The World According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney

tomorrow and in a few minutes all the Thomases had gone to bed and it was QUIET-QUIET-QUIET for the first time since I’d arrived.
    TIP ELEVEN: Be careful. If set free, hamsters are experts at disappearing in a room.
     
    Guide to the Care and Feeding of Hamsters, Dr. Harvey H. Hammer

12
    Peace Breaks Out
    E arly in the morning, Ty, DeeLee and A.J. raced downstairs and played Crazy Eights. Later, they ran outside and threw a football around the yard.
    The Thomases were having breakfast with Beau when the phone rang. Mr. Thomas talked for a few minutes, mostly saying “Uh-huh, that’s fine.” When he hung up, he told Mrs. Thomas, “We’re going to have a visitor. But don’t tell Anthony James.”
    Oooh, a mystery. I like mysteries because they’re fun to solve. Then again I don’t like mysteries because I don’t like not knowing what’s going on. So I waited and waited.
    A few hours later, the doorbell rang.
    The visitor turned out to be Garth Tugwell and his father! “I really appreciate this,” Mr. Tugwell told the Thomases. “It was Mrs. Brisbane’s idea. Since Garth can’t have Humphrey at our house right now, she suggested that he could help A.J. take care of him over here.”
    Sounds like Mrs. Brisbane. As if I’m trouble to take care of.
    But Garth had been crying because he couldn’t have me. So maybe—maybe—she was trying to be nice.
    After Mr. Tugwell left, Mr. Thomas called A.J. in.
    A.J. ran into the room and practically backed out again when he saw Garth.
    “We have a guest,” said Mr. Thomas. “Shake hands, Anthony. Garth is here to help you take care of Humphrey.”
    A.J. and Garth reluctantly shook hands.
    “How come?” asked A.J.
    Garth shrugged his shoulders. “Mrs. Brisbane said to.”
    “Well, come on. We’ll clean his cage and get it over with,” A.J. said.
    The boys didn’t talk much while they cleaned the cage. But they started giggling when they cleaned up my potty corner. (I don’t know why that makes everybody giggle.)
    After they stopped giggling, they started talking and kidding around. They decided to let me out of the cage, so they took a set of old blocks from DeeLee’s room and built me a huge maze. Oh, I love mazes!
    When we were all tired of that game, A.J. offered to teach Garth to play Crazy Eights and then Ty and DeeLee joined them in a game of Go Fish.
    Nobody mentioned the TV.
    Nobody shot any rubber bands.
    Later in the afternoon, the kids were all outside playing football. I was fast asleep until Mrs. Thomas came into the den with a broom and started sweeping. A minute later, Mr. Thomas entered.
    “What are you doing, hon?”
    “What does it look like? I’m sweeping. You know, all the snacking we do in here makes a real mess on the floor,” she said.
    “Beau’s asleep?” her husband asked.
    “Uh-huh.”
    Mr. Thomas walked over to his wife and took the broom away from her. “Then you sit down and rest a spell, hon. I’ll sweep. Go on, don’t argue.”
    Mrs. Thomas smiled and thanked him and sat down on the couch. Mr. Thomas swept all around the outside of the room.
    Even behind the TV. Uh-oh.
    When he got there, he stopped sweeping and leaned down.
    “Well, I’ll be,” he muttered.
    “What’s wrong?” asked Mrs. Thomas.
    “The TV is unplugged,” he said. “It’s unplugged!” He came out from behind the TV, plug in hand and a very puzzled look on his face.
    “But it couldn’t have just come unplugged while we were sitting there watching. I mean, a plug doesn’t just fall out,” he said.
    “Plug it in. See if it works,” his wife told him.
    Well, you guessed it. The TV came on as bright and loud as ever.
    “I don’t get it,” Mr. Thomas muttered. “But at least we don’t have to pay to get it fixed.”
    Mrs. Thomas stared at the screen for a few seconds, then glanced out the window at the kids playing happily outside.
    “Charlie, what do you say we keep it unplugged for a couple more days?” she asked. “We just won’t