once upon a time

[chu_totoro]

there lived a hamster in a shell

and outside the shell he could see many other hamsters, some in shells, some not, some's shells translucent, some completely colored in, some with shell bits hanging off of their fur, scuttling around happily all the same

the hamster could talk to all (most) of these other hamsters

the hamster admired some of the other hamsters, particularly those who had no shell, those who seemed able to speak and laugh and say all the right things at all the right time. hamster could never do that. hamster made friends with other hamsters in pink translucent shells, and they rolled around together and jostled each other playfully on the hamster wheels, but never close, never hard, because of the shells in the way

one day, a shell-less hamster that hamster loved very much fell off a ravine and was never seen again

much, much later, years later, hamster shattered his own shell with his tail and ventured out shell-less into the world, sniffing cautiously this way and that

and looking at his shell bits on the ground, he began to cry and cry and cry

because he finally realized that breaking the shell was not a magical key to some fantastic world of freedom and joy and love (although it certainly helped you steer)

he finally realized that that hamster, whom he loved and admired so very much

was just another hamster

doing his best, venturing bravely into the world, getting hurt and thwarted like everyone else (maybe worse, because shell-less ones take the full force of the blow), and simply smiling and joking and tucking his tail in and standing up again, each time

he was just another hamster, doing his best

and now hamster could never learn his story