by Stacey Foxworthy

Created on: November 03, 2008   Last Updated: December 20, 2011

Yay...laundry day! I loved laundry day. The smell of clean clothes and sheets was so invigorating to me. So many people considered me a filthy vermin but not Sam. He loved me for what I was. To him I was family, a beloved pet that could do no wrong in his young eyes. He bathed me often, kept me well fed, and played with me all the time. Heck, he even managed to potty train me!

Sometimes I would sneak out of my cage at night and crawl into bed with him. I would sleep near the top of his head and protect him from the boogey man. No monsters would come a lurking if I was by Sam's side.

Sam's mother was a bit harder to convince. She was reluctant at first to grant her young son's request for a pet rat. But enough hounding by Sam and some diligent research on her part had caused her to change her mind. Still she avoided me at all costs at first. When I ventured into the living room one afternoon and caught her by surprise while she was cleaning the woman leap up onto the dining room table and yelled frantically for Sam. I was taken aback by her reaction as I stared at her inquisitively. I was a tiny creature and she was well over twice my size so I was curious as to how she could be so frightened of me. I thought it would be the other way around.

Sam would chuckle to himself and tease his mom. I just wanted her to like me. She was my family, they both were, and I would never do anything to intentionally harm them. In fact, I just wanted to spend time with them. I found them to be quite entertaining.

Sam's mom changed her mind about me the day I saved her from a rattlesnake that had slithered its way into the family home. She had been doing laundry in the back room and was sorting through the clothes when she noticed movement from beneath one of the piles of clothing on the floor. A rattlesnake had emerged and within minutes was coiled ready to strike as it rattled its tail ominously.

She was frozen in terror, unable to move and afraid to scream for help. I had been scurrying around the house playing hide and seek with Sam when I sensed something bad lurking nearby. Something told me Sam's mom was in danger and I rushed to the scene as fast as my little feet would carry me. I had seen her in the laundry room earlier and so had instinctually headed in that direction.

Upon peeking my head around the corner I saw the silhouette of a snake lying among a pile of clothes on the floor. The unnerving look of absolute horror and fear emblazoned upon her face evoked a protective

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>