I Solved a Mystery (and Almost Burned Down My Kitchen)
Let me preface this with the fact I'm not exactly known for my culinary skills. My smoke
detector chirps more at burnt toast than culinary masterpieces. So, when a strange scratching
sound started emanating from my rarely-used toaster oven, my first thought wasn't a gourmet
rodent on the loose, but a rogue appliance possessed by mischievous kitchen gremlins.
The scratching grew louder, accompanied by the telltale thump of something small bouncing off
the metal interior. Panic clawed its way up my throat. Was it a monstrous spider building an egg
sac? A colony of rogue ants taking up residence in the heating element? Armed with a spatula (my
weapon of choice) and a healthy dose of trepidation, I cautiously unplugged the oven and flipped
it upside down.
Nothing. Just a shower of rogue crumbs and a faint metallic clatter from beneath the appliance.
Mentally preparing myself for the worst (and picturing myself explaining the fire to my
landlord), I wrestled the heavy oven onto the counter. With a deep breath, I unscrewed the back
panel, revealing... a tiny ball of brown fur nestled amongst the wires.
My heart did a double take. This wasn't a monstrous spider or a legion of ants. It was a
hamster. A decidedly fluffy, but slightly singed, hamster. Relief washed over me so strong I
almost laughed. Apparently, the neighbor's new pet had escaped its cage and, in a quest for
adventure (or maybe a tasty crumb), ended up in my rarely-used appliance.
After a tense five minutes of coaxing with a rogue carrot and a shoebox trap, the little escape
artist was safely (and somewhat grumpily) reunited with its owner. My kitchen may have smelled
faintly of burnt fur for a while, and I may have sworn off using the toaster oven for the
foreseeable future, but hey, at least I can now add "hamsterslayer" (emphasis on the
not-slaying) to my dubious skillset.