went to bed that night, I thought about all the things I had to tell my friend Og when I got back to Room