Free Spring According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney

safely.
    I stopped to catch my breath, then I began to push the curtain away from the window.
    I had no idea that a curtain could be so heavy. I pushed with all my might, and nothing happened.
    Whoa! I took a deep breath, pushed again, and the curtain slowly began to move. The great thing about those curtains was that when I pushed the left curtain, the right curtain also moved.
    With a few deep breaths, and a few rest stops, I managed to push the curtain as far as it would go.
    Once I’d caught my breath, I stopped to look at the moon. And then I looked down. The silvery light was shining on the nest tucked in the branches of the tree. I was closer now and could see much better.
    I stared for a while, because it was so round and cosy. Almost as cosy as my little sleeping hut.
    I crossed my toes and HOPED-HOPED-HOPED that in the morning, Cassie would see the nest, too.
    By the time I returned to my cage and closedthe door behind me, I was feeling unsqueakably tired.
    I sank down into my bedding and stared up at the moon until, suddenly, it was morning.
    I’d slept through most of the night – which is quite a feat for a hamster!
    ‘Good morning, Humphrey,’ Cassie said as she looked in my cage.
    ‘Don’t look at me – look out the window! There’s a spectacular sign of spring!’ I squeaked excitedly.
    Cassie just yawned.
    ‘Ready for breakfast?’ her dad asked as he poked his head in the doorway. ‘I made pancakes and sausages and muffins, scrambled eggs and pizza!’
    ‘Really?’ Cassie f lapped her hands excitedly.
    Her dad laughed. ‘April Fool!’ he said. ‘Didn’t you look at the calendar? It’s April the first – April Fool’s Day!’
    Cassie laughed and then turned serious. ‘What are we really having for breakfast?’
    ‘The good news is we are having pancakes,’ he said with a smile.
    ‘Yay!’ Cassie raced out of the room.
    Why would Cassie’s dad fib about all the things he made for breakfast? Because it was April Fool’s Day? Why is there a day to celebrate being foolish? I will never figure out humans!
    I sighed. The cosy nest was now in plain view … only Cassie wasn’t there to see it.
    I thought of making a sign saying BIRDS ’ NEST with a big arrow pointing at the window. But if I did that, Cassie would know that I can read and write and get out of my cage. Those are things I like to keep secret.
    Cassie and her mum came back in a little while.
    ‘I’ll make the bed if you pick up your clothes,’ her mum said, and they got to work.
    ‘Please … look out the window!’ I squeaked.
    ‘Why is Humphrey squeaking like that?’ Cassie’s mum asked.
    Cassie giggled. ‘He’s talking.’
    ‘Yes!’ I squeaked at the top of my small lungs. ‘I’m trying to tell you to LOOK OUT OF THE WINDOW!’
    Cassie and her mum just laughed.
    After they straightened up the room, Cassie’s mum said, ‘Wow, it’s really bright this morning.’
    I crossed my toes and hoped.
    Cassie’s mum walked across the room to the window. ‘I’ll just close these a little.’
    ‘NO-NO-NO!’ I screamed.
    My heart sank as she started to pull the curtains together – after I’d worked so hard to open them.
    And then she stopped!
    ‘Cassie, come here,’ she said. ‘Look at that branch!’
    She pointed and Cassie looked.
    ‘I don’t see anything except leaves,’ she said.
    I held my breath.
    ‘Look again,’ her mum said.
    Cassie gasped and clapped her hands. ‘It’s a nest!’ she shouted as she danced around in a circle. ‘Oh, Mum – it’s a nest!’
    ‘Calm down, Cassie,’ her mum said. ‘You’ll scare the birds away.’
    Cassie took a deep breath. I could tell she was trying to stay calm.
    ‘I can’t believe it,’ Cassie whispered. ‘We’re so close!’
    ‘I think you’ve found your sign of spring,’ her mum said as she hurried out of the room. ‘I’m going to get your dad and Cammy.’
    I could breathe again. My Plan had worked.
    For the rest of my time at Cassie’s