Gerald the Gerbil

         Gerald the Gerbil

         Gerald the Gerbil did the same things at the same time every day. He would wake up with the sun, take about five drinks of water scattered throughout the day, and eat about three times. While living this way was easy for Gerald, he always had to stay in his cage. Then one day one of the strange two legged animals that had kept him in this cage opened up it’s door. For a few seconds Gerald didn’t even know what was happening. He had been living the same lifestyle in the same cage for as long as he could remember, and never once had he been taken out of his home. Sometimes the two legged creatures would come to change out the soft floor of his cage, but even that only happened every once in a while.



         The creature reached its hands into the cage; they slowly threatened to grab Gerald. Gerald was in a complete state of panic not knowing what to do. His chest felt like it was burning as the hands of the two legged creature closed in and hoisted Gerald up and out of his all too familiar cage. As Gerald gazed down from the hands holding him, he realized how small his cage had truly been. With it’s top still hanging off by the hinge, Gerald’s former home lay below him, showing him how much more there is to the world then that cage. For some reason Gerald suddenly had an impulse to explore the outside world. He had never known how much there was outside his cage, and now was his chance to explore for himself.





Squirming his way out of the two legged creature’s hands, Gerald landed with a soft thud on the hard wood floor and scurried around. The two legged creature made chase, but Gerald assumed he could outrun the two-legged creature, or at least find a hiding place until he could explore safely. So he ran out the door of the room he was just in, opening up this new found world even farther then before. He ran into a room where delicious smells hung in the air like nothing he had ever experienced. When he breathed in, he forgot all of the worry and chaos that seemed to surround him. Gerald wondered what the two legged creatures ate that smelled so good.



Following those appealing aromas, Gerald scurried across the slippery ceramic floor until he had reached a chair right next to the kitchen counter. Having no idea about any aspect of his surroundings Gerald’s feet carried him to a strange container which held the most delicious circular food. He tumbled into the container, surrounded by the delicious circles that he then feasted on.



Once he had eaten his fill, Gerald climbed out of the strange container to take a better look at this unfamiliar room. Gerald never knew such a place existed, not to mention he had never tasted anything anywhere near as good as those circles. At that moment the two legged creature emerged from one of the two doorways that led in and out of the room. Not wanting to be caught, Gerald leapt down onto the seat of the chair, and again onto the floor. Heading toward the door furthest from the two- legged creature, Gerald scurried away seeking new adventures.



So he ran once again into a different room, another one that seemed very foreign to him. This time a large box was moving rapidly, yet it remained in the same spot. It seemed like Gerald’s old water bottle, where the bottle itself never moved an inch, but you could always see the water inside funneling out whenever Gerald drank. After a moment of mesmerization, Gerald hid under what seemed like a seat or bed of some kind. It had a long shape, as if it were a seat for two or three of those creatures. Sitting under it Gerald realized that he would be safe here for a while. He could not only take a good look around from under this thing, but he could take a better look at the moving box at least. Something about the moving box attracted Gerald’s attention, as such he wanted to learn more about this box. No such thing existed inside Gerald’s old cage. Why didn’t he have a moving box in his cage? After all what were all of these rooms if not the two legged creature’s cage?





Gerald was secure where he was for a few minutes, however before he knew it the two legged creature chasing him had lifted up the thing he was under, revealing his hiding place. He once again ran, not knowing where to go. He felt a refreshing breeze on his fur and decided to follow it. Towards the breeze he went, until he discovered what seemed like a cage door halfway up the wall that the two legged creatures had left open. Climbing up to the cage door Gerald finally stood on the edge of freedom.



He had been through a lot since he got out of his cage, and now he had a chance to get out of another one. There would surely be dangers standing in his way if he chose to leave the two legged creature’s cage, but their cage was dangerous too. He could go and find the two legged creature right now, and he would be back in his old cage before he knew it. That sounded nice, but a part of Gerald still wanted to learn more about the two legged creature’s cage and the world outside it!