Mrs. Nutterbutter Learns to Share

Princess Nutterbutter Learns to Share.

The House on Orchard Street

If you walked up the street we’re on now and turned the corner you would find Orchard Street. There are lots of houses there, but I’d like to call your attention to one special house. Of course, it might not look that special to you, at least not from the outside. It’s a brown house with an antique dog statue waiting on the front porch. But, this isn’t what’s special about it. What’s special about it is that a caring young man named William lives there with his adorable guinea pig, Nutterbutter.

Love at First Site

William loves animals. Even though he’s busy attending college, he volunteers at a rescue organization for small animals. Lots of times he thinks about bringing animals home, but he realizes that he can’t take care of them all. However, sometimes a particular animal tugs at his heart strings. That’s what happened with Nutterbutter. A family brought in Nutterbutter because they couldn’t take care of her anymore. As soon as William picked her up and stroked her fur he knew that she was coming home with him to the house on Orchard Street. If you asked him why he felt that way, he probably couldn’t tell you. He just knew that she was special. Nutterbutter was usually a happy-go-lucky guinea pig, but, as you can imagine, changing families wasn’t that easy for her. Little did she know that within a few weeks her life was going to change a lot. Of course, she had no idea what was happening and she was a little scared even though William was gentle and talked to her softly. “Here we are, Nutterbutter!” said William happily when he took her home to the brown house on Orchard Street. Nutterbutter was a bit afraid of the antique dog until she realized it was just a statue. “Tomorrow I’m going to build you a kingdom, Nutterbutter, and then you’ll have lots of fun!” William said as he looked into her dark eyes. Nutterbutter didn’t know what a kingdom was, but she thought that she’d find out soon enough.

A New Home

The next day, on the second floor of the house on Orchard Street, William set up a small purple castle inside a large custom cage. Actually, that’s not quite right. The castle may have seemed small to big people, but it was a good size for a guinea pig. In addition to her castle, inside her cage, William built two large rooms with tunnels, a bridge for Nutterbutter to run over, and an area where Nutterbutter could take a nap or sleep for the night. He also made sure she had lots of playthings. “Here you go, Nutterbutter! Now you have your own custom cage with a castle to live in!” said William as he gently put her inside. If Nutterbutter could have talked, she would have said Thank You, but instead she explored every corner of her new home. She ran through the tunnel back and forth and scurried over the bridge more than once. She went in and out of the purple castle. Then, she checked out all the toys. She’d never be bored in this home! There were so many things to do and William was there to watch and encourage her. He must love me a lot since he built me the best home in the world, she thought to herself. She felt so happy when William picked her up and stroked her fur. I belong here, she thought. But, the next day something unthinkable happened. William had to leave! He had to go to school, because you see, if he didn’t attend his classes he couldn’t graduate from college. Nutterbutter could sense that he was leaving. She didn’t know how long he’d be gone or when he’d come back. William picked her up and stroked her fur. “I have to go to school now, Nutterbutter, but I’ll be back soon and I’ll see you tonight,” he said. She didn’t understand the words he was saying, but the way he said them made her feel okay. Maybe everything would be all right. Of course, when William came home that night she was so happy to see him. As the days passed, she realized that he would leave in the morning and come home in the afternoon or evening. Before he left, he would make sure that she had plenty of fresh water, crisp lettuce, crunchy carrots, and sweet-smelling hay. Nutterbutter loved breakfast time more than anything else. When William opened the refrigerator in the morning she’d squeak “wheek, wheek, wheek” announcing how hungry she was to the whole household. Oh boy! It’s breakfast time again! Nutterbutter thought. Every day, she was so excited to eat breakfast! She ran out of the purple castle and stretched her body up on the custom cage. After eating his own breakfast, William would climb the stairs to his room. “Good morning, Nutterbutter! Are you ready to eat some delicious breakfast?” Of course, he knew the answer, but he asked her anyway. He placed a plate with fresh lettuce and carrots into her cage. Then, he refilled the hayrack and poured food pellets into her bowl. “I have to go to school now, Nutterbutter. I’ll be home soon and I’ll see you later tonight,” he said.

Friend or Foe? I Don’t Know!

After gobbling down her breakfast, Nutterbutter ran through her tunnel and over the bridge. Then, she played with her toys for a while. She looked at herself in the hanging mirror and thought, I am a princess and this is my kingdom. I’m amazing! But, after several hours of playing she began to wonder when William was coming home. She crawled back into her purple castle. Why does school take so long? I’m lonely. Where’s William? Where’s my friend? Gradually, she drifted off to sleep. She woke up when she heard the door opening. Hooray! William’s home! But, when William climbed up the stairs he was carrying something. Oh boy! It’s dinnertime. I’m so hungry! Nutterbutter thought. She began to squeak, “wheek, wheek, wheek.” “Hi, Nutterbutter,” William said. “I have a surprise for you. When I was volunteering today, I found a friend for you to play with. This is Salt and Pepper. You can call her S&P for short.” Then, William set up a new, blue castle for S&P and placed it next to Nutterbutter’s purple castle. Oh no! Nutterbutter thought to herself. I thought I was the only princess in this kingdom. Now I have to share it with another guinea pig! Nutterbutter stared at Salt and Pepper. Salt and Pepper stared at Nutterbutter. Then, they both ran into the castles and glared at each other. The next day, William brought the normal breakfast plate of fresh lettuce and crunchy, orange carrots. He filled the hayrack and poured pellets into the bowl. He stroked the fur on both guinea pigs. “Goodbye Nutterbutter! Goodbye S&P! I’m going to class now. I’ll be home later tonight.” Nutterbutter thought to herself, if I don’t grab up my favorite crunchy carrots, S&P will eat them all. She grabbed up the carrots in her mouth and dragged them into her purple castle. Good! Now S&P will only have lettuce, hay, and pellets for breakfast. After breakfast, they each ran to different areas of the cage. They stared at each other. Nutterbutter ran over the bridge and through the tunnel. S&P played with the chew toys. It actually took a lot of effort NOT to play with or run into each other. Soon, they wore themselves out, ran back into their respective castles, and fell fast asleep.

Rejection

In the evening, the door opened. Both guinea pigs popped their heads out of their castles. Oh boy! William’s home! Nutterbutter thought to herself. Dinnertime! Salt and Pepper thought to herself. But, once again, William had a possibly unwelcome surprise. He was carrying another guinea pig and a pink castle. Nutterbutter and S&P weren’t pleased. They stared at each other and started to squeal, “wheek, wheek, wheek.” “Look, Nutterbutter and S&P! I’ve adopted another friend for you to play with. This is Cocoa!” exclaimed William happily. He gently placed Cocoa into the cage and positioned the pink castle next to the purple castle.

Guerrilla Warfare, Guinea Pig Style

The next morning, William climbed up the stairs with the normal breakfast plate of fresh lettuce and carrots. He placed the plate by the guinea pigs. He stroked all three of them softly and said, “See you all tonight.” As soon as William was out of sight, Nutterbutter quickly grabbed all the carrots and pushed them into her purple castle. Not to be outdone, S&P grabbed the hay ball and rolled it into her blue castle. Now all was left was a few pieces of lettuce and some pellets. Cocoa was distraught. She wanted out of the battle and started chewing on the bars. She squeaked, “wheek, wheek, wheek” and hoped that William would hear her and come to the rescue. Nutterbutter and S&P came out of their castles and ran in opposite directions. Why won’t they play with me? Cocoa thought to herself. She sadly munched a few pellets and carried one piece of lettuce as she crawled into her pink castle. She was so upset that she started chirping like a bird. Nutterbutter and S&P ignored her, which was really rather mean. That evening, when William came home, the three guinea pigs heard him as he climbed up the stairs. He was carrying a very small guinea pig with very large ears. He had a yellow castle for this guinea pig. “Hi, guys! Look! I brought you a new friend. This is Buttercup.” He placed Buttercup and her yellow castle inside the ever-expanding guinea pig condo. All of the guinea pigs were thinking, Where’s our food? We’re hungry! They all started crying, “wheek, wheek, wheek.” All of them ran inside their castles and stared at each other until they fell asleep. The next morning, William climbed up the stairs with the breakfast plate. He had enough lettuce and carrots for all four guinea pigs. He made sure they had hay and water too before he left for class. As soon as he left, Nutterbutter ran out and grabbed all the carrots. There were so many they filled up her entire castle. S&P pushed the hay into her castle and made a sign that said DO NOT ENTER! Cocoa grabbed the lettuce and the pellet bowl and sat on it inside her castle. Buttercup was so hungry. She looked around for something to eat, but the only thing she could find was water. She scurried to a corner of the cage. She began to chirp and a big tear rolled down her face.

Time Out

When William arrived home in the evening, he said, “Hi guys!” But, he didn’t hear the normal “wheek, wheek, wheek” reply. When he got to the top of the stairs, he couldn’t believe his eyes! Nutterbutter had eaten so many carrots that she was turning orange. S&P was turning green from eating all the hay. Cocoa had blocked her castle with her body so no one else could get any pellets. Poor little Buttercup was huddled in the corner of the cage. She was chirping from anxiety. William picked her up and held her close. He took her downstairs and stroked her until she calmed down. Then, he placed her in a separate small cage with carrots, hay, lettuce, and water. William walked up the steps slowly. His footsteps were heavy. The three not-so-little-anymore guinea pigs heard him. They were thinking, Oh boy! It’s treat time! They started squealing, “wheek, wheek, wheek.” He looked down at all of them. “I am sooooo disappointed in the three of you. Sharing should be caring in this house. I’m going to put you all in time-out. You need to think about how selfish and mean you have been to each other.” The guinea pigs were ashamed. They came out of their castles, but they couldn’t show their faces so they turned around. William could only see their furry behinds. “Tomorrow I’m cleaning your cage and I’m going to put you on the floor in the circus arena so you can get to know each other.”

Circus Time

On Friday morning, William got up early. There weren’t any classes so this was the perfect time for him to clean their cage. He placed a large beach towel on his bedroom floor and put together an enclosed circus arena. He lifted all four of them out of their cage and put them on the floor to run around so he could clean their condo. The last guinea pig he placed in the middle of the arena was little Buttercup. She was shaking and hid under a tiny blanket while Nutterbutter, S&P, and Cocoa ran around. William bent down to look in. “You know you can’t always hide from your problems, Buttercup!” he said to her. He gently lifted the blanket away. Then, he took all the dishes downstairs to wash them. In the meantime, Oddie, the Old English sheepdog, climbed up the steps and walked over to the arena to see what was happening. When he saw the four guinea pigs, his tail started wagging. The guinea pigs looked up at this huge creature staring down at them. They were terrified and started running for their lives except for Buttercup. She was frozen with fear in the middle of the arena. She didn’t know what to do. “Run, Buttercup! Don’t let the giant monster grab you and eat you!” exclaimed Nutterbutter. But Buttercup was still frozen in one spot as she shook and stared at Oddie. “Come on, S&P and Cocoa, let’s protect her!” said Nutterbutter. The three larger guinea pigs banded together to shield her. They ran to the middle of the cage and formed a ring around her. Oddie stretched out and put his nose against the enclosure. Eventually, the four guinea pigs realized that even though Oddie was enormous he wasn’t a monster at all. He was actually protective of them. They slowly crept to the side of the arena and began to touch his nose with their tiny paws. “Wheek, wheek, wheek, this must be a new treat to play with,” they squeaked.

A New Remodel, A New Life

When William returned with the clean dishes, he looked over at the four guinea pigs. He was happy to see that they were all playing together in the arena with Oddie sleeping next to it. While they were playing, he remodeled their condo. He added a section for sleeping and another for eating. The last new room was a play area complete with more tunnels, bridges, and chew toys. It also had a ramp that went up to a treehouse big enough for all four of them. He put up a sign on the treehouse that said “All R Welcome.” He walked over to the arena and placed them in the playroom. He pulled up the drawbridge while he went downstairs to get their food and water. When he came back, they were all excited and squealing “wheek, wheek, wheek” together. He placed the food and water in their eating area. Then, he lowered the drawbridge. To his surprise, all four of them ran over the bridge. The three bigger guinea pigs waited to take their turns as they let tiny Buttercup take the first bite of food. As time went on, they all learned how to share and they became good friends. Sometimes they even visited each other’s castles. Oddie came upstairs and made daily visits to entertain them while William was at school. They learned one of the most important lessons a guinea pig can learn. Change can be scary, but when you begin to trust each other, love is just around the corner, as it is in the brown house on Orchard Street.