The Perfect Present
By: Scratch

During the holiday season, we all think about what gifts we
can give to our family and friends. Sometimes the matter is quite
perplexing. Some people are hard to shop for, and with others it is
difficult to know exactly what to get and if they will really like it.
Everyone wants to find the perfect gift for the ones they hold dear;
however, it is not quite as easy as it sounds.
It is with this topic at hand that our story begins. There was
once a small, white rat who was kept as a pet by a teenage girl. The
rat's fur was so soft and white that it always seemed to be emitting a
faint glow, and for this reason the girl had lovingly called her pet
Starlight. Every day as the girl passed the rat's cage she said, "You
are the brightest star in the sky, Starlight. I've never seen a rat so
beautiful." Starlight loved the praise and was so flattered by it that
she blushed (it was not noticeable beneath her fur, however).
Starlight was treated with the best of care. She always had plenty of
food (with Cheerios every day and a yogurt drop once a week!), her
cage was always squeaky clean, and she was let out of her cage to play
every day. She was certainly a pampered rat, but that is how it should
be, of course.
Starlight knew that Christmas was coming, and she wanted to
let her owner know just how much she loved her by giving her the best
gift she could find. However, Starlight had quite a dilemma: she had
no clue what the perfect present would be! She had thought long and
hard during the past few nights, but the solution she was hoping for
never came to her. She must get her owner something! Otherwise, how
would the girl know how much her pet appreciated and loved her?
That particular evening, Starlight was lying down on the
clean, old, soft sock that was in the corner of her cage. She snuggled
down into it. iThis sure is comfortable/i, thought the rat as she
closed her eyes in relaxed happiness. Then her little red eyes snapped
open again. She was supposed to be thinking of a present for her
owner, not resting! She sat up and scratched her ear with a dainty
pink claw. It didn't help her think. iMaybe/i, she brainstormed
silently, iI could save up my yogurt drops for a month and give them
to her!/i Then the critical side of her brain commented. iWhy do
that?/i it said. iShe's the one who supplies you with the yogurt
drops; she can have all she wants! Besides, there are only a few days
left before Christmas./i
So that idea wouldn't work after all.
iOkay.../i Starlight thought again, iI could chew my
sock into a pretty design for my owner!/i The other side of her
brain spoke again. iThat's not a very good present. Your sock is
old, and besides, you need it to sleep on!/i
So that idea wouldn't work, either.
Starlight threw herself onto the soft bedding that lined the
bottom of her cage. It was hopeless; she had no ideas.
Then it hit her. She could look for good gifts for her owner
the next day when she was allowed out of her cage to play! That might
work. She always saw all kinds of interesting things on the floor as
she rolled around in her plastic ball. One of them might make a good
present. Satisfied with her decision, Starlight snuggled up in the
warm sock and fell asleep.
The next day, Starlight's owner came into her room and sat
down on the bed like she always did after a strenuous day at school.
After a few minutes' rest she stood up again and opened the door of
her pet bird, Phoenix's, cage. The small grey cockatiel flew out of
the cage and landed on the bed, clicking his beak in a dignified way.
Now it was Starlight's turn. The girl approached her cage and took
off the lid. Then she stroked the rat's small, furry head and gently
lifted her out of the cage and set her down inside her plastic ball
that Starlight rolled around in. The girl set the ball down on the
ground, and Starlight began her search for the perfect present.
She rolled across the floor inside the large ball, and as she
did so her eyes scanned the floor for something that would make a
good gift. Mostly what she saw was dust and bird seed that had been
scattered, but neither of those would make good presents. She did,
however, find a few things that might work: an extra-soft piece of
old cotton, a leaf, and even a penny- but her mind steadily rejected
all of these ideas; it was telling her why they wouldn't work just as
it had done the previous evening. Starlight sighed. How could she
find a present if her mind always rejected every idea she thought of?
Then she had another brainstorm. She would ask her owner's
other pet, the cockatiel named Phoenix, if he had any ideas for good
presents! He was always flying around the room; he must have spotted
some interesting things and have lots of ideas. Starlight rolled over
to the spot where the bed met the floor and peered up through the
transparent plastic of her ball. She saw the grey cockatiel preening
himself as he sat upon their owner's pillow.
"Hey, Phoenix!" Starlight called up to him. He ignored her and
continued to preen himself. "Phoenix!" she called again. Phoenix's
head lifted from his feathers and his eyes snapped open. He looked
around for the source of the noise that had interrupted his grooming
and his eyes fell on Starlight.
"Oh, hello, Starlight," Phoenix said in a misty voice.
"Uh, hi," Starlight replied, and then made her request. "I've
been looking for a present for our owner for the longest time, but I
just can't find anything suitable enough. I know that you have a...
bird's-eye view of this room"- she giggled at the weak joke- "and I
wondered if you had ever caught sight of anything that may be of use
to me."
Phoenix looked at her strangely, as if she had just spoken a
line of gibberish. After a moment's pause he said, "Actually, no, I
have not seen anything. So if you could be on your way..."
"But you must have seen something... anything!" Starlight
cried.
"No, actually, I haven't," Phoenix said, getting irritated.
"Well... well... surely you must have... well, have iyou/i
gotten a present for her yet?" Starlight asked.
"Yes, indeed I have. Now I bid you good day!" And he flew away.
Starlight kicked the internal wall of her ball. That bird had
been no help at all. Well, now she was all out of ideas. There was
nothing more she could do if she had no ideas. She lay down inside her
ball, miserable and frustrated.
Later that night, when Starlight was back in her cage, she
was, once again, thinking about what she could give to her owner.
Nothing. No ideas entered her brain. A small tear escaped her red
eye. It was Christmas Eve, and she still did not have anything to
give to her owner. With that thought, she fell into a restless sleep.
As she slept, she began to have a dream. It seemed so real.
Starlight could almost feel her owner's finger stroking her gently,
then lifting her out of the cage. The girl held Starlight close to
her chest and whispered, "I love you," and Starlight replied silently
in her mind, iI love you, too.../i
Starlight woke up with a start. She felt very strange, as if
the dream really meant something. And suddenly, Starlight knew it
idid/i mean something! It meant that she knew exactly what to give
her owner; it was something she gave her everyday. That thing was her
love. She and her owner loved each other dearly, and that was the best
present that she could possibly give. Satisfied and happy, Starlight
closed her eyes and slept until morning.