"Outside"

“Squeeeeek,” went Sniffles’ wheel as he ran faster in his cage. After several minutes of running on his wheel and getting absolutely nowhere, he stopped and said, “This is boring.”

He gazed into the wild “outside” and longed to escape. Sniffles shuffled to the corners and pressed his nose into the glass, looking for a way out - not a hole could be found. He felt a small breeze ruffle his fur from above. Looking up, he saw a wire lid with tiny gaps where the wind from the open window was entering. He clambered to the top of his empty toilet paper roll, balanced himself on the blue plastic tunnel, and stretched the length of his body to the wire lid. For the next five minutes, Sniffles chewed a hole large enough to slip through.

“I’m free!” he thought as he leaped to the lace curtain and clawed his way down to the carpet.

“I’m very clever to have chewed that hole,” Sniffles boasted as he scampered around the room with glee. How wonderful it was to be out of his cage, free to roam and run.

“Outside” had unusual smells and strange textures. His little claws caught on the shag rug; then slipped as he reached the hardwood floor.

Suddenly, a loud noise surrounded him.

“Meeeeeoooooowwwwwwww!!!!!” With a growl and a hiss, a large animal covered in black and grey fur pounced on Sniffles. Sharp claws swiped at his bottom as he shot out of reach and cowered in a corner. The hissing animal charged him again, but Sniffles jumped back onto the lace curtain and raced to the top of his cage. He squeezed his flattened body into the gap he had chewed earlier and dropped onto the cedar shavings.

“Maybe boring isn’t so bad,” he said.


Word Count 300