It's me again, your furry sleuth Thomas. I've been back from vacation for a long time, and now there's a happy lull in my life. I never thought I'd be so happy about it. Eat, sleep as much as you like, no need to save anyone. It's a beautiful life!
That morning I was also sleeping soundly, and my whole family was getting ready for school and work. Suddenly, Nadia came running out of the bathroom with a wild scream.
- Aah! A rat!!! - she screamed.
- What rat? Where?" the parents didn't understand.
- In the toilet! Ah-ah-ah!" Nadia continued to shriek.
But the father still did not believe her, and decided to prove that the rat in the toilet definitely can not be, went there. Your humble servant, of course, could not sleep anymore, and went to wait to see what would happen.
The result was unexpected: they were both wrong: there was indeed an animal in the toilet, it came out of the toilet, but it was definitely not a rat. This was clear even to me, even though I had never seen anything like it. I had seen rats. Not many, but I had. This beast was much bigger and furrier than any of them.
With the arrival of the foundling, everyone quickly realized that they would be very late for school and work (if they got there at all). Because now everyone had to find out who it was. But I was the first to know.
The strange animal was sitting near the bathtub (the bathroom is in the same room as the toilet).I cautiously crept up to it, and I heard a voice:
- Don't be afraid of me, please - the alien said quietly - I'm a nutria, and I'm good with cats.
- Hello, Mr. Nutria - I said a polite hello - and how did you...end up in our area?
- Alas. I have suffered the unfortunate fate of so many of our brethren. Sir.
- Thomas," I prompted.
- Frank," he introduced himself, "so, Mr. Thomas, the thing is that nowadays some rich ladies are buying various rare animals as pets. They don't know what to do with them. They can have anything from some rare parrots to reptiles and even monkeys. My fate is doubly sad: I was bought by mistake.
- What do you mean, by mistake? - I don't get it.
- For some reason my mistress thought I was ka-pee-bar-ra," Frank said slowly, "I hope I at least pronounced the name right. I don't even know who they are, but I've heard we're something alike. My mistress doesn't know what to do with me, she won't even let me swim! - Frank almost cried when he said that. I held out my paw to help him calm down. - We're related to beavers," he continued, "They even call us swamp beavers.
- Frank - I asked cautiously - do you... would you... want to go back to your mistress? Well, if she would treat you better?
- Maybe it's not nice to say that," replied my new acquaintance, "but no. You see, Thomas, my dream is to live in a place where people understand who I am and what I need. I'd even settle for a zoo.
- Where does your mistress live? Is it far from here?
- No, right next door, in the house with the pink balconies.
That's when I realized who the owner was. Her name was Tanya, though she used an online nickname much more often. And not like Nadia's - Nadine, it was so strange that I could hardly reproduce it. This Tanya is obsessed with fame, social media and the color pink. I'm sure she got Frank to be famous, too. But if Tanya finds out who he really is, she might change her mind... In the meantime, I have to think about where I can find someone who can help Frank... I remember! My hosts read a newspaper that has a wildlife section. Maybe there are phone numbers of organizations you can call if you encounter a wild animal.
Went to the kitchen... No way! The newspaper was open on the page with a section about wildlife, and it was devoted to...yes, yes, exactly to nutria! And at the end there are some phone numbers... I see that the owner is about to call one of them. Well, all geniuses think alike, I've got to go!
***
You probably want to know how that story ended and what I did. Well, I won't keep you waiting. I ripped out a page from the newspaper with the beginning of an article about nutria and their pictures. And I tossed it on Tanya's balcony. I heard she didn't go after Frank because she decided she didn't want a rat relative. And Frank himself is doing well. My owners helped him get into the sanctuary, and now he's living the life he dreamed of. And I'm very happy for him. And I'm glad this story has a good ending. I'll see you again!
The end