Disclaimer: You know I don't own Hamtaro. I know I don't own Hamtaro. If you are the one who does own Hamtaro, please don't sue me because I know I don't own it. I do own Jim and David though, so don't take them, please.

Hamtaro's Greatest Adventure! Chapter 3: Hamsters on Ice

It's December 1st. The pond is finally frozen over, which means the hamsters can go skating! Everyone in the clubhouse is talking about it, but they don't want to leave without Hamtaro and Bijou, who haven't shown up all morning. Everyone is waiting near the entrance, hoping to catch sight of them somewhere out in the field. Unfortunately, they're nowhere to be seen. The other hamsters didn't know it, but Hamtaro and Bijou were up all night.

FLASHBACK

Bijou was sitting in her cage brushing her hair. Maxwell had slipped a note under the window frame telling Bijou that she and Hamtaro should go ice skating with the rest of them tomorrow. Bijou had nodded her head yes through the window and Maxwell had given the thumbs up before sliding down the tree. This would be the first time since mid-November that she and Hamtaro had returned to the clubhouse. Both of them had visited each other every day, and their friends visited them often, but they hadn't gone to the clubhouse since Hamtaro's birthday party.

She had just finished with her hair when she heard a knock on the window. She looked over and saw Boss trying to lift the window up. He managed to force it up high enough for him to dive through before it slammed shut again. Bijou watched him, but then turned around and pretended to ignore him.

"Bijou, please listen to what I have to say. I know you and Hamtaro are angry with me, but I want to apologize," Boss said from on his knees. Bijou's ears perked up when he said 'apologize' but she remained with her back to him. "Bijou, I know I acted rudely, but, well, you see, I've always had a crush on you. Plus, I've never been very good at conveying my emotions in a levelheaded manner. I can't tell you I've got a crush on you, but I can't contain my anger, understand?" Boss pleaded.

Bijou turned around. Her face showed no emotion, but she did seem to be thinking about what to do with him. Bijou looked at him and said, "Boss, I have every reason to stay mad at you, but I will forgive you. I respect the fact that you have a crush on me, but try to contain your emotions. Me and Hamtaro are together now, but me and you can still be friends."

Boss let out a sigh of relief and walked to her cage. He handed her a present. "This is for you, Bijou. It's so that you'll forgive me fully. I'm going to go to Hamtaro's house now and apologize to him now. Have a good night's rest, Bijou. Maxwell already told you that we're going to have a busy day tomorrow." Boss finished and slid the window open enough to roll out before getting crushed. He leaped onto the tree and ran down. Bijou opened her present. It was a new set of ribbons that were a lighter blue than her usual ones. That night, Bijou could not sleep.

Boss climbed up the drainpipe of Hamtaro's house as he had done so a couple of times before. When he got to the hole in the wall, he noticed that it was snowed over. After a little digging, he managed to get through and into the house. He peeked out from behind the dresser. He saw Laura sitting at her desk and writing in her journal. Hamtaro was nibbling on some seeds and watching her.

"PSST! Hamtaro, over here!" Boss hissed loudly. Hamtaro looked in his direction. "Boss, is that you?" "Yes it is! Can I speak to you for a moment?" "I'm kinda busy keeping Laura company. Can it wait until she falls asleep?" "Sure. I've got time."

Laura pulled the covers up to her neck and turned over. Hamtaro popped the door on his cage and ran over to Boss. "What's up Boss?" Hamtaro asked. "What do you mean "what's up Boss?" Boss asked. Hamtaro looked at him, puzzled. "I mean, what do you want to talk to me about." Boss stared at him. "What, you're not mad at me for the things I said to you?" he asked. "Well, Boss, I know you were just being overprotective of Bijou. I was one of the first ones you told about your feelings for her. Boss, I'm not going to hold it against you. We all get jealous from time to time," Hamtaro assured him. "Hamtaro, I believe that love has unlocked some hidden wisdom that you've never had before," Boss said. "But even though you forgive me, I'm still going to give you this gift as a token of my gratitude." Hamtaro took the gift from Boss's outstretched arms and opened it. "Wow! A whole box of sunflower seeds! Hif-hif, they smell delicious! Boss, you didn't have to do this." "Forget about it. I just hope you come ice skating tomorrow," Boss said on his way out.

Hamtaro carried the box into his cage and dumped the seeds into his food bin. He went into the little house and lay down on the wood chips. So much was going through his head. He regretted ever getting mad at Boss that day. He could not fall asleep all night.

NEXT MORNING....

Hamtaro knew that the hams were going to go ice skating on the pond that morning, but he could not drag himself out of bed. He had not been able to sleep at all that night. Feeling as if he had betrayed Boss, Hamtaro stayed up all night tossing and turning. When he finally drifted off to sleep, it was time for Laura to wake up, so her alarm clock woke him up. He decided he would sleep a little longer, and then go and pick up Bijou.

Meanwhile, Bijou had the same story. She had felt guilty about her anger towards Boss; she hadn't slept much at all. Then Maria's alarm clock woke her up just as she was drifting off to sleep. She finally dragged herself out of bed at about 11 AM. She slowly brushed her hair and tied her ribbons. She was still half-asleep when she opened the door on her cage. She forced herself to concentrate as she made the leap to the tree. When she had safely made it across, she ran as fast as she could to Hamtaro's house. "I hope he's not hurt. He was supposed to come and get me hours ago."

After she climbed up the drainpipe and ran through the hole on the roof, she saw Hamtaro still sleeping in his cage. Bijou was curious. Hamtaro was never the type to sleep this late. She walked over and climbed in the cage. She poked his ear with her paw and he rolled over and yawned. "Wake up, sleepy ham. It's time to rise and shine," Bijou whispered into his ear. Hamtaro rolled over and slowly opened his eyes. "Already?" he asked, still half asleep.

Continuing from where we left off, the ham-hams were waiting for Hamtaro and Bijou near the entrance of the club. 'I give'em five more minutes, then I'm off to the pond," Howdy sighed. "You can't just forget about them. Maybe something's wrong. They both told Maxwell that they'd be here," Pashmina said while pacing. Penelope added an "Ookyoo" as she fell in line behind Pashmina. "Look! There they are!" shouted Dexter as he pointed.

"Like, where have you two been?" asked Sandy as she ran up to them. Hamtaro laughed. "We kinda slept in." "Oui, we both had late night visitors." "Well, like, come on. Everyone's been waiting for you," Sandy said as she ran back to the others. Bijou and Hamtaro followed.

The pond wasn't very big by human standards, but for a hamster, it might as well have been Lake Erie. It was in the middle of the park, relatively close to the cherry trees. It freezes fast every year since it's not too deep. Of course, to a hamster, even a few feet is pretty deep, especially if you can't swim.

Every hamster had on tiny ice skates and was dressed warmly for the cold temperatures. Pashmina had made it a habit that for everyone's birthday she gave a scarf. Everyone had one, and everyone was wearing one. Only Boss, Maxwell, Sandy, Pashmina, Stan, Dexter, and Howdy knew how to skate. Panda, Cappy, and Oxnard took to it pretty quickly. Maxwell had to give Hamtaro some quick lessons. Hamtaro figured it out after about a half an hour. Bijou was apprehensive about going onto the ice, but after Hamtaro had figured out how to keep from falling onto his backside, he went over to where she was sitting and tried to convince her to come out.

"I'm not going out there. What if I get hurt?" Hamtaro grabbed her hand. "Well," he said, "we'll get hurt together because I'll hold your hand. If you fall, you'll take me with you. Now let's go." Hamtaro managed to pull her out onto the ice, but he almost made them both fall. Bijou was still scared, but she held onto Hamtaro's shoulders with both paws and did pretty well.

Hamtaro was trying to convince her to let go and try going by herself, but she refused and held on tighter. Hamtaro didn't mind, but would have liked to see her learn how to skate. Suddenly, he felt a sharp tug on his back and fell over. Bijou had tripped and brought Hamtaro down with her! "Oh dear! I'm so sorry Hamtaro! Are you alright?" Bijou asked. Hamtaro laughed a bit. "Yea, I'm fine. Are you ok Bijou?" "Oui, I am fine."

Stan skated up. "Hey fallen angel, let me help you back on your feet. Then maybe later I can sweep you off your feet." Sandy skated by and used her ribbon to grab his arms and drag him away. "This is totally awesome!" Stan shouted as Sandy dragged him along with her. "It's like the time I went water skiing in Hawaii!" Just then, Stan tripped over a branch partially frozen in the ice. He fell flat on his face! Sandy skated up to him. "Stan, you never went water skiing. You've never even been to Hawaii." She skated off, kicking ice flakes into his face.

Hamtaro helped Bijou up. "Merci Hamtaro." "Don't worry about it, Bijou." Hamtaro smiled at her. "Let's go!" "Hamtaro, can I ask you something?" she asked. "Sure. What is it?" Hamtaro replied. Bijou slowly skated to his side. "I'm just going to hold your hand for now. I think I can skate pretty well without holding onto you," she said while taking Hamtaro's hand. Hamtaro blushed and they started skating again.

Dexter and Howdy were both skating closely behind Pashmina. Penelope wanted to skate, but Pashmina didn't want her to get hurt. She told her to stay on the bank of the pond where she could keep an eye on her. Penelope didn't mind much, and started building a snowman. Dexter and Howdy were trying to impress Pashmina by skating as fast as they could. "Hey, who's that?" Pashmina said, suddenly stopping to get a better look. Dexter and Howdy were skating so fast that they couldn't stop when Pashmina did and slammed into her. All three fell into a heap.

"Ow, thanks a lot you guys," Pashmina said as she climbed to her feet. "I'm terribly sorry Pashmina. This is all Howdy's fault. He wouldn't let me turn out of the way," Dexter sputtered. Howdy turned to him. "So now it's my fault? I thought you gentlemen-folk didn't make excuses for their mistakes." "Will you boys stop it? Who's that over there?" Pashmina turned and pointed to a hamster skating on the other side of the pond. "I don't know," the two boys said in unison.

"How are you doing Bijou?" Hamtaro asked. Bijou was still holding onto his hand to steady herself, but she was doing pretty good. "I am fine. This is a lot easier than I thought it wou...." Kersplash! Bijou went through the ice into the cold water. Hamtaro, who was still holding onto her hand, managed to keep her from sinking, but didn't get much balance since he was wearing ice skates. "Help me Hamtaro!" Bijou screamed. "I'm trying! Just hang on as tight as you can!" Hamtaro was trying to dig his skates into the ice, but it wasn't working. He was slowly sliding towards the edge!

"Help!" he heard one of the hamsters on the other side of the pond say. He took off on his skates as fast as he could. His owner had watched speed skating on TV last night, so he tried that. He saw one hamster in the water and one trying to pull her out. On the slippery ice, that wasn't going to happen. He was pretty close now. In a couple of seconds, he would be on top of them. He reached out his arms and swooped past Hamtaro, grabbing him by the waist. Hamtaro was dragged with him, and Bijou was pulled out of the water.

Bijou and Hamtaro were on shore with their mysterious hero. All of the hamsters surrounded them as the two caught their breath. "Are you two ok?" Boss asked. "Yes, we're fine Boss, right Hamtaro?" "Sure. But who is he?" Hamtaro asked. "My name is David. A boy named Jimmy owns me. He just moved here last week, and this is the first time I've been out. Today was his first day of school here," the hamster said.

Soon, the ham-hams returned to the clubhouse. They were telling their new friend David all about themselves. "My name is Hamtaro. My human's name is Laura." "My name is Bijou. I'm from France and my human's name is Maria." "My name is Maxwell. I read a lot of books." "I'm Sandy. I practice gymnastics and I'm Maxwell's girlfriend." Maxwell blushed when she said that. "I'm Panda. I sorta fancy myself a carpenter." "I'm Pashmina. My favorite color is pink." "My name's Oxnard. I love my sunflower seed." "Ookyoo!" "She's Penelope. She's only a baby and can't talk yet," Pashmina explained. "I'm Stan and I'm popular with the lady hams." Sandy rolled her eyes. "I'm Dexter. I'm a perfect gentleman." Howdy rolled his eyes. "I'm Howdy and I'm the funniest hamster."

"Well it's nice to meet you. Wait a second, who's the ham-ham with the shovel?" David asked. "I'm Boss. I'm the boss of this club." Howdy stood up. "Boss, you know ya aren't our boss." Boss grabbed Howdy and covered his mouth. "So you're the boss, huh?" David said thoughtfully.

Later, Hamtaro was sitting on the desk in Laura's room. "Hamtaro, guess what," Laura said as she wrote in her journal. "There's a new boy in school. His name is Jimmy and I'm sure that Kana has a crush on him. Every time I mentioned his name, she'd blush! Also, he's got a hamster too. Its name is David, and it's so cute! He showed us some photos of it. It's orange and has dark gray spots on it. I wish you could meet it."

"But I did, Laura! He saved Bijou and me from drowning in the pond at the park! He's a good skater, but he probably practices. Bijou and me had fun today, even though we almost fell in the water. She's so cute when she skates. She should go on TV and be one of those figure skaters. Kushi kushi, she's so pretty."

TO BE CONTINUED.......