The Rats Of Virginia
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Do you like rats? My sister Lauren has 4 pet rats. They're named: Bellatrix, Pansy, Tonix, and Andromeda. There's also Narcissa, who you'll learn about in a second. (And yes, all the names relate to Harry Potter.)
Sometimes, when my sister goes away, I take care of them. One time, not so long ago, she went to visit her friend for a couple days. She left me in charge. Maybe, I shouldn't have left a giant snake in their room... just kidding! But they were way more trouble than I thought...
One experience that proves this statement actually happened when my sister was home! Bella (Bellatrix) and Sissy (Narcissa) STUNK. So we decided to give them a bath.I'll admit, it wasn't very pleasant, but that was not my biggest worry... Suddenly, Bellatrix lept over the side of the tub and jumped into the toilet! Again, just kidding, but she managed to get on my head, before flopping back in. Then, after a few more failed escape attempts, it was time to get them out. Right after they got out, they made a nice home drying off, on my spine! "OW!" I screamed as Bella reached my short brown hair and pulled. Just after that, Sissy decided to go for my glasses, and they clattered down, and onto my bare feet. Lauren grabbed Sissy off my head, and Bella lept into her wide open arms. Then, I took a bath! Luckily, my glasses had not broken, so my blue eyes still shone. YAY!
I'll also admit that at first, I disliked the rats. Even when I gave them the bath, I wasn't completely sold. You see, the way I saw it, they were stinky, red-eyed clawed things. The bath did not help their case. They seemed to be open to me though, so I tried to like them. A big key in me not tossing the cage out the window was not to far away, but still enough to tell a bit of another story...
A couple of days afterward, Lauren went on a day trip, and she needed me to keep an eye on them. So, I did. Bella slept most of the time, but sissy was a total day bird! She ran on the blue, creaky, LOUD, wheel, then explored her tube, ate the small, brown, triangular, treats I gave her, and quickly gobbled up cheerios for lunch. Then, she played a game any sane human would never consider playing... She rolled around in her litter box, and... SNIFFED IT!!! I couldn't watch, so I got lunch.
When I came back, I found Bella spinning on creaky, the OTHER wheel!Sissy had dragged the small food bowl into the tissue box they called home. Bella stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me, and when I opened the cage door, she immediately ran up to me and stuck out her two pink claws, as if she expected a treat or something! For some reason, at that moment, I fell in love with her tiny white body. Of course, I gave her two treats! I saw cute, not ugly, but I couldn't say the same for Sissy, so, I took a risk! The next day, Lauren was home, and, with her permission, I took Sissy out of the cage, and she perched on my shoulder. Then, she moved up to my glasses, and put her tiny pink claws perched on them! I felt myself sigh in relief as Sissy settled down in my shirt. I liked them, and they liked me.
But soon, Sissy would die, and somehow, right now, everything is fine!
BY LG