by Master Dobbin Houghton (with a little help from his human Francesca!)

I awoke from my usual afternoon nap, stretched out my back legs one at a time, and took a look out of the piggie shed window. I can see across the garden to the hills beyond and I noticed they had white tops today. "Mmmm, must have been snowing," I thought. My two brothers were still asleep in their hutch and I could hear the soft, gentle breathing coming from Hattie, Biscuit and Bonnie in the hutches below.

I had a drink of water to wake myself up a bit more and then went back to staring out of the window into the garden and began to think. When I was born my Mum and Dad often told me not to expect too much from life as there were a lot of Guinea Pigs like me and my brothers in the world. I never understood this but was content to wait until I got older and could work things out for myself.

I continued to think..... Here I was just over one year old and had been living with my human pets since I had been just over six weeks old. The more I thought of what my Dad had said, the less I seemed to understand what he meant. It was not so easy after all to work things out. I and my two brothers, Pip and Bournville, had clean, warm, cozy hutches inside a large wooden building which my pets called 'The Piggie Shed'. I had fresh, sweet smelling hay every morning and night, with a bowl of fruit and vegetables. Lovely tasting dried food made from lots of different seeds and biscuity shapes, but most importantly of all I had human pets who seemed to have no greater pleasure in life than to pick me up, one of my brothers or one of the girls below and then cuddle, kiss and whisper such gentle words. All in all I found life very good indeed. I had done as my Mum and Dad had said and not expected anything but I realised I was in fact blessed with much.

One warm sunny morning my pets had been in to see us and had opened the windows to let the warming Spring air in. Ooooohh, it smelt lovely and I suddenly felt this excitement spread through my whole body. Va-ding, va-ding I went. I couldn't stop. My feet left the floor all at the same time and I seemed to bounce around my hutch. When it stopped, I was fairly exhausted! What had happened to me? I thought the best thing to do was go and have a nap, perhaps when I woke up I might be able to make sense of things. It was such a strange feeling and it frightened me a little. Maybe this was what Mum and Dad meant.... just as I felt life was absolutely perfect, something had happened to me to spoil it all.

"Tweet, hello, tweet." Tweet, get up sleepy head, tweet." I half opened my eyes and Mr Robin was standing looking into my hutch. He was a frequent visitor to the garden just outside the Piggie Shed and when the windows were open he hopped in to talk to us piggies. Everywhere was very quiet. My brothers had gone from their hutches. "Where is everyone?" I asked Robin. "Tweet, out in the garden, tweet. You were asleep, tweet. Tweet, what's up with you today, tweet?" "Oh Mr Robin. I had the strangest thing happen to me this morning. All I did was think how happy I was and suddenly I was jumping all over my hutch. I had no control, I just couldn't stop it!" "Oh dear, tweet." said Mr Robin. "Don't know what all that was about, tweet." And with that he flew off out of the window and left me alone. I was so miserable. After a short while my Mummy pet came in and picked me up. "Hello sleepyhead," she said. "Do you want to go out into your run in the garden and enjoy the sunshine?" I looked up at her and so wished I could tell her what had happend to me. I know she could have made me better.

Out in the garden the sun was warm on my back and I must admit I enjoyed being out in the fresh air. I looked across at the other runs and saw my two brothers in one and Hattie, Biscuit and Bonnie in another. They were all running about or eating the grass. I was the biggest piggie and, although I was born at the same time as my brothers, and Hattie, Biscuit and Bonnie were older than me, I felt I was the one in charge of taking care of them. They all looked so happy. How could I tell them what had happened to me and that it would probably happen to them too. I lay down in a corner of the run and ignored the shouts from the others. One of the other pets, Francesca, picked me up out of the run after a while. "What's the matter little boy?" she asked. If only I could tell her of my fears. I felt safe as she cuddled me and so snuggled into her neck to escape the world.

The following day Mr Robin returned. "Tweet, Dobbin, look!" he shouted. "Tweet, look Dobbin look, tweet." He seemed to be pointing with his wing out of the window and I could see in a field sheep with baby lambs. "So what?" I asked Robin, my head hung low. "Tweet, keep watching!" Robin said. As I watched the sheep suddenly one of the lambs jumped up in the air landed and then jumped up again! Just like I had done. "Oh no!" I said to Robin. "I've given it to the lambs!" "Tweet, that's just it Dobbin. You haven't got anything to give them, tweet! I saw them jumping this morning and asked the Ewes why were the lambs doing that. Tweet, the Ewes said they are jumping for joy! Tweet. Dobbin, you just jumped for joy that was all, tweet, tweet!" I just couldn't believe it. Jumping for joy, that was all it was, jumping for joy!! And here it comes again, the excitement all over my body.... here I go.... Va-ding, va-ding, va-ding. Suddenly my brothers joined in. "Wow!" they said "what a great feeling!" Wheeeheeee!!