Jingle's Concert

Note: Another Hamtaro fic. In this story, Jingle wants to demonstrate his singing talents to his friends. Now if they only understood what he was singing about...

Chapter 1—A Musician's Motto

Jingle had recently written a new song called Nomad, which was about his lifestyle. He never stayed in one place and he didn't have an owner, so he could wander freely on his conquest for truth, meaning, and inspiration for his poetry. He was much like a transcendentalist in his thought, but unlike that thought of the mid-1800's, his phrasing often made little to no sense. Yet, he always lived by one constant thought, "Be like a leaf, blowing in the breeze. Wherever the breeze carries you, learn to adapt to its whims".

With his new song, he wondered if he could draw a crowd by playing his song in an area that would amplify his unique folk song style. He found a spot near the Ham Ham Club House that was perfect for such an occasion. Climbing up the stump, he sat down and began playing. "Upon the wind, upon the breeze, I linger with the butterflies, humming with the honeybees. They call me a nomad for I have no boundaries. Like a thoroughbred, I run free. I am never alone, friends surround me where're I go, just like the wind blowing the sunflowers to and fro..." , he sang, cheerfully. Suddenly, his old friends began to come out and listen to him. "Hey, like, this song actually makes sense !", Sandy said, grinning, clapping her paws together to the beat. "Yeah, this song is great ! And, it has a good beat.", Pashmina agreed. The Ham Hams were actually dancing to Jingle's music. When the song was over, they cheered, whistled and applauded. "Jingle, this is your best song yet !", Hamtaro said, grinning. "What was your inspiration for such a stupendous work ?", Maxwell questioned. Placing his guitar by his side he answered, "The same thing that has been fueling our imaginations to continue creating. It's inside all of us, we simply need to know where to look." The Ham Hams simply stared at him blankly, sweat-dropping. "I knew I shouldn't have asked.", Maxwell thought, lowering his head. Scaring everyone half to death, Stan mentioned a brilliant idea he had. "I've heard about these things called compact disks that humans listen to on their 'seedy' players. I was just thinking that you and I could record your latest song. What do you think ?", Stan said. "What about us ? Can't we help too ?", Cappy questioned. "Hmmm, I'll think about it. You have to have rhythm and soul.", Stan said, looking rather philosophical with his paw under his chin like Rhodan's Thinker. "I've been practicing my singing. La, la, la, la !", Bijou said, singing a triad in the key of G. "Ah, the voice of an Angel...", Boss thought, eyes sparkling. "I'd be happy to consider you part of the group...", he said, instinctively raising a small fist up just to be on the safe side. "Righteous ! Then it's settled. We'll start setting up right away.", Jingle said, gung-ho about the project and his friends' enthusiasm.

Chapter 2—Making the 'Seedy'

Oxnard kept wondering that once the 'seedy' was completed if he could eat it. But Maxwell had gently corrected Stan by telling him it wasn't a 'seedy' but a CD, a compact disk. "Drat, I was really hoping it was something I could crump on.", Oxnard said, lowering his head a little. Panda shushed them before they began to record, and the recording of Nomad was underway.

After the CD had been recorded, everyone was excited to hear it. Dexter had brought a mini CD player with mini speakers to test if the CD was in working order. Placing it in the player, he pressed play. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that the volume was turned to its highest. The Ham Hams were blown to the other side of the Club House. Penelope was almost blown away but Pashmina caught her and held on to her. "Shut it off ! Shut it off !", Howdy cried, his eyes watering. No other Ham Hams were close enough to the player than Hamtaro himself. Pulling himself to the player, he pressed the stop button. "Forgive me not for noticing that the volume dial was set at 11.", Dexter said, lowering his gaze in embarrassment. "Hey, even geniuses make mistakes.", Howdy said, in a rather condescending tone. "Would you mind repeating that, Cowboy ?", Dexter questioned, looking rather annoyed. "Cowboy ?! Why I oughta !", Howdy shouted, getting ready to strike back. "Hold it ! We've had enough chaos for one day. Judging by the unconscious look on Jingle's face, I think that we can say that our recording days have now come to a close.", Boss said, separating the two rivals. Oxnard helped Jingle to his feet. It was quite funny to hear him babbling about strawberry fields and yellow sunflower seeds. He didn't even make sense while knocked out. Now, how's that for irony ?

Chapter 3—Jingle's Traveling Tour

Once Jingle had awakened, he was happy to see that all of his friends were there, supporting him. Snoozer had been supportive too, even though he was asleep in the Club House. He had provided words of wisdom earlier, "Just because the speakers are small doesn't mean a whole lot of noise won't come blasting out of them." Truly, the Ham Hams wouldn't forget these sage words of advice and caution.

Jingle bid his friends a tender farewell as he strummed his guitar to the strains of his new song. He had said he had other songs he wished to share with the world of Ham Hams who might be just like he was, a leaf blowing in the breeze.

Epilogue

Dexter brought his owner's compact CD player home with him. He had never known that it had been missing. Back at Laura's house, Hamtaro had recently scurried into his cage. She began writing in her journal as she did every night. "Dear Diary, Kana and I heard our favorite boy band Ai, Ai, Ai today. The lead singer, Grant Hiragana is such a cutie ! It was my first concert, but we had choice seats, close enough to almost touch the band members. It was cool !", Laura wrote. "Yeah, and it was really awesome when Jingle serenaded us with his newest work. But, I still have a slight ring in my ears from the mishap with the compact CD player ! But, no worry...It's almost gone away.", Hamtaro thought to himself, while chewing on a fresh, yummy sunflower seed. Laura continued, "But, after all of this excitement, I'm just ready to go to bed, and face another even more exciting day !", Laura wrote, closing her notebook and laying her pen on her desk. "I couldn't agree more, Laura. I'm pooped.", Hamtaro thought, his eyelids beginning to shut. Smiling, Laura gently picked Hamtaro into her hands and placed him back into her cage. "See you tomorrow, Hamtaro ! Sleep tight !", she said, snuggling into bed. "'Nighty night, Laura.", Hamtaro said and snuggled deep into his nest of hay. Laura clapped twice, turning off the lights, and both hamster and owner were reliving their concerts in their blissful dreams.

The End

By: Elizabeth Berndt August 1, 2002