Spring According to Humphrey Read Online Free PDF Page A

blades of grass,’ he said.
    He looked discouraged, so I said, ‘That’s a great beginning!’
    I just wished he could understand me.
    ‘I’ll bet this is the latest spring in the history of the planet,’ he said. ‘And the planet is pretty old.’
    ‘Maybe,’ I squeaked.
    Joey stared at me for a few seconds. ‘Humphrey, I really want you to see Skipper catch a Frisbee, but Mum won’t let me take yououtside. And she won’t let me throw it inside.’
    It would have been nice to see the trick, but I didn’t want to go outside in the cold. And I wasn’t too sure about discs flying all over the room.
    Suddenly, Joey sat up. ‘Hey! I could put your cage on the windowsill. I’ll take Skipper outside this window and you can watch!’
    It was such an unsqueakably great Plan, I wished I’d thought of it.
    Soon my cage was right next to the window, about a foot above the bed.
    It wasn’t long before Joey raced out into the garden and waved his Frisbee at me. It was a flat, red circle with tooth marks around the edge.
    Skipper was right behind Joey, looking like he was ready to play.
    Joey looked at me, then raised the Frisbee and let it fly. It soared UP-UP-UP, and as it started to come DOWN-DOWN-DOWN, Skipper leaped WAY off the ground and caught it in his mouth.
    ‘Bravo!’ I squeaked, clapping my front paws together.
    Joey looked towards the window and puthis thumbs up. I knew that meant something good.
    I could tell he was getting ready to throw the Frisbee again, but I was frustrated because the bars on my cage – which give me good protection – blocked my view a bit.
    Quickly, I jiggled the lock-that-doesn’t-lock and scrambled up the outside of my cage to the very top.
    Ah! What a nice view.
    Joey raised his arm and tossed the Frisbee. It went even higher this time, and as it started to come down, Skipper jumped WAY-WAY-WAY up in the air and caught it perfectly.
    ‘Way to go!’ I cheered, jumping up and down on top of my cage.
    Uh-oh. The cage was wobbling.
    I don’t weigh much at all, but I guess all my jumping nudged the cage towards the edge of the windowsill.
    All of a sudden, it started tipping over.
    I flew off the cage and rolled a bit. I came to a stop close – but not too close – to the edge. I am unsqueakably lucky that beds are nice and soft.
    My heart was pounding, but once I caught my breath, I looked over and saw a disaster!
    My bedding and food were scattered across the bedspread. Luckily, my water bottle hadn’t leaked and my notebook was still firmly tucked behind the mirror.
    OOPS!
    I leaped to my feet and tried to push the cage upright, but it was no use.
    I was in trouble. And so was Joey.
    BIG-BIG-BIG trouble.

5 The Silly Specks
    Joey’s mum discovered the disaster first.
    ‘Joey!’ she yelled, tapping on the window. ‘Come in at once!’
    ‘Hi!’ I squeaked to let her know everything was all right.
    ‘Poor Humphrey,’ she said, reaching her hand towards me. ‘I won’t hurt you.’
    She didn’t, either. She gently scooped me up in her hand, and Joey raced into the room.
    ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.
    His mum wasn’t happy. She pointed to the mess on the bed. ‘This is wrong,’ she said. ‘You put the cage on the windowsill and it fell off. Somehow, poor little Humphrey got out of hiscage. And look at the mess!’
    ‘I’m fine,’ I squeaked. ‘Really. It was exciting.’
    Joey looked surprised. ‘Mum, I made sure it was fine. Look, there’s plenty of room for the cage to fit on the windowsill.’
    ‘You’re going to clean this up now,’ she said. ‘Then I’ll wash your bedspread.’
    ‘Of course,’ Joey said. ‘Don’t be cross, Mum. I just wanted him to see Skipper catch the Frisbee.’
    Joey was true to his word. He’s about the best cage cleaner in the world.
    First, he made a little space for me on the table, surrounded by books so I couldn’t scamper or fall off. Then he cleaned up the mess on the bed, washed my cage and put in new bedding.