Article November 25, 1972 Issue

Sandy's Gerbils

Nancy Wharmby

One day Sandy came running home from the school bus stop and couldn't wait to tell her little sister and mother that it had finally happened—the first grade's mother gerbil had eight tiny babies! (Do you know what a gerbil is? A gerbil is a small pet, something like a hamster, that walks like a kangaroo.) But the real reason for Sandy's excitement was that the teacher had said anyone bringing a note of permission would be eligible to take two gerbils home.

At dinner that night when Sandy asked her daddy if she might have a note, he reminded her that the care, feeding, and cleaning would be entirely up to her. With her agreeing to these responsibilities, Daddy wrote the note.

In about three weeks "Salt" and "Pepper" came to their new home. Sandy and Karen had such fun playing with them and bringing all their friends in to see them. After several months Sandy noticed one morning that Salt had made a nest from the cedar shavings in their home, and she heard strange little squeaks—baby gerbils!

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