And they say....

*****

And they say animals don't feel...

This was THE day for him. The store was crowded and noisy. Paradoxically, all the animals were happy. Why? Because they had a damn chance at happiness. If only someone would look into their eyes, if only they would notice the trained, longing gaze that hinted at sadness, boundless devotion and love, heralding trouble-free possession, if only... If only that mattered...

They all wanted the same thing. They all loved each other, even though each stood in the way of another's happiness. They were a huge community in which everyone was SOMEONE.

Everyone also felt they needed to be bought. That word was magical. "Buy"! From a young age, their mother told her children to look nice, especially when people were around. People were a chance for potential happiness.

He didn't know if people were happiness. That's what everyone said. No one knew for sure, because no one ever came back from there... Only he had doubts. Secretly, however, he wished that someone would want him too. "God, what an unfair word, how much it harms our honor...!" That's what he thought. And besides, he was competing in a race for humanity.

*****

And then THE day came. He'd been excited since morning. His mother called to him to finally get out of the shavings and wash up. As usual, he listened to her. She was the most important thing to him. He didn't understand why he had to try to win people's favor. They hadn't given birth to him, they hadn't taught him to wash, and after all, they hadn't brought him food. Yes, he always listened to his mother.

He got out of the shavings and quickly licked his fur. Then it began. A few people came into the shop. Then again, and more, more; Everyone was pushing and shoving money around. But most importantly, they were looking into cages, aquariums, terrariums, everywhere! And the animals were happy. They were as happy as you could imagine.

Finally, a bigger kid shouted, "Mommy!! I want a hamster! Mommy, mommy!"

The kid went up to the aquarium, looked carefully at all the hamsters, and the shopkeeper even let him pet them. He chose him. A new period in his life had begun. His short, hamster life.

*****

It was incredibly loud in the box. He was being thrown around, someone was shouting in the distance. He felt bad. He wanted to go back. He couldn't. He belonged to the boy who had chosen him. He felt uneasy in his heart.

And they say animals don't feel...

Finally, it got warmer. It was quiet, calmer, cozy. No, it wasn't cozy. He only thought about the moment when he lay next to his mother, buried in shavings, falling asleep.

But he felt better.

After a few minutes, someone carefully placed him in a cage. It was huge! Even bigger than the one in the store! The boy who chose him had lined the cage thickly with clean, fresh shavings. They smelled lovely, it was clean. So clean! "All this for me????" he couldn't believe it. He dreamed of how comfortable he would be with people.

Everyone was looking at him, smiling, shouting, arguing over his name.

Yes, he was fine. He missed his mother, but he knew it was his destiny. He understood that, being a hamster, he had to be chosen.

The boy took him in his arms, cuddled him, and named him Napoleon. That was his name from then on.

*****

Day by day, he became accustomed to people. They fed him, entertained him. The boy brought him a new toy every day; his cage soon looked like an amusement park. He felt good. He felt loved.

The boy's sister usually came home from school first, giving her the chance to play with him alone. She hugged him, sometimes put him in the dollhouse. Once, she even dressed him in a hideous pink dress. He felt good with the girl; she was so gentle...

He liked it when she showed him to her friends. They would all shout: Napoleon! Napoleon! A real Napoleon, he's so sweet... Sometimes they would ask how anyone could give him such a stupid name. Then they would shout out loud to each other with various names like "Antosia" and "Puszka." He liked it. He liked the girl, almost as much as the boy.

He actually loved the boy. The boy paid him the most attention. Besides, he was the one who bought him, who made sure he got fresh water and changed the water every day. Yes, he loved the boy...

*****

Something changed. It became cold, dark, wintry outside.

No, it wasn't just the weather.

People's attitudes towards him had changed. Suddenly, they seemed to stop noticing him. They'd forgotten. He no longer had fresh water or carrots every day. Sometimes the boy even forgot to feed him. He played with him less and less. Sometimes he'd pet him casually or take him in his arms. A moment later, however, he'd remember something very important to do and carelessly put him in his cage. He felt sad. He'd wasted away. Even his fur wasn't as soft and fluffy as it used to be. He felt the good times were fading away...

*****

Now he spent his days riding in circles, waiting for the children to return. Even the expressions and poses he'd learned while still at the store no longer affected them. It didn't matter that he should be sleeping. He loved them. He missed them, dreaming that things would be like they used to be.

And they say animals don't feel...

If it weren't for the children's father, he would have long since ceased to be noticed. Now their father changed his shavings and occasionally gave him pieces of vegetables. He didn't like them, but he had to eat something.

The girl got a new doll, which was given new names, depending on the mood of the friends. And the boy? The boy had changed. He was rarely home. When he was, he sometimes offered him some crisps, but he no longer picked him up.

He was sad... As sad as can be...

*****

One day, the boy didn't come home one night. He was very worried, waiting patiently until he heard the boy's footsteps approaching the cage. He no longer dreamed of taking him in his arms. It was enough for him to simply be there.

Lately, he had been wasting away. Both the boy and him.

The cage had long been neglected and dirty. He hadn't eaten for several days. The boy, on the other hand, looked as if he lived in the cage. He had lost weight, his face had turned gray, and his hair was dull.

They both suffered.

*****

He hadn't eaten. He hadn't eaten for a very long time. Instead, he had clean shavings. The girl's friends came to see her and, disgusted by the smell, left the hallway where his cage was. The embarrassed girl cleaned his cage after her friends had left. It's just a shame she forgot to eat.

Nowadays, people often tripped over his cage, spilling the last of the old water from the bowls. He felt like a useless piece of furniture. He wanted to die. He started thinking again about the shop where his mother was. He wondered if she remembered him. If she was still alive. The boy had been gone for several days, too. They hadn't noticed him either. But he waited. He believed he would return, throw his clothes next to the cage—as usual—and pour him some crisps. But the boy didn't come back.

He cried. He didn't want to live anymore.

*****

"Dad, what's that smell in here?!

" "What could be smelling

so strange in here?" "I don't know, something strange, from the hallway...

" "Hmm... Have you looked at Napoleon lately? Because he hasn't been seen lately.

" "No wonder he's been missing! Maybe he's scared since you threw him a few days ago!"

- If you fed him sometimes and didn't put him next to the clothes, maybe he wouldn't eat them and I wouldn't have thrown him!

- Dad! Look here... Napoleon... He's not moving....

- Maybe he's sleeping?

- Blue...?

He died.

And they say animals don't feel...