On Tuesday I got to cover one of the most cute and interesting stories since my start in Selma. Last week the hamster named Lu Lu, who lives at the library, went missing and was found one week later by the library staff members. Sure Lu Lu was missing, but I like to think she was actually out on an adventure.

Selma-Dallas County Library director, Becky Nichols said she thinks there is something mysterious about the library at night that beckons the hamsters out to play.

I think Lu Lu is just like many of the characters in children’s books — a young critter who isn’t quite sure what her purpose in life is. But after a week on the loose, roaming the shelves of the library, I think she may have discovered other characters just like her and more about her role as the library hamster.

She used one little seed-size finger to pick open the latches to the lid of her cage, then cut open the tape that held it shut. Once Lu Lu nibbled her way out she thrust out a nose and set of whiskers into the library air. It smelled like pages and pages of books and seemed like a grand adventure.

Lu Lu burst out and went straight to the purple glowing tank she was so curious about. After watching the strange creatures swim around for a while, she thought she would start her reading.

She walked along each shelf searching for the book she heard a little girl reading with her mother. She found the book, Corduroy by Don Freeman after several hours of searching. It was on the bottom shelf, easy for Lu Lu to pull out and read on the floor. Corduroy, a stuffed bear lives in a department store and wanders around at night to explore. Lu Lu thought that story sounded familiar. At the end of the story Corduroy is purchased by a little girl and is happy he found a friend. This made Lu Lu a little sad because she still wasn’t sure of her purpose. She didn’t have just one owner to make happy.

Next she moved onto The Mouse and The Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. A story about a mouse who had a need for speed and wanted to escape from home, really interested her. But Lu Lu started to like humans a little more after seeing how the boy in the story helped the mouse and protected him.

Reading that book took several hours for Lu Lu, even though she is a very fast reader.

Everyday before the library lights would turn on, Lu Lu would scurry to the trap the library staff would put out, eat the food and sneak out without getting caught. Then she would sleep in a secret place, only to return the next night and read more.

The next several nights Lu Lu read escape artist books like The Runaway Bunny. Then she stumbled upon an excellent book called Eloise At the Plaza. She especially loved this because Eloise loved to cause chaos and was mischievous, just like Lu Lu.

The next morning Lu Lu was awakened by a little girls voice calling out her name.

Lu Lu was hiding behind the knight suit hanging in the library, when more kids started to call her name.

Then she realized why she was at the library. All of these little kids missed her very much. Lu Lu thought that she was just like Corduroy, but she did not have just one little owner to love her — instead she has the affection of the whole town. Then she realized she was like the mouse in The Mouse and Motorcyle. Her human friends were there to help her. And just like Eloise, she could still be herself and cause trouble around the library, but everyone missed her.

Lu Lu decided to return to her hamster hotel. She now smiles and wiggles for the kids there everyday.