An Owl Called Star

by Helen Peters

  So it might be better to tell her parents about Biscuit later, once the hamster was already in the house and Aisha had gone away. Then they would have to agree to let her stay. They wouldn’t have a choice.

  “Oh, my goodness,” said Jasmine. “It’s huge!”

  Aisha and her mum were standing on the doorstep. Beside them was the most enormous hamster cage Jasmine had ever seen. Inside was a complicated system of tubes and wheels and shelves and nest boxes. The base of the cage was filled with a deep layer of compost. The hamster was nowhere to be seen.

  “Where’s Biscuit?” asked Tom.

  “She’s in there,” said Aisha, pointing to a nest box in the bottom corner. “She sleeps most of the day, and then she wakes up in the evening and plays.”

  “Thank you, Jasmine,” said Aisha’s mum, and then she turned to Aisha and said something in Arabic. At least, Jasmine thought it must be Arabic, because she knew Aisha spoke Arabic at home.

  “My mum says it’s so kind of your parents to agree to have Biscuit at such short notice,” said Aisha. “She says are they here? She’d like to thank them properly.”

  “Sorry,” said Jasmine. “They’re both at work.”

  Aisha translated this for her mother, who said something in reply.

  “She says please thank them from her.”

  “I will. Come in.”

  Aisha’s mum carried the cage into the house. Aisha followed with a bag of hamster food and a water bottle. Manu came out of the living room as they walked through the hall. His face lit up with excitement.

  “What’s in there?” he asked. “Have you got another animal?”

  Jasmine’s first reaction was to ignore her brother, but then she realised she would need him on her side. The last thing she wanted was Manu telling Mum and Dad about Biscuit as soon as they came home. She was going to have to find the right time to break the news, and she would have to choose her words very carefully.

  “It’s Aisha’s hamster,” she said. “I’m looking after her for a few days.”

  “Cool,” said Manu. “Can I play with her?”

  Aisha knew Manu from school. She gave him a suspicious look. “Only if you’re really gentle. Hamsters get stressed if you don’t handle them carefully.”

  “Of course I’ll be gentle,” said Manu, looking offended. “I do know how to handle animals, you know.”

  Jasmine snorted.

  She led the way upstairs and opened the door of her room, which she had hastily tidied when she got home from school.

  “Biscuit can go in the corner there,” she said, pointing.

  Aisha’s mum set the cage down.

  “I cleaned it out yesterday,” said Aisha, “so you won’t need to. You can just take out any bits of dirty bedding, if you don’t mind.” She handed Jasmine a sheet of paper. “I wrote a list of when she needs feeding and everything.”

  “Thanks,” said Jasmine, taking the list.

  “What’s in that cage?” asked Aisha, indicating the pet carrier.

  “Oh, that’s my owl.”

  Aisha’s eyes widened. “You have an owl?”

  “Well, he’s not really mine. I found him by the wood. We think he flew into a window and knocked himself out. I’m looking after him until he’s ready to go back into the wild.”

  “Will Biscuit be safe with an owl in the room?”

  “Don’t worry,” said Jasmine. “We take him downstairs for feeding. He’s always shut in his cage when he’s up here.”

  “Can I see him?”

  “Sure. He’s called Star.”

  They knelt on the floor by Star’s cage. Jasmine lifted the towel from the wire door. Star was standing in the middle of the cage with his eyes open. He raised his head and moved it from side to side, all the time keeping his eyes fixed on the girls. Then he lunged his head forward and lowered his body right down to the floor. He spread his wings up and out and fluffed up his feathers to make himself look bigger.

  “He’s amazing,” said Aisha. “He’s so beautiful.”

  “He is, isn’t he?” said Jasmine, her heart swelling with pride.

  Star stopped moving, holding his pose as still as a statue.

  “That’s his defensive posture,” said Jasmine, who had watched a video on the Barn Owl Trust website. “It means he’s getting better.”

  Aisha’s mum spoke to her in Arabic. “We need to go,” Aisha said. “Thank you so much, Jasmine.”

  “It’s a shame you’ll miss our Halloween party,” Jasmine said. “It’s going to be amazing.”

  She waved them off from the front door. “Come on,” she said to Tom. “Let’s make some more decorations. Then we can play with Biscuit when she wakes up later.”

  They went back to Jasmine’s room and she took out her craft things. But when she looked up, Tom was still standing in the doorway, frowning.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Do you think we should move Star to another room?” he said.

  “Why?”

  “Well, you know… We’ve got an owl and a hamster in the same room. It’s kind of like predator and prey.”

  “But where else could we put Star? If he’s downstairs, the cats might try to attack him. And there’s no way I’m trusting Manu with him. Oh, that reminds me. I must tell Manu not to mention Biscuit. I need to tell Mum and Dad myself.”

  “We could put Star in Ella’s room,” said Tom. “She might not mind him. And she’s quiet.”

  Jasmine shook her head. “When we have our rescue centre and boarding kennels, we’ll be looking after all sorts of animals in the same place, won’t we? They’re both in their cages. It’ll be fine.”

  Tom looked doubtful, but he didn’t say anything.

  “Let’s make some snacks for Biscuit, so she feels at home,” said Jasmine.

  Tom picked up the sheet of instructions. “Aisha says she likes carrots and broccoli.”

  “That’s easy, then. Mum always buys carrots and broccoli, even though I tell her not to. I bet there’s some in the fridge.”

  They were cutting up a carrot when Mum walked into the kitchen. Jasmine froze, her knife poised over the chopping board.

  “Hi, Mum,” she said. “How was your day?”

  “Fine, thank you,” said Mum. “Why are you chopping carrots?”

  “We were hungry,” said Jasmine. “And you’re always telling us to eat more healthy snacks.”

  “Well, yes,” said Mum, “but I never expect you to take any notice. I’m very impressed, Jasmine. It’s good to see that you’re taking your parents’ advice at last.”

  Jasmine had planned to tell Mum and Dad about Biscuit during dinner. But Dad was stressed about some missing cattle passports, worrying about what would happen if the farm inspectors paid a surprise visit to check his paperwork. It probably wasn’t the right time, Jasmine felt, to tell them she had another animal in her room.

  After dinner, Tom brought Star’s cage downstairs. When Jasmine lifted the towel and Star hunkered down in his defensive posture, Nadia smiled in delight.

  “That’s great! He’s so much more alert. With any luck, he’ll start feeding himself tomorrow, and then he’ll be almost ready to go back into the wild.”

  Jasmine was going to tell Mum about Biscuit after they’d fed Star. But as Nadia watched him swallow the last piece of meat, her phone rang. She hastily laid him back in the cage.

  “Can you close the cage door, Jasmine?” she called, as she stepped into the garden to answer the phone.

  “Jasmine!” called Manu from the kitchen. “Can I play with the hamster?”

  “Shh,” hissed Tom.

  Jasmine glanced fearfully towards Mum, but luckily she seemed absorbed in her phone call.

  “Sorry,” said Manu, as Tom and Jasmine came into the kitchen and shut the door behind them. “Why haven’t you told them, anyway?”

  “I’ll tell them later, OK? You can come and play with Biscuit now if you like.”

  She put the to
wel back over Star’s cage and carried it up to her room.

  “Oh, look!” said Tom, as he opened Jasmine’s bedroom door. “She’s burrowing!”

  Biscuit was digging a hole in the compost at the bottom of her cage, her front paws throwing up the earth with tremendous speed.

  “That’s so cool,” said Manu. “I didn’t know hamsters could dig.”

  “Jasmine!” called Mum from downstairs.

  Jasmine went out on to the landing. “Yes?”

  “I have to go and do emergency surgery on a dog. Dad’s in the calf barn and Ella’s in the kitchen if you need her. Where’s Manu?”

  “He’s with us,” said Jasmine. “See you later.”

  She went back into her room. “Let’s take Biscuit out of her cage. I really want to cuddle her.”

  She opened the cage and scooped up the golden-haired hamster in both hands.

  “Oh, she’s so warm and soft.”

  Biscuit had bright black eyes, a twitchy pink nose and little rounded ears. She nestled in Jasmine’s cupped hands and seemed very relaxed as Manu and Tom took it in turns to stroke her.

  “Let’s give her a snack,” said Manu.

  He took a piece of carrot from the cage and put it on the floor. Jasmine set Biscuit down in front of it. The hamster placed her little front paws on the carrot stick and started nibbling it with quick tiny bites.

  “I bet her teeth are sharp,” said Manu.

  “Well, don’t put your fingers near her mouth,” said Jasmine.

  “I won’t,” said Manu. “I’m not stupid.”

  Jasmine was about to make a cutting remark when Manu’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. He silently raised his hand and pointed to something behind Jasmine.

  Jasmine turned her head. Her heart stood still. There, standing on the carpet just outside the pet carrier, was Star.

  Tom gasped and Manu yelped in fear as Star stretched himself tall. His huge wings spread out wide and then, flapping them, he rose straight up into the air. His eyes were locked on to the little hamster. In frozen horror, Jasmine saw Star’s long legs stretch downwards, the steel-sharp talons pointed straight at Biscuit.

  “NO!” she screamed. She dived to the floor, covering the hamster’s body with her own, bracing herself for the pain of the owl’s talons piercing into her back.

  But there was nothing. Only the sound of Tom saying, “Thank goodness!”

  Holding her breath, Jasmine raised her head. There above her was Tom, white-faced, holding a bundle in a blanket. She gaped at him.

  “How did you do that?”

  “I just grabbed the blanket off your bed and threw it over him,” he said shakily.

  “He was so quick,” said Manu, wide-eyed and terrified. “He snatched the blanket and wrapped it round Star just before he landed.”

  “It’s lucky I was in time,” said Tom. “He’d have really hurt you.”

  Jasmine shuddered at the memory of those outstretched talons heading straight towards her.

  “How did he get out?” asked Manu.

  Jasmine’s stomach turned over as the horrible realisation came to her.

  “It was my fault. I didn’t shut the cage properly after we fed him. Mum told me to and then you came in and asked about the hamster and I just forgot to close the clips on the door. Oh, I’m so stupid!”

  “We’d better put him back properly now,” said Tom. He carried the blanket to the pet carrier. “I hope he’s not injured.”

  He put the bundle in the carrier and gently took the blanket away before shutting the door and closing the clips. Star was standing up with his eyes closed.

  “Is he asleep?” asked Manu.

  “No, that’s what they do when they’re stressed,” said Jasmine.

  “I bet he’s not as stressed as we are,” said Tom.

  Jasmine laughed shakily, a laugh that could easily have turned to tears. “I can’t believe how stupid I am. Biscuit could have been killed and it would have all been my fault.”

  “It was just a mistake,” said Tom. “And we saved Biscuit. That’s the main thing.”

  “Where is Biscuit?” asked Manu.

  Jasmine looked down at the place on the carpet where the hamster had been. The half-eaten carrot stick was still there. But there was no sign of Biscuit.

  The children stared at each other in horror. Manu scrambled to his feet and cast his eyes wildly around the room.

  “Where is she?” asked Jasmine frantically. “She was right here. Where did she go?”

  Tom’s face was white. “She must be somewhere. She’ll be hiding under some clothes or something.” He started rummaging through a heap of Jasmine’s discarded clothes on the floor. Jasmine watched him, paralysed with guilt and terror.

  “You don’t think … Star did actually get her, do you?” she whispered.

  “He can’t have done,” said Tom. “I grabbed him before he reached the floor.”

  Nevertheless, Jasmine lifted the blanket and peeped fearfully into Star’s cage. Star had his eyes open now. He started to move his head from side to side as she looked at him.

  There was nothing else in the cage. Thank goodness for that.

  “Right,” she said. “So Biscuit’s safe, at least. We just need to find her.”

  Tom’s face went even whiter. “The cats!”

  Jasmine’s eyes flew to the door, but it was firmly shut. “They’re not in here. And they can’t get in.”

  “But what if Biscuit goes downstairs?” said Manu.

  “How could she?”

  “Easily. She could squeeze under the door or go under the floorboards or anything.”

  “That’s true,” said Tom. “Hamsters can get through tiny holes. She could be anywhere.”

  “Well, there’s not much use saying that,” said Jasmine. “How’s that supposed to help?”

  “Let’s at least put the cats in the scullery,” said Tom. “We can keep them shut in until we find Biscuit.”

  “They’re probably there anyway,” said Jasmine. “I’ll go and check.”

  Sure enough, Toffee and Marmite were curled up together in their cosy basket on the scullery worktop. Jasmine closed the door and went back to her bedroom.

  “We’ll tell everyone to keep the cats in the scullery,” she said. “We can say it’s because we’re worried they’ll try to attack Star. I’ll put a note on the door to remind everyone. They’ll be fine in there. They can still go outside through the cat flap.”

  “Biscuit’s probably still in this room,” said Tom. “So let’s look in all the places she’s likely to be.”

  Manu crawled under the bed and started pulling out the boxes of toys. Tom lay down to look under the chest of drawers.

  Jasmine had a sudden thought. “Maybe she went back in her cage.”

  “Yes!” said Tom. “That’s the safest place, after all. I bet she’s snuggled up in one of her nest boxes.”

  They looked in the nest boxes and the tubes, and Jasmine even dug around in the compost on the cage floor, in case Biscuit had burrowed down and covered herself completely. But they found nothing.

  “Remember to look for hamster signs as well,” Jasmine said to Manu. “Droppings, and anything that’s been chewed. Tom, can you help me move the wardrobe out so we can look behind it?”

  They moved all the furniture and took everything out of the wardrobe and drawers, but there was no sign of Biscuit.

  “Let’s look in my room,” said Manu. “She might have run in there.”

  By nine o’clock, they had searched every room except the kitchen. They were reluctant to go in there; it was never a good idea to interrupt Ella when she was working. But now they had no choice. Shooting each other glances of trepidation, they opened the door and tiptoed in.

  “Go away,” said Ella, without looking up from her textbook.

  “Sorry,” said Jasmine. “It’s an emergency. We won’t disturb you, honest.”

  “You’ve already disturbed me,” said Ella.<
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  Jasmine decided it was best not to say anything else. She dropped to her hands and knees and started working her way around the edge of the room, opening each cupboard as she went. A mouse had got into one of the kitchen cupboards once, so probably a hamster would be able to find a way in too.

  Tom was searching the other side of the room. Manu crawled under the table and started moving the chairs around, making a horrible scraping sound.

  Ella threw her pen on the table with a sound like a frustrated tiger.

  “Will you please get out? I need to concentrate.”

  The door opened.

  “What on earth are you all doing?”

  It was Mum’s voice.

  Jasmine took her head out of the crockery cupboard. Manu looked up from under the table. Tom emerged from the broom cupboard. They shot guilty glances at each other.

  “We were playing a game,” said Jasmine.

  “We were looking for something,” said Manu.

  “Oh, yes?” said Mum. “What exactly were you looking for?”

  Ella threw her hands up in frustration. “I don’t care what they’re looking for or what stupid game they’re playing. Can you all please just get out of my room?”

  “Your room?” said Mum. “This is the kitchen, Ella. Why don’t you go and work in your own room if you want peace and quiet?”

  “Fine,” said Ella. “I’m going. Why aren’t they in bed, anyway?”

  “Ella, you were babysitting,” said Mum. “You were meant to tell them to go to bed.”

  “There’s no point. They don’t take any notice of me.”

  “Go to bed, all of you,” said Mum. “Tom, I’ll come and make the camp bed up in a minute.”

  “Thank you,” said Tom. But Jasmine’s heart skipped a beat. Mum couldn’t be allowed to come into her bedroom. Not with an enormous hamster cage in the middle of the floor.

  “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll sort the bed out.”