And then there were none...

I'm certain that I understand why hamsters eat their young. Imagine, if you will...

A mommy hamster has spent her whole night working hard to make sure that there are plenty of sunflower seeds, corn, and little hamster sticks for her whole little family. She's also spent a lot of time making sure that the nest for the family is nice and cozy with soft pine chips and that the aquarium that they live in is secure with no holes in any of the corners and the lid is securely fastened on top. All of this attention has made the mommy hamster kind of tired and she's looking forward to a good day's rest. So, she tucks away some sunflower seeds in her cheeks and shares the best ones with her little pups. The pups fall asleep in such a sweet way. Mommy goes for a quick run on the wheel and makes sure that no holes have sprung up in the corners of the tank again before settling in for some rest herself.

Well, no sooner has she fallen asleep when one of the pups wakes up and needs...something...anything...who knows what? Mommy does her best to soothe her little pup, but nothing seems to work. Pup's not interested in sunflower seeds, doesn't want to run, doesn't care if there are holes in the tank, and has destroyed the careful nest that Mommy built. Not only that, but the pup is uttering this painful high-pitched noise that makes Mommy's little velvety ears want to burst. Apparently mommies are the only hamsters tuned in to that frequency, as the daddy hamster is fast asleep.

Puppy hamster closes its little beady eyes and seems to be back asleep, so Mommy makes movements towards her part of the nest. Puppy hamster is immediately roused from his delicate slumber and resumes his high-pitched noise. Again, no sunflower seeds, who cares about the tank, trash that nest, and screw the wheel. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Finally, Mommy hamster just can't take it anymore! She's been working all night and is so freakin' tired since they've been playing this game for the past 3 days, and, that's it! Mommy hamster loves her puppy hamster more than life itself, but, she's just over the edge.

After reaffirming that there are no holes in the tank and that the book is secure over the lid of the cage (that one last pillar of hope that escape might be possible), mommy just has to eat the pup. Oops.

It's a good thing that I'm not a hamster.