This is the first chapter of my first fanfic. About a month ago, I listened to a song by Loreena McKennitt titled "Dickens' Dublin." In no uncertain terms, I found it touching. Fast forward to last week, and you'd find me lying in bed at one in the morning unable to sleep and listening to music. The song came on, the idea for the story formed in my mind, and thus, here you have it.

This is not a songfic. At no point do any of the hamsters sing.

Please note that the only work I've read by Charles Dickens is "A Tale of Two Cities," so if you are a Dickens fan, I honestly apologize if this is not up to your standards.

Feel free to flame (it is my first fanfic, afterall), but please make it constructive. Oh, and for those of you who actually took the time to read all this bold print? Thank you.

Hamtaro's Dublin

A man made his way up the busy street, scarf and coat wrapped tight around his body in an attempt to keep out invading illness. "Come on… come on…" the cream and orange hamster quietly urged the man, praying that the pedestrian's destination was the bookstore in whose doorway the ham had taken shelter and had waited patiently for the last half hour. Sure enough, and much to the little mammal's delight, the shop was the chap's intended objective.

As the man opened the large door and journeyed into the warm depths of the store, the hamster dashed in as well, rejoicing in his momentary liberation from the freezing outside temperatures.

Scurrying along the wall of tomes, and paying no heed to the greetings exchanged between the shop's manager and the customer, the cream and orange furred hamster made his way up the front counter. Finally, the little guy found himself before a cage. Inside was a brown hamster with a white underbelly. He was taller than the average hamster and, as usual, his snout was shoved between the twin covers of a book.

"Hamha, Maxwell!" The bookworm looked up upon hearing the cheerful greeting. "Hi there, Hamtaro. What brings you here?"

The cream and orange ham gave his friend a smile. "I'm just going around wishing all my friends a happy Christmas Eve."

"Why thank you, and a very merry Christmas Eve to you too!" But Maxwell's features soon turned from bright holiday cheer to concern. "But Hamtaro… isn't it a little bit cold outside to be running around? It smells like there's a good chance of snow tonight. Shouldn't you be trying to find a warm place to sleep?"

The bookworm tried to be careful and choose his words with sensitivity. Hamtaro, unlike Maxwell, had no owner and lived on the streets. There was not a hamster with more cheer and good nature in his heart, but the bookworm knew that the nights could get very nippy, especially in the late winter. Maxwell was always afraid that his good friend might freeze to death, but Hamtaro gave his friend a reassuring look.

"Don't worry, you're my last stop. I've already visited Pasmina and Penelope, Dexter, Howdy, Stan, and Sandy. Which reminds me…" Hamtaro pulled a sunflower seed out from behind his back. There was a festive ribbon tied snuggly to the shell. "This is from Sandy. She said that you'll get the rest of your Christmas present tomorrow, whatever that means."

Maxwell blushed profusely and accepted the gift. Hamtaro turned around and made ready to leave, but the bookworm told him to wait. The brown hamster walked over to his food dish and removed seven fresh sunflower seeds before handing them through the bars of his cage to his friend. "Here, Hamtaro. The least I can do is make sure you have a full stomach tonight."

"Really? Thanks, Maxwell! You're the best!" Hamtaro tucked the seeds into the same scarf-like pouch he had used to carry his friend's present. Maxwell smiled happily, glad he could help.

The bookworm called after his friend as the cream and orange hamster climbed down from the high counter. "And don't forget to keep warm, Hamtaro!"

"Don't worry! I won't!"

With that, Hamtaro rushed out of the bookstore, timing his exit with the same man he had entered alongside.

In a flash, he was running down the cold streets of Dublin, an eager grin on his face. Hamtaro knew just the hams he could share his sunflower seeds with.

Five and a half blocks later, Hamtaro ducked into a familiar alleyway just as the first fresh snowflakes began their downward decent. There were many such reclusive cubbies and hideaways in Dublin, but this alleyway was the warmest and most inviting of all.

Hamtaro couldn't help but smile as his brown eyes took in the forms of six hamsters clustered around a small fire. Boss, the largest of the group, had tan fur with dark markings. Perched atop his head and fitting snuggly between his ears was a yellow beanie to help drive the cold winter away. He was listening to Oxnard, who rivaled Boss in girth, complain about his stomach. Panda, whose markings mirrored those of the bear by the same name, was poking the flames with a stick while Cappy, the hat-obsessed ham, looked on lazily. Elder Ham, the breaded senior, was sound asleep beside the ever snoring Snoozer.

"Hey guys. Guess what I brought!" The hamster's attention, with the exceptions of Elder Ham and Snoozer, turned towards their good-natured friend, who was now holding aloft six of the seven sunflower seeds received from Maxwell.

"You've brought food!" Oxnard exclaimed, tears of happiness running dramatically down his cheeks.

"That's right, Oxy." The cream and orange ham began distributing the seeds to his fellow homeless and owner-deprived friends. "I figured that since I had some extras, I could share some of my dinner with you."

Elder Ham, at first annoyed and touchy when awakened from his nap, quickly had a change of heart as he accepted his share. Unable to be awakened, Hamtaro simply tucked Snoozer's seed into the sleeping ham's sock while merrily remarking, "You can just eat it when you wake up, Snoozer."

"Thanks a ton, Hamtaro. We owe ya one," Boss commented as he stripped the shell from his seed and began feasting. Noticing that his friend still had yet to dig in to his own portion, the tan ham inquired, "Hey, Hamtaro? Why aren't you eating yours? Something wrong with it?"

The ever-cheerful hamster shook his head. "No, there's nothing wrong with it. I just thought it'd be better if I found a place to sleep for the night before eating. Don't want to get stuck out in the snow."

Boss took another satisfying bite as he grumbled, "True, true…" The large, tan hamster noticed how the snowfall, which had started less than five minutes ago, had sluggishly begun to increase. He sniffed the air. Without a doubt, it was going to be one cold night. Might be the coldest we've ever had, Boss thought. He couldn't help but feel concerned for his young friend.

"You know, Hamtaro," Boss began, "if you need a warm place to sleep, you can use my straw-bed tonight." He indicated one of the six piles of the golden grass towards the back of the alley. "I could just lay down by the fire with Snoozer."

Hamtaro shook his head a second time. "Thanks, Boss, but I'll be fine. Besides, I wouldn't want to burden you."

Panda offered a worried look. "But where are you going to stay then?"

"Well, there's a church ten blocks down the street. I thought I could sneak in before they closed the doors."

His friends nodded their heads in agreement. "That does sound nice and warm," Oxnard supported.

"You'd better hurry though," Boss counseled while glancing at the clouded sky above. Panda added, "Yeah, don't they usually shut the doors just before sunset?"

Hamtaro looked at the sky. A look of alarm swept his face. "Ah! You're right!" The cream and orange ham quickly began dashing down the alley. "Sorry I've got to leave so fast! Night-Q!"

"Bye, Hamtaro!" his friends waved after him.

"Merry Christmas Eve!"

Elder Ham shook his head wearily as Hamtaro streaked around the corner and out of sight. "My, my… that poor ham. It really is a shame; that Hamtaro deserves so much more." The other hamsters nodded in accordance.

"Always the generous ham, that Hamtaro," Boss chimed in. "But no matter what, he just won't accept anything from us!"

Panda raised an eyebrow. "But you heard him. He doesn't want to be a burden." Oxnard looked down sheepishly, then commented, "Well, it's not like we have much to give anyway…"

Boss choked up, a drop of sweat forming on his forehead, before mumbling, "Yeah, I guess you guys are right…"

Suddenly, Elder Ham began chuckling quietly, as if he knew some secret deprived from the others.

"Huh? What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing." The aged hamster crossed his paws behind his back and gazed solemnly skyward, a cunning grin betraying his innocent façade.

"But remember, my friends," the elder addressed the young whippersnappers, "it is Christmas Eve." A sparkle gleamed in the old ham's eye.

"And there always seems to be a type of magic in the air on Christmas Eve…"

And there you have it. The first chapter. At this point, I am debating between two possible ways to reach the story's conculsion. There might be only two chapters in this fanfic... or three... possibly four. Regardless, the rest (and the ending) should be up by the end of next week. Thank you for reading.

Macarov