Alyonka had a fever for five days. It was not a cold or ARVI: no cough, no snot. The girl was simply burning. And, it seems, from grief. That day, red-haired Alena Astafieva ran around the house in new sandals and, in turn, looked out of each window. She was expecting guests. It’s been a month since a fluffy treasure settled in her room, and the girl couldn’t wait to share her joy with them. Like it if you had a pet as a child! Alena named him Homa-Doma. Indeed, the little fidgety hamster felt right at home in the cucumber jar: he picked up the grains with his paws and stuffed them behind both cheeks. He sat pompous and sulky for a short time, fell asleep like an old man and suddenly fell. At this point Alyonka burst out laughing. Sometimes she took Khoma in her arms. She folded her warm palm into a boat, and carefully covered the top with the other so that the restless lump would not roll down from a gigantic height. One day, Khoma left the jar and did not return. The family was alarmed, they searched everything, but the loss was discovered only after 2 days. And the losses from his walk surfaced even several months later: mazes eaten through in a pile of laundry, exposed wires, torn books. It felt like a whole regiment of rodents had walked through their small apartment. Still, they were happy when the hamster was found. Alenka carefully held Khoma. Sitting sideways, the foundling became quiet in the makeshift hut and quickly sat down, occasionally opening his tiny eye. Alenka did not give Khoma to her younger brother Antoshka, a two-year-old toddler. Mom immediately warned that the hamster should be kept away from the baby. A light trill of the bell announced the arrival of the Stepanovs. These were old family friends. Together they once happily experienced hormonal youth. Then they took turns attending both weddings, gave birth to two children almost simultaneously, and now, 30 years later, their relationship was old-fashioned warm and very strong. The tradition of visiting each other with children was maintained throughout the years. Leva was the eldest of the Stepanov brothers. He loved Alyonka and took care of him like a brother if they happened to walk together in the yard. And Vanya was the same age as Antoshka and understood little in life: he cried and fought a lot. Now it’s difficult to remember exactly how everything happened. The parents, I remember, sat in the living room, and the children huddled around the jar. Alenka, choking, told the details of Khoma’s simple life. Leva admired and asked to hold Khoma in his arms. Well, how can I refuse? He easily picked it up and pulled it out of the jar. Everything about this creature was cute and made him smile. Leva spread his palm to show Khoma the big world. And at that moment Vanya suddenly grabbed the hamster and rushed out of the room. The children rushed after him, but this was the main mistake. Frightened that the fluffy trophy would be taken away from him, Vanya squeezed it in his fist until it crunched. This is what happened that day. The veterinarian grimly muttered that the hamster could not be restored. Alenka held a lifeless body in her hands, and unfulfilled happiness flowed out of the hole in her heart in a thin stream. She mourned the loss for many hours, and then fell ill. They could not diagnose the child. Just a temperature that caused vision loss. It took several months to recover the girl after what happened. The Stepanovs, worried about her, did not know how to compensate for the loss. And one day they brought the Astafievs a fiery red kitten. He settled into Alenka's copper hair like a proprietor and purred loudly. From that day on, the girl began to recover. Only the vision, unfortunately, was not restored. So. After the death of the pet, the child’s vision “slipped” by several diopters. Coincidence? Not at all. In general, when giving children animals, parents want to instill in them responsibility and care for a creature that they can love and not be betrayed. Our level of expectations from animals is practically zero. But people themselves, and especially children, begin to love their pets to the fullest, for real. Attribute to him reciprocal feelings, reasonable actions, and attach significance to their “relationship.” As if on